Category: Opinion

my humble and correct opinion

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The Firkin for April 2022

Every year April heralds Easter and then 4/20. And boy, am I not on the CBD or THC or TLC bandwagon. All the Snoop Dog memes, the warmed over munchies craving jokes make April 20th a day to avoid social media.

To me cannabis and beer is like stuffing cheese into the crust of the pizza, overkill. What actual flavor does cannabis add? I do not know. I have read about chocolate with marijuana, candy with marijuana, water with marijuana and yes, even pizza with marijuana and I have not seen what it adds to the experience.

This is no anti-weed screed, just a reminder that if you are adding an ingredient to a beer, that ingredient better add something to the overall drinking experience. I had a saison that included lemon and vanilla recently. The creaminess imparted by the vanilla played extremely well with the citric acidity, bringing out the best aspects of both while also taking the edges off of both.

And that is what any CBD/THC addition should do in a perfect world.

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Czech It

If someone had told me back in the before times, that I would be entranced by a travel show of a goofy food writer dad and his teenage daughter, I would have given you a serious amount of side-eye.

But Czech it Out is grand…

…not only that despite the goofy and the forced reality of parts, this really gives an overview of Czech food, beer, art, movies but more importantly a sense of place.

The best travel shows make you want to travel much like the best food shows make you hungry and after four episodes, 1/2 the season, I want to go and eat nothing but pastry and drink beer at all the restaurants and Pivovar’s that this duo have visited.

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It’s a Living

For those who wondered what would happen when Modern Times shuttered locations, well, one space will see new life.  Actually a third regeneration, when Modern Times PDX (formerly The Commons Brewery) will become Living Haüs Beer Co.

Founded by former brewers at Modern Times Beer and the highly regarded pFriem Family Brewers.  Now wait to see if the other locations can find new brewing life as well.  Most notably for my purposes, the narrow DTLA space that could serve a brewery with some rent money nicely.

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Weinhards Resurrection

Looks like Henry Weinhard’s Private Reserve has made a convoluted journey back to Oregon.

You can read the full press release from Molson Coors HERE. In broad strokes, Weinhards was a fairly large regional that got passed around like a hot potato. The beer wasn’t even brewed in Oregon for the last twenty odd years. Somehow the brand alone ended up in Molson Coors hands and has been passed down to one of their subsidiary breweries, Hop Valley.

As for the beer itself, it is a ” 4.7% alcohol-by-volume lager, first brewed in 1976 and acquired by Miller Brewing in 1999, will be brewed using its original recipe and Cascade hops from Oregon.”

By the time that I could legally drink, the allure of Weinhards was trending down. I still have brand affection but it is not based on the beer so much as nostalgia. How Hop Valley converts new twenty-one year olds is a bit of a mystery especially after their parent company essentially put the beer in the freezer and walked away.

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Haunted by Owner

In rather quick succession, more bad brewery news here in Los Angeles. Phantom Carriage Brewing in Carson is being pushed out. The new building owner will be using the space for their needs apparently.

This was a fun spot to visit because of how strongly they leaned into the horror theme. The space was kitted out in such a way that it looked spooky even when the lights were on.

How a taproom that hung its hat on visiting hung on without going the to-go can route is probably a story in itself. But the hard fact is that land and rent in LA is expensive and finding a good landlord is not easy either and then the whole thing can come tumbling down if a good landlord sells.

The social media announcement did not close the door on a return and maybe there is a market or capacity at another brewery to have a co-tenant. I have always thought that there could be a space where breweries could either start their journey or re-ignite their business, where you could get pours from two or three breweries plus a sampling from all LA breweries. A one-stop City of Angels beer shop.

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Don’t Toss the Bag

One of the keys to recycling is to make it easy to do. People will go an extra yard or two to help the earth which is why THIS program is so cool and I hope maltings will copy the plan of action.

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Helios

More hops are on the way! Next from the Hopsteiner breeding program is Helios™.

Here is a brief summary, “the next super high-alpha hop king. Helios™ is one of the most agronomically sustainable hop varieties grown today thanks to its unrivaled yield and powdery & downy mildew resistance genes.”

Yes, that is mostly ag talk but until we see how brewers use it and with what other hop combinations, we won’t really know if it will have a signature shorthand like Citra does with, well, citrus and Strata has a tea like note to me.

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Un-Liberated

Sad news to report, Liberation Brewing in Bixby Knolls has called it a day.

Here is the info from their social media post, “We are closing operations at 3630 Atlantic on April 30th. The financial impacts of COVID were significant and impacted our ability to negotiate a lease extension.

Thanks to all our employees past and present, brewers & breweries, local orgs and beer clubs, friends, family, and beer drinkers like you. You made it such a brilliant ride. Much love.”

I would suggest buying some of their bottles, yes bottles, of some of their Belgian-styled beers, they are quite fun and out of the normal for L.A. breweries.

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One Pint at a Time

First, I want you to head to HERE to watch the trailer for One Pint At a Time.

And then make sure to check the website, like I have to keep tabs on possible future showings in Los Angeles.

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April Fool’s Reviews

Classic April Fool’s jokes are rare, most bring only a double-take and a chuckle. Which is how I rate each one, on a scale of 1 to 5 Chuckles. Time to review the 2022 crop…

What makes this work is the accent on the letter E. Plus it is close to real so you can see be taken in. 4/5 Chuckles

Minus marks for the tired trope of “we made a food beer” jokes but plus for working with your beer style to make it funnily plausible. 3/5 Chuckles

I saw two versions of beer in a box but this one gets the mention because of the rhyme. Not really funny but the design is done well. 2/5 Chuckles

I don’t know if I just hang with the right people but vaping seems to have lost steam so this seems a bit too late to the party. 2/5 Chuckles

The classic H2O joke in seltzer format. Again, seems a year late for this though pairing with plain bread brings a wry smile. Get it? Wry. Bread. 2/5 Chuckles