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Sean Suggests for May 2022

This month is all California with a leaning to styles not normally seen or ingredients not as often used.

Firestone Walker / Green Cheek – Parrotphrase – 4.5% “We teamed up with Green Cheek Beer Co. to create Parrotphrase, a limited-edition Dry-Hopped Grisette with crisp flavors of passionfruit and guava. Parrotphrase will be the Welcome Beer at the Invitational Beer Festival.”

Cellador Ales – Golden Healer – 5% “an intensely aromatic, and reminds me of the perfumey quality of walking by a guava tree in Southern California in the fall. The base beer has lots of depth, with classic Farmhouse beer character, which plays well with the slightly herbal note of the guavas.”

Beachwood Brewing – Barrel Aged Full Malted Jacket Scotch Ale – 12% – “Bringing back our two-time GABF award-winning Full Malted Jacket Bourbon Barrel-Aged Scotch Ale. With its NEW partner in crime, Full Malted Jacket RYE Barrel-Aged Scotch Ale. You’ll taste accents of vanilla and toasted oak that meld seamlessly with notes of toffee and caramel.

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All About Beer is Back

Beer media took a hit when All About Beer magazine faded out a few years back and though it may not return in print, the brand and more importantly, the past articles (maybe future ones too) will be available to read.

You can get all the details HERE.

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Woot Ten

Can you believe that the big bad pecan beer Woot Stout or the full name Stone Farking Wheaton W00t Stout is ten years old? It is back with new comic art for 2022 from Stone Brewing.

I like the art better than the Star Wars theme from last year. This is much more Stone feeling to me and I am sure the beer will be just as luxurious.

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Featured Review – Maudite from Unibroue

Our next “old” beer that I want to highlight is a dubbel from Canada, Maudite and the flying canoe from Unibroue.

This is how the brewery describes the flavor, “Velvety palate of caramelized sugar and marmalade, slightly roasted with a spicy finish.”

First off, Belgian yeast esters wave over along with a nice spice profile as well. A very full mouthfeel to this beer. Carbonation adds a playful tone to the beer as well. I also pick up a bit of red apple juice. I don’t think that Unibroue makes a bad beer.

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Review – Hair of the Dog – Two Dots

Hair of the Dog Brewing is slowly shutting their doors. Before they and brewer Alan Sprints fade into beer history, I wanted to try (again) two of IPA’s. These were both canned in mid November of 2021 so they were just outside the recommended IPA freshness date.

Polka Dot – very earthy. pours a hazy light orange. big, real big for a 5.5% IPA. some candied orange hiding underneath the quite harsh bitterness.

Green Dot – pineapple is the dominant flavor. this has held up better, probably due to the higher ABV but it still is pretty harsh in spots, which is more a feature than an issue. there is an alcohol burn here that other TIPAs mask.

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Sean Suggests for January 2022

Time for the first beer shopping list for 2022! Last month, I skipped around the style wheel. This month, the arrow is pointed firmly at IPA.

LIGHT

Smog City – Frost Flower – “Frost Flower drinks soft with big punchy fruit tones. It’s medium body contrasts the dry drinkability of west coast haze. This ambrosia salad of tropical fruit steps out with big berry notes, citrus, guava and a touch of coconut while finishing with just enough bitterness to bring you in for another sip.”

MEDIUM

Firestone Walker – Hopnosis – “The Hop Ontology Project is our exploration of the ephemeral nature of the modern IPA. Hopnosis is a crisp West Coast IPA double dry-hopped with some of our favorite modern hop varieties from the USA and New Zealand.”

BIGGEST

Casa Agria – Closely Apart Hazy DIPA – “Citra and Mosaic, you just can’t keep them separated. A friendship like no other, this Hazy DIPA has everything that you need! Introducing Closely Apart Hazy Double IPA.”

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A Book & A Beer – Normal People by Sally Rooney

Sally Rooney has gotten a lot of press for her books but it took me awhile to hear about her, and so instead of picking up her latest book ” Beautiful World, Where Are You?”, I chose an earlier one, Normal People.

It follows Marianne and Connell two high schoolers about to leave County Sligo for college in Dublin and how they weave in and out of each other’s lives as the years pass.

Normally, I am not fond of the will they – won’t they being stretched past all reasonable bounds. If you can’t write past meet cute then I lose interest. But the two leas characters in this book are moving, both through life and emotionally and by making them three-dimensional, what could be contrived re-meetings are more akin to two people orbiting each other. I thought the book ended well and would be up to have Rooney re-visit these characters when she and they are older.

Because this book moves through the lives of it protagonists, a flight of beers from your cellar might be in order. Maybe a flight of Anchor Christmas or the Anniversary beers from Firestone Walker.

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Stale but Good

L.A. has seen a beer made from unused bread before from Eagle Rock with Loafer and now MacLeod Ales has joined forces with Toast Ales to create….

“Stalemate, an English Hazy IPA, is releasing on Wednesday 9/29 for UN International Day of Food Awareness and Waste. Toast Ale’s mission is to brew with upcycled bread that would have otherwise gone to waste. By using surplus bread to replace 1/3 of the virgin barley, we use less land, water and energy, and avoid carbon emissions.⁠ ⁠”

Check out the MacLeod socials to see all five things they learned, that you should too.

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Tepache

This summer has brought Tepache to our attention. What is Tepache you ask? It is a fermented pineapple rind drink from Mexico.

Angel City has a Gose variant…

“Tepache Gose is our mash-up of two fermented beverages that come from different parts of the world but make perfect sense when combined!”

And Cellador has a seltzer version…

“A Barrel-fermented, mixed-culture farmhouse seltzer with pineapple and cinnamon.”