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my humble and correct opinion
Hear us out on this. We think we can confuse craft beer drinkers by putting our industrial lager into a 16oz can while also having a different label color, GOLD. I know that would be better during the Olympics but how does this look?….
…oh and we still refuse to spell light correctly. What do you think sirs?
Authentic. You know it when you vibe it. Some pubs, or breweries have a feel to them, none more than an Irish pub. Which is odd, when you think about it, because most people, myself included have probably been in less than five or certainly less than ten actual in Ireland pubs and of those, how many were tourist spots?
Which makes this Smithsonian piece about Mel McNally such a good read. McNally has found the sweet spot of Irish pub while also planting it in a community that is nowhere near Dublin or Galway.
Getting the bad news out of the way first. Ireland did not medal in this year’s World Beer Cup. But closer to home the State of California brought home a total of 76 medals from Indianapolis and the Craft Brewers Conference.
Narrowing down to the large Los Angeles area breweries, here are the beers you should be looking for to see if you agree with the judges…
GOLD
San Fernando Brewing – Dr. Sleep Barrel-Age Beer
Arts District Brewing – Through the Roof International Pale Ale
Claremont Craft Ales – Pepper and Peaches Experimental IPA
SILVER
ISM Brewing – Hamburghini Italian Pilsner
Angel City Brewing – Big Trouble in Little Tokyo Experimental
ISM Brewing – Plough and Harrow Saison
Beachwood Brewing – Party Crush IPA
818 Brewing – Matador Red Ale
BRONZE
Far Field Krispy Kiwi Hoppy Lager
Santa Monica Brew Works – Basil Lemongrass Gose
Beachwood Raven’s Revenge British Imperial Stout
Beachwood Funk Yeah! and Funk Yeah! Peach Belgian Sour
Absolution Brewing Rector 2025 Belgian-Style Blonde
14 Cannons Home Run Jack American Lager
I fully understand and am aware that I have whinged on about events at brewery taprooms that seem divorced from what a brewery does but in the last week I have seen many emails and social media posts about speed puzzling in taprooms.
And, I guess, it is better than having tipsy patrons throwing axes but how many puzzle pieces are found the next day on the floor? I can barely muster the enthusiasm to do a puzzle when my mind has the latest software updates loaded, let alone after a couple 7% hazy IPAs.
Now compare that to this wonderful Pellicle Magazine piece by Anaïs Lecoq about a small pub in France where thought has been put into the brewery that is poured, where the owner has your pour ready when you cross the threshold and the ephemera on the wall is earned and meaningful.
This is not a slam on any modern day brewery trying to survive and expand their beer drinking base but I do worry that the lessons of pubs are not being learned.
Hello Brewing Team!
Got a quick favor to ask. Can you send us a keg of what we call beer, because we need to get it to a new marketing partner so they can make these…
…because its cool right? Plus it saves people from actually drinking it.
Thanks in advance, the Marketing Team
At least Sierra Nevada likes our nations park even if the federal government just wants timber. Because now through July 2025, the brewery is selling Pale Ale National Parks Collection, featuring four stunning vistas from famous sights that, one hopes, will be treated better in the future.
I have not been a fan of the 19.2oz can format. The “stovepipe” cans are popular but trend towards double IPAs and / or high ABV which gives me the malt liquor vibes from the ’70s.
Now Gigantic Brewing from Portland has announced 6-Packs featuring six huge 19.2oz cans of their Imperial IPA, Ginormous. For the math folks, that is 115.2 ounces of hoppiness.
It is a limited time, brewery only offering but if it is popular, I would not rule out a return.
Word has been spread about a pretty cool achievement in drink local as the first 100% Walloon Gueuze was blended at Geuezerie Tilquin. This first blend is composed of fully organic Lambics brewed at Tilquin over the previous 3 brewing seasons. The blend is made up of 50% one-year-old lambics, 25% 2-year-old lambics, and 25% 3-year-old lambics.
Here is your super early notification that the 2025 California Craft Beer Summit will be held, not in Sacramento this year but in Irvine from November 10-12, 2025. The theme is “Crafting Momentum—helping craft beer professionals drive progress, adapt to industry shifts, and fuel innovation within their breweries to sustain their momentum in California’s ever-evolving craft beer landscape.”
It seems like famed San Francisco craft beer bar, the Toronado might be sold to a tech bro / crypto clod with the hilarious name of Orion Parrott.
I have only visited the bar once and truthfully did not cotton to the vibe and felt like I was intruding on someone else’s patch. But I am in the minority on that and I cannot imagine a scenario that Parrott’s version somehow does the bare minimum of keeping it as previous owner Dave Keene did let alone build on the tremendous goodwill and brand that was built, tap by tap.
Read the story HERE and join me in seeing how this plays out.