Category: Beer in the news

Great articles that you should read.

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Causes in Can Form

Wading into political waters with craft beer is sure to spark debate, that can be a good thing which is why I like the idea that Sparkke a brewery in Adelaide, Australia has decided to tackle. Being a socially conscious craft brewery.

You can see from the cans (which are very well designed IMHO) below that the brewery is not shy:

• “Consent Can’t Come After You Do” – a cider tackling sexual consent
• “Change The Date” – a Pilsner targeting Australia Day
• “Boundless Plains To Share” – a hearty ginger beer demanding better treatment of asylum seekers
•”Nipples are Nipples” – a lemonade addressing gender equality and supporting #freethenipple

Even cooler is that the brewery is run by a group of nine women. That, in and of itself is a statement.

They are making another statement by donating 10% of their profits to a range of community groups.

I have so many ideas that I would like to see added.

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Not Up to Snuff


Craft Beer Cellar has always had a strongly opinionated business stance. And 2017 the 28 stores in the chain will bring another one forward….

Each store will carry a set of “required and highly recommended beers,” and there will be a “Do Not Sell” list. You could, for instance, find no room on the shelf due to “lack of adherence to style, off flavors, and inconsistency in quality…”

What this means is that you could walk into one of their branded shops and not find a local brewery or far flung brewery in the cold case because they are not above the standard. Or you might find, the hefeweizen on sale but not an IPA with a proven bad track record.

Part of me agrees with this. We all need to be more open and upfront about beer flaws. Is it hard to do in a nice manner that can be taken constructively? Yes, but that is partially because we are out of practice in doing it. If CBC can fairly judge and pass that grade to the brewer and help them improve, then great. But if it turns into a bickering match then nothing is improved.

The other part of me though wishes that the call was up to the store owner. Due to the Byzantine nature of distribution in this country, some owners might have an easy time dropping a brewery. But others may have to buy other beers from a portfolio which could lead to some awkward sales calls.

Either way, the breweries on the naughty list needs to be transparent to the customer so that informed decisions and true education can happen.

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The More Yanow

Ever since Westwood Brewing went belly up and morphed into just another bar, there has been a beer sized hole at Bruin central.

That could change in 2017 as Tony Yanow of Tony’s Darts Away and Mohawk Bend is teaming with a group named the Artisanal Brewers Collective to place a beer-centric spot in the former Yamamoto space in Westwood Village.

This marks the second project for Yanow who is also in process for creating a still un-named brewpub in Sherman Oaks.

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Happy Zoigl-ing

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Two preliminary things about the following. One is that the brewer is a Linfield alum like me which is super cool and two, we need more of this Zoigly thing going on. But first here is the information….

“While you can’t legally sell beer out of your home, you can do the next best thing: fill up your carboy with freshly brewed wort at Zoiglhaus, take it and a fresh can of yeast home with you to ferment your own beer. Add dry hops, extra flavorings, or leave it as is. It’s up to you. When the beer is done, you can share it with family or friends in the Zoigl spirit.”

Alan Taylor the brewer at Zoiglhaus Brewing was inspired so much by the medieval tradition of village brewing that he put the hard to spell word into use for his Portland brewery.

What excited him was the practice where each village had a single brewhouse which the villagers could utilize by getting the wort made and then taking it home to ferment. Then when done they would sell it from the home/taproom.

The first wort from Zoiglhaus was a pale ale by the name of ZPA, it was made available to buy by the carboy and then next month on the 7th, those that want to participate can bring their creations back to the brewery for judging by the people. The winner wins, well, the next batch of wort to play with.

What I would like to see is an L.A. brewery creating a wort then giving it to three other breweries to “finish”, then have a blind taste test to determine the winner.

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More Magnolia in LA

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Looks like L.A. will get a little more Haight and Dogpatch as San Francisco’s Magnolia Brewing Company has partnered with Guardian Distribution to get more kegs on draft throughout Los Angeles County.

Be on the look out for flagships brands Blue Bell Bitter (which has shown up at rare times in LA), Proving Ground IPA, Prescription Pale and Kalifornia Kölsch plus seasonals and limited release beers from time to time.

Founder and brewmaster Dave McLean was in L.A. earlier this month to meet and greet to promote the new flow of beer to us. I missed it because of a little election thingy that took my attention that week.

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Modern Time at Leisure

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Leisuretown. Some words just sound like polyester pants and that one certainly does. But the extremely rapidly growing Modern Times is using it for a huge new outlet (31,927 square feet) in downtown Anaheim. And it does sound less obnoxious than the Dankness Dojo moniker for the delayed (and smaller) Modern Times – Los Angeles.

Here are the very verbose details from their press release:
• A gorgeous funky/sour brewing facility chock-full of foeders, amphora, and various experimental fermenting vessels, housed in a jaw-dropping old hoop-style wooden warehouse.
• A showpiece Modern Times café & restaurant set in an utterly charming two-story, historic craftsman home
• Stalls serving food from some of SoCal’s most kickass restaurateurs
• A giant frickin’ swimming pool, complete with poolside bar, movie screen, and sweet floaty toys
• A delightful and convenient Modern Times merch store & bottle pick-up location
•A vast and beautifully landscaped outdoor space primed for group gatherings and luxurious beer drinking

Anaheim is on a roll with the addition of Modern Times and recently Karl Strauss too.

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Change of Venue

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Laguna Beach Beer Company whose beers I have yet to see on shelves or taps made the surprising announcement that they would be taking over Cismontane Brewing Company’s production facility and tasting room in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA.

The transition includes plans for Laguna Beach Beer Company plans to expand the existing sorta-industrial park location to add a kitchen and more seating.

Cismontane will focus its attention on the brewing & distilling facility and tasting room in Santa Ana.

People and places are on the move in the SoCal scene. And it is probably not the last announcement we will see.

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Today is International Stout Day

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Whether you like collecting badges on Untappd or you just need an excuse to drink something other than an IPA, International Stout Day (aka TODAY) is here to help. And, of course celebrate the classic beer style, Stout.

Learn more about Stout Day and then head to a craft beer shoppe and try one.

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Yanow 2.0

Looks like the next chapter for former Golden Road and current Mohawk Bend and Tony’s Darts Away owner Tony Yanow will be craft beer brewpub space in the Valley.

The latest intel is that Yanow is considering a spot way out in Sherman Oaks on Ventura Boulevard. It is projected as a brewpub. Restaurant focused with a small brewery.

For sure, there will be IPA’s on the menu. Past that things get hazy like the NE.

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Verdugo West

A cryptic Facebook post from Chris Walowski, formerly of a bumblebee costume at Smog City hinted at a late 2016 opening for a brewery in Burbank.

Verdugo West doesn’t pop-up in Google searches yet but as the opening draws closer, that will probably change and we will learn more about this latest addition to the brewing scene.