Given a head start on the Labor Day weekend last Friday, I made a quick 3rd stop at LBC in Burbank to give the brewery another look and to grab a crowler to-go to see how the brewery was doing now.
Considering it was a holiday weekend at 4pm, there were a decent amount of people in the taproom. I ordered a crowler of their 1861 lager. I also ordered up a mini-pour of their Hollywood Way IPA. There are a LOT of IPA’s out there. Most occupy that vast middle ground. This one was a notch below middle. Maybe two notches. In the small amount I had, I could not put my finger on one precise issue but it reinforced my not positive impression of their hoppy beers.
1861 was ….
Pours a weird almost absinthe tinted green. After pouring the foam head dissipates to weird white globules. The beer is a little sweet on the nose and in the taste. Grain tasting all the way through. Light and a little slick on the tongue. Not super bubbly either. Finishes with a stronger taste than the ABV would lead you to believe. It is fine but not a still hot summer in L.A. type of beer.
So two below average beers. I am sensing a trend.