Secret Label

It is no secret that I am an aficionado of label art and I am quick to give a hot take on designs on bottles and cans.

That is all prelude to the fact that I quite like the new direction taken by Hop Secret Brewing of Monrovia…

It’s bright, the font is new and bold and it has a modern art feel to it, though the lips on the left are a little much. I also like the bottle name, a nod to a funny series.

The Dog has Retired

Looks like Alan Sprints has decided to retire which means that Hair of the Dog Brewing, the much lauded Portland brewery will be retiring as well.

From a video that Sprints posted, he will be done in the summer, there will be a few more new beer releases but mostly, it will be selling what is in stock until the last bottle is sold.

This is a legendary brewery and I highly recommend snaring a bottle or two to have for special occasions.

Will the Next Haze Please Stand Up

Cascade Lakes Brewing may have put a name to a new IPA trend, Red Haze.

Here is their description, “Our Seasonal NW Red is full of sticky, dank tangerine hop character with just the right amount of malt to accompany you through to warmer days ahead.”

Is the current IPA customer needing a turn back to dank, will the malt add enough sweetness. We will see of 2022 brings more of the red haze.

Or, who knows, maybe French Pilsner is the next new thing.

How I Was – How Am I Doing

I have been off Twitter for two plus years at this point, so some things I catch second-hand. Like this question that I saw on the Appellation Beer website.

That is a thinker. All those years ago when I first started in beer, there was a growing number of choices available but it was limited and forcibly local. You had to travel to find the beer two towns over. Now, well, you can sit at home and scroll across a world of beer and a few days later you get a box in the mail.

I believe that beer would seem as much a dark forest as wine does to me now. I would not know where to start and because of that, might not drink as widely as I do, which is saying something considering the preponderance of IPAs I sip.

I would also see it as part of day to day life where before it was way more of a revolutionary cause. The battle has been mostly fought and I would also say mostly won. Even the crappiest bar or smallest grocery store has craft beer inside.

But since I cannot un-live my beer life, it is all guessing but fun guessing.

Sweeter California

SweetWater Brewing Company recently announced expansion all across California. The march west includes the opening of SweetWater Colorado in Fort Collins plus the acquisition of passed around San Diego beer brands, Alpine Beer Company and Green Flash Brewing Company.

The Georgia based brewery is the nation’s 11th largest craft brewer and is turning 25th this year, both impressive numbers but I don’t think if you asked California beer fans to name five out of state breweries they would like to see here that SweetWater would make the list except for Marvel movie crew members who shuttle from L.A. to Atlanta.

4 of 8

Modern Times is halving their West Coast footprint as they seek a less perilous financial footing.

Portland, Oakland, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles will be closed. Not coincidentally, those are the furthest away from HQ and in the case of Los Angeles and maybe the others as well, the smallest outposts.

The San Diego brewery bolted out of the gate when they opened and followed that with ambitious plans but the last two to three years have brought lots of challenges and a new leadership team which did not like what they saw and hit the re-trench button.

Hopefully, Modern Times can navigate back with a leaner company.

Trade Deadline

No, this is not an NBA blog but part of the reason that beer is part of my story is because I am from Portland and Portland is inextricably tied to the Blazers and currently the health of Damian Lillard’s abdomen.

Which means a kinda-sorta-no good season needed some action to set-up next year, replenish draft picks or to at least avoid the luxury tax.

The latter being why the trigger was pulled to trade forwards Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the Los Angeles Clippers for guard Eric Bledsoe, forward Justise Winslow, and guard Keon Johnson. The Blazers will also receive a second-round pick and a trade exception in the deal.

Then, the big deal came down on Tuesday, CJ McCollum being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans for forward Josh Hart, guards Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Tomas Satoransky and draft compensation.

We then turned around and sent Alexander-Walker and Satoransky away to the Jazz and Spurs respectively and received back more picks and currently injured three point specialist Joe Ingles.

I think that Hart and Ingles have the most current upside with Johnson and having future upside. The draft picks will require some mining to find something but if the plan is to go young, the process has begun.

The beer link is community. As the Blazers do well, more people go to games, buy merch like the pint glass above, there is a spring in the step of fans and non-fans alike. You see Blazer themed beers popping up more. People head to sports bars, especially if there is a deep playoff run. You hear cheering outside your window. I have seen that joy as both the Dodgers and Rams have had recent success.

The Rising Tide maxim becomes plainly clear. Community matters and we need more of it whether it is basketball or IPAs.

Indie is Done

You have this month minus a day to visit Indie Brewing as the Boyle Heights brewery announced on social media that it is closing on the 27th for good.

With Dry River already closed practically next door, that means that south of Downtown is bereft of breweries. Sadly, this is probably not the end of closure notices but maybe there is a next generation that can use the equipment or space. Trying to stay positive here.

Thanks for the beers Indie and may your future endeavors in beer or elsewhere be bright.

Don’t Read the Comments

First, go HERE to read the furor caused by a questionnaire.

Do not TL:DR.

Now that you are back, I want to say that all the people who commented about CAMRA “caving in” to “wokeness” must be living in a whole ‘nother world.

Part of me wishes that these sexist, racist idiots would just return to the caves from which they crawled out of but then I would be insulting cave people who were more than likely way smarter.

I would like to say that my better angel wishes compassion but I think we are past that. No more carrot for this lot, they need a stick to the ass.

Pete Brown, as usual is more eloquent than I but even he seems fed up and I wish more people were.

Sallanches is Where?

It is not often that you see a second location announcement with the location being the French Alps. But that is what Colorado’s Outer Range Brewing is doing…

“Colorado’s Award-winning craft brewery and apres hub, announced Saturday that they are taking their quality craft beer and mountain lifestyle concept to the heart of the French Alps, with a second location in the picturesque, quaint town of Sallanches, France. Set to open in winter 2022, the Sallanches brewery will include a Nashville Hot Chicken restaurant, coffee roaster, a private event space for large parties or weddings, and a climbing wall with floor-to-ceiling views of Mont Blanc.”