Category: Monthly Features

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A Podcast & A Beer – Drifting Off with Joe Pera

Drifting Off With Joe Pera is an odd duck of a podcast but that is part of its charm.  Labeled as an “evening comedy podcast”. Hosted by comedian Joe Pera along with the composer Ryan Dann. 

It has a very calming narration and moody music that allows you to do what the title says, drift off.  A recent of the monthly episodes was in Ireland and it was a tiny travelogue of weird associations that was very cool. This might not be for everyone but if you listen carefully it might just hook you.

For beer, I would look for a beer from your favorite brewery that you know when you order it, you will drop the stress and worry of the day.  For me that could be a beer from my hometown of Portland like Wayfinder or pFriem or Heater Allen.  It could also be that soul food style of beer like a British pub ale to me.

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Sports & A Beer – Bad Owners

If you are a sports fan, your favorite team just might be owned by an asshole.  Not saying that all people who own teams are but there does seem to be a preponderance of assholes amongst the super-rich who can swallow clubs whole.

The English Premiere League is riddled with fan groups trying to push owners out.  The NBA had the delightful Donald Sterling around for what seemed like forever before he finally became too toxic.  And the NFL’s version was Dan Snyder who will forever be linked to the Washington Redskins and not their new era Commanders name.

There are articles, and probably podcasts aplenty, about Snyder and his mis-management of the Washington Football Club.  His stubborn death grip on the Redskins name being first on the list despite the known fact, that changing the name made any Redskin emblazoned gear more pricey and you would double dip by selling all new gear to diehard fans.

What made it all the more egregious was that he didn’t listen.  Not to fans or even fellow owners.  When you get to a point where your delusion field blocks out your fellow richie rich’s, well that is a red flag.

Which is why it is hilarious that there was an anti-Dan beer brewed.  Makes me wish there were more beers that take on the 1%. 

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The Firkin for June 2023

The 16oz can is the de rigeur format and has been for a few years now taking the packaging crown from the 22oz bomber and the six-pack with it’s 12 ounces. Though the 19.2oz stovepipe can is pushing for the throne currently.

This article in Punch talks briefly about why it is as well as the good and bad about it..

…but I firmly believe (and have expressed on this blog many times) that more sizes should be in the packaging arsenal.  I would like to see more big ABV beers in 10 ounce bottles or heck, 12 ounce cans.  I love the extra large format of some Belgian beers with the corks and one of these days, I will buy one of those jereboams that you sometimes see.

The packaging format should be as creative and unrestricted as the crazy beers that are inside them.

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Best Beers of June 2023

This will be sort of a mini-re-hash of the Firestone Walker Invitational at the start of the month. When you have that many good breweries together, you are going to run across something stellar. But I will highlight one other beer from the rest of the month.

For me, what stood out was the Leeds based brewery Northern Monk. Their Very Stable Genius hoppy lager from their Patrons Archive was just bright and tasty which is saying something because the festival is home to a ton of fantastic pilsners and lagers.

Second was the Wild Pirate tiki-esque sour from the BarrelWorks program at Firestone Walker. It had a nice balance of vanilla sweet and fruit sour to be a hybrid of both.

Lastly, no homer-ism but I really took to the Artifex Beer Paper Pale Ale. Yes, I contribute the odd piece to the beer periodical but the beer itself was flavorful and 3-D.

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Central Coast Brewery # 3 – Night Lizard Brewing

I am not fond of lizards at any time of day, but I am fond of breweries at any time so let’s head to Santa Barbara and Night Lizard Brewing and have a taster flight…

Bushmallow German Blonde – “A refreshing crisp ale. Munich Malt and Pure Idaho 2-row are featured in this ale. Growing in steep canyons of the channel islands, this endangered shrub has pink, lavender, or white flowers in spring.”

Gnatcatcher IPA – “A New England “Hazy” Indian Pale Ale. This fruity, juicy IPA is huge on Mosaic, Citra, and Idaho 7 flavors. Named after the endangered coastal Gnatcatcher, this species was heavily predated on by brown-headed cow birds.”

Yuzu Mijiu DWitt – “Yuzu and house made Mijiu blended into our double Belgian White Ale.”

Lupine Porter – “A traditional English porter with heavy caramel, toffee and toasted nut notes, with a slightly chocolatey sweet finish. This endangered flower is endemic to the dunes of San Luis Obispo. Only 700 plants remain!”

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A Book & A Beer – Lone Women by Victor Lavalle

Old West and secrets, Victor Lavalle has found a good combination in his new book, Lone Women.

Lavalle is a Stephen King fan but this book is completely unlike anything King would write. Setting is one reason. This is post gold rush time in Montana when our protagonist, Adelaide Henry leaving California and a burning family home for a new homestead. She is carrying a large and heavy box which contains multiple secrets that will get you sitting upright real quickly. The book moves along and shows how different people react to Henry. Surprising all the way through and that is all I can really say without spoilers.

I would pair this with either an Anchor Steam or California Common or maybe just a straight up German-styled lager. But for the last few chapters, you might want to find a real hoppy and bitter red ale to get you to the final pages.

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Sports & A Beer – The Transfer Portal

When Deion Sanders moved to coaching the University of Colorado, he touched off a massive amount of player movement, most prominently out from last year’s football team into what is now called the transfer portal.

Now I am all for Name and Likeness deals and college players getting paid (and maybe coaches not getting paid more than 10 college professors) but this wholesale switching from college team to college team just seems even further from the collegiate ideal than before.

Why not just have a football minor league with academies for younger players? That way players can learn about agents and handling money and life after sports.

But I digress from the topic at hand. I think that a portal can be good but it does need to have some guardrails. A coach can’t push someone into a portal and neither should a player move into it just because he was passed over for a starting position.

I thought of this in connection with beer because brewers leave breweries to work at a different brewery or start their own. I saw Kevin Davey who was at Wayfinder who now is under the Heater Allen umbrella. Iam McCall from Riip Beer in the South, South Bay is going on to his own place. They are using the brewer portal to start freah.

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Spirits & Cocktails D-F

Each month, I am going to pick one entry from the Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails that I feel is the most interesting. This month, I will be choosing from letters A-C.

I do not know why this entry tickled me so much but I just love the idea that far gets added to a spirit and that there is a fancy French word for it. Just fantastic. Also, I do need to learn how to gently wash a cocktail glass with a touch of absinthe before adding the cocktail.

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A Podcast & A Beer – Vinfamous

Since this is a Paso Robles focused month to start with, you kinda have to talk about wine. And maybe crime too. Vinfamous is a podcast from Wine Enthusiast magazine.

They have piggybacked on the true crime podcast by finding stories of wine crime and it is well done even though I am not usually a fan of that genre of podcast. Plus there are only eight episodes so it id an easy binge for weekend.

My first beer choice is to highlight Smog City’s Grape Ape IPA which has had a recent label re-design but more importantly uses pomace from grapes in the recipe. If you are not in Los Angeles, go find a beer loaded with Nelson Sauvin hops to get that full grape experience.

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In the Tap Lines for June 2023

June is a special month on the calendar. You have the Firestone Walker Invitational, you have L.A. Beer Week and the weather ain’t like a pizza oven yet here in Los Angeles. This month plenty of posts about the festivals and less about the weather.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from the Central Coast

~ special featured reviews of beers to and back from Paso Robles

~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events

~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark

~ A Book & A Beer reads Lone Women by Victor Lavalle

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Vinfamous

~ Sports & A Beer returns with the transfer portal

~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month

~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.