Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
Fans of South Park know of the famous Casa Bonita. Heaven to one Eric Cartman. Now comes Casa Beer, created by Denver’s Ratio Beerworks, a Mexican-style lager with lime. The very sessiony 4.8% ABV beer is available on draft at bars (yes, plural) throughout the restaurant.
When our climate changed sun returns to SoCal, lighter beers will need to be added to the ‘fridge. One will be the Long Beach Beer Labs Rad Dad Calamansi Radler.
A half and half beer and juice popular amongst those who choose to exercise, or those who prefer to watch on TV.
Boomtown Brewery is getting on the Walk of Fame.
They recently announced on social media the news of their first satellite taproom in Hollywood. Currently the space in the Centro? Building is empty so don’t expect beers on the boulevard for 6-8 months.
Back in the day when bottles were the craft rage, I bought reusable bottlecaps made out of a soft plastic-y material. After many years of cans, maybe I need to buy full can bottletops. Just not from Amazon.
First bit of business is last nights quick and rainy trip to Moksa Brewing in Rocklin.
The beer list was just a skosh unbalanced with one lager and about six IPA’s of various stripes and six stouts of various adjuncts. The Chai Times spiced Stout was excellent and beer buddy Rich had a very rich in chocolate stout that I thought was great. The lager, Da Bier was just the antidote after a day of drinking. Moksa also won the weirdest beer award with Freshie Freeze that was super citrusy but it also had a strange diesel note as well.
Back to Wednesday, the 1/2 day. After a visit to fuel up at the Pancake Circus we headed to a Sensory Session with Omega Yeast. This is where the thiol learning from the day before came in handy, I sampled a test brew and boy was it as advertised. Huge grapefruit and passion fruit, almost too much. Amazing to taste what genetics and Crispr can do.
I also sample the Sierra Nevada kombucha with pizza and had a beermosa with Smog City’s Mango Pango.
Today was the day to hear from Pink Boot’s members who talked about the many benefits of the organization which was a welcome upbeat talk before we got the final session where the Cilurzo’s (Natalie and Vinnie) flanked Ken Grossman to talk about what they did with their breweries in the pandemic times as well as what they have in store for the future. More lagers from Russian River and more alternative drinks from Sierra Nevada.
While they spoke, the audience was treated to two special beers. Special being a bit of an understatement. First up was a 2010 Bigfoot that we tasted alongside the newest version. Next was a little bit of newly bottled Pliny the Younger, this year with Nectaron hops in the mix. Not a bad way to call the Summit to a close.
Faux celebrity and fifteen minutes of fame is the underlying theme of How to Be Eaten by Maria Adelmann and the author goes to some dark and stark places to bring a new perspective to popularity and its side effects.
Here is the GoodReads synopsis, it’s a doozy, “In present-day New York City, five women meet in a basement support group to process their traumas. Bernice grapples with the fallout of dating a psychopathic, blue-bearded billionaire. Ruby, once devoured by a wolf, now wears him as a coat. Gretel questions her memory of being held captive in a house made of candy. Ashlee, the winner of a Bachelor-esque dating show, wonders if she really got her promised fairy tale ending. And Raina’s love story will shock them all.”
This was a wild book. Just weirdness on every page. The fairy tale aspects didn’t work for me as much as the more reality show aspects. But it sure wasn’t a dull read at all. And I will certainly be on the lookout for future work when wandering in a bookstore.
On to the beer choices, I would try to find beers for each of the women in the group. Maybe something with rose hips or hibiscus for Ashlee. A dark Czech lager for Ruby. A pastry stout for Gretel. A black IPA for Bernice. And for Raina, maybe a beer with the label removed so you don’t know and have to guess.
Still on the market for a really good (and consistent) Non-Alcoholic beer? Well, I found another one, this time in Illinois in Go Brewing.
They have a Witbier, hazy IPA, pilsner, IPA and a nitro coffee N/A beer amongst other members only beers.
I missed the party announcement for Burnin’ Daylight Brewing Co. but maybe you can still grab their anniversary IPA, Burn Four.
Getting near the end here, let’s add in a new beer from Bottle Logic Brewing and one of their pastry-esque beers with a memory, a Mulled Memory.
“Apple Brandy Barrel-Aged Mulled Golden Ale with elegant aromas of wintery apple cider curl from the glass of this Apple Brandy Barrel-Aged Golden Ale. A subtle wisp of lactose twists through the base, tethering the delicate apple character to a warming blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and citrus peel.”
One of the most highly regarded of the British styled breweries is Machine House Brewery in Washington State and they have a seasonal that I wish I could get my hands on here in SoCal…
“This lovely full-bodied ale was brewed with lots of Rye and Crystal Rye Malt for a rich, boozy sweetness and a complex, tasty finish.”