Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
4 years young overall and 2 in their new, expansive and artfully decorated taproom, Boomtown will be breaking out some special beers to look for….
The special beer releases:
new Anniversary Ale (Made with Pear, Meadowfoam Honey & Vanilla Bean 5.6%)
Single Barrel Imperial Stout (Aged 2.5 Years 12.5%)
Hazy IPA (Made with Galaxy, Mosaic, Motueka Hops 7%)
a collaboration with Dry River Brewing (Grand Cru Wheat Beer 9.3%).
Sunday, January 27, Angel City will be bringing Sour to the People and to DTLA with special barrel-aged sours. The day will also mark the opening of their brand new beer garden.
Below is the sour list with my picks in BOLD.
In addition to their regular lineup, Angel City will also be tapping into a full list of speciality styles for the event, including:
Angel City will also be releasing two bottles that Sunday: Both Stoned Fruit and Nothing at All 2019 vintage will be on sale for $14/each.
According to their press release, “the non-profit partner for the event will be Sunrise Movement Los Angeles, whose goal is to combat climate change. The local non-profit will be hosting a table and raffling off Angel City gift baskets all day, every hour!”
Arts District Brewing will turn 3 this year and to mark the Anniversary they will be releasing 4 new beers in bottles on Sunday, January 13th.
The Bottles: (the first two being the ones that intrigue me the most)
Umbra Avena – Whiskey Barrel Aged Oatmeal Stout, 7.0% – Caramel and espresso brownie richness with sarsaparilla and burnt sugar notes. Aged in Redemption Rye Whiskey barrels.
Aurora Silentium – Barrel Aged Belgian Quad, 9.9% – Dark, sweet, and lowly carbonated to create a vinous result, this unblended barrel shows notes of raisin, chocolate, leather and dark grape must with moderate acidity.
Aurora Caelum – Flemish-Style Red, 5.0% – Dried Rainier cherries were added to an amber base coolshipped on our roof. Significant sourness and funk, with bursting cherry intensity.
Aurora Rubicunda – Cherry Sour Saison, 5.2% – Cherry jam blends with phenols that disguise themselves as cinnamon and clove, creating a curious cherry pie dessert experience.
Sunday, January 20th – “Ladyface 9th Anniversary Celebration & Block Party, plus the chance to purchase one of the coveted Anniversary glasses (special limited release) that brings you happy hour pricing all year, any day, any time on Ladyface Ales. Purchase your Anniversary glass on this day and fill it with “Dreamer” our 9th Anniversary Ale–a barrel aged Barleywine!”
Saturday, January 26th – Eagle Rock 9th Anniversary “Can you believe we’ve been brewing at our little brewery for NINE years?? We’re ecstatic to be able to celebrate with you! Save the date and get ready to PARTY! More details to come!”
TBD – Strand Brewing 9th Anniversary – ???
Amongst the can designs, Boomtown is making quite a mark with their artist series. This time they have enlisted the artist DJ Neff to design their DIPA, “Graffiti”. It will be available in 4-packs and on draft at 12pm on Saturday, December 8th at their DTLA tasting room
Here is the beer info from the brewery…
“Graffiti is an 8.4% Hazy Double IPA brewed with Citra, Mosaic, and 007 hops. Enjoy notes of Pineapple, Tropical Fruit, Kiwi, Grapefruit and Lime Rind.”
I trekked down on sunny November Satruday to the beer oasis Torrance to check in on the 1st Cask’s Not Dead Fest and forthwith are my take-away’s and photos….
I was able to not only get excellent cask ale (and shade) but also I was able to have beers from breweries new to me like the new-ish Imperial Western Beer Co. They brought their Benjamin ESB which was a great way to delve into the beer menu. I also had a German cask from Weissenohe, their Kellerbier which was up there for my favorite beer on the afternoon. I also really enjoyed the HopSaint Pure Intention IPA which was smooth but then the bitter would kick in.
I went for another IPA from a spot that I have only visited once, Riip Brewing and it was fine in a dank meet creamy sort of way. Green Cheek (more later) had an autumnal beer which was solid and simple and nice. My least favorite pour was a lactose red ale from Chapman Crafted. The sweet was too much in comparison to the other beers.
I finished with the big Full Malted Jacket from Beachwood Brewing which is always good. Sometimes you have to go out on a known quantity. By the time that I departed the hot day was trying to chill and the VIP turn out was starting to ramp up as more people arrived.
They also had a judging component and…
here are the winners in Traditional:
First Place: Pizza Port (San Clemente), Nerf Herder
Second Place: Green Cheek Beer, Fallen for Autumn
Third Place: Yorkshire Square Brewery, Early Doors
The winners of the Abnormal Ales category were:
First Place: Smog City Brewing, Bloody Knuckle Fist Fight
Second Place: Trustworthy Brewing, Trustworthy IPA
Third Place: Transplants Brewing, Ocarina of Thyme
#1 – Lincoln Beer Co.
#2 – Alosta Brewing
#3 – Mt. Lowe Brewing
#4 – Lucky Luke Brewing
Measure Your Head: Drinking and Sipping is coming on November 25th at Barbara’s at the Brewery. Tickets are $30.00 and you get to taste beers from Cellador Ales, Craftsman Brewing, Highland Park Brewing and Yorkshire Square Brewing.
AND
Each brewer who made the beer will be on hand to discuss what went into making that beer in your glass. Oh, AND the glass will be a fancy branded Barbara’s at the Brewery glass.
If you told me that the following group
-Alex Kidd (Don’t Drink Beer)
-Drew Beechum (Experimental Brewing podcast)
-Frances Lopez (The Full Pint)
-John Verive (The Los Angeles Times)
would be visiting The Last Bookstore, I would buy a ticket. Throw in beer writer and editor John Holl, author of Drink Beer, Think Beer. That is just a bonus.
And it gets better, your ticket basically gets you Holl’s book AND beer samples courtesy of the Los Angeles Brewers Guild.
Get your tickets HERE.
I will be on other side of town on the 17th but if you feel the urge to have beer and be charitable towards making our winding river a bit better, then head over to Mohawk Bend for their Riverfest. I wonder how many other breweries have River in the name.