Institution Ale Co. has recently released their Pro-Am collaboration beer, done with the Toaked Brew Home Brew Club and it is….
I do like the color scheme and design of the label, just looks fun.
DC Universe
Timbo Week
Thanks in no small part to Highland Park Brewery, Los Angeles has a thriving hoppy pilsner reputation. And it comes down to the creation of Timbo Pils and its many and varied variants.
HPB is celebrating their pils with a week of Timbo. Follow their social feeds to see what the specific plans are but might I recommend the guest Timbo night on Friday.
Cactus
Brouwerij West has come out with another creatively labeled IPA but this time not a hazy, “Cactus Eaters is our 6.8% ABV West Coast IPA brewed to celebrate the Pacific Crest Trail, hiking, and great summer trips. This beer features Alora, HS16660, and Mosaic. It’s super bright and clear with notes of peach, apricot, and lemon zest.”
New Oregon Brewery # 2 – Coattails Brewing
Coattails is brand new brewery, all of 5 barrels, at the Etzel Farm / Sequitur Winery in Newberg, Oregon.
This is an appointment tasting room. They are “brewing many beer styles from old world German style lagers to hoppy (but balanced) IPA’s and everything in between.”
$50 gets you tastings of both the wine and beer “in a carefully curated approach”. Which sounds like a concept that should be mesh well with the Oregon wine country.
Stubborn
I have been fortunate enough to have visited both Moksa in Sacramento and Living Haus in Portland and readers of this blog know my love of a cocktail so this beer piqued my taste buds…
𝖬oksa 𝖬ule – Sour ale w/ Lime & Fresh Ginger
“This third iteration of this collab, which follows our favorite Portland brewer as he’s moved around the city, is now a collab with Living Haus brewing in Portland. The recipe hasn’t changed much over the years, though. This beer’s always been about a clean base with bright, fresh lime juice, and an infusion of 25lbs of hand-diced fresh ginger for just a bit of an earthy kick. Mint garnish optional.”
Beer Styles Name Changes
Count me a fan of Em Sauter and her colorful take on beer. She also prods conversation with pieces like this….
Makes me wonder what beer style names I think need a glow up. I would start with ESB, and in general, the British Bitters. They need something that matches their flavor profile when compared to an actual bitter beer. I would call them English Vintage or English Heritage Ales. Brown Ale needs something better too. Perhaps swarthy ale or mahogany ale, something more exciting.
A Reborn Serpent
Feathered Serpent Brewing started life in San Dimas but are now all set to re- start in La Puente on July 27th with a grand opening. Looks like a cool space from the outside and I will have to make visit to see the inside.
BP11
The now mostly quarterly Beer Paper LA will be holding an 11th Anniversary shindig at ISM Brewing in Long Beach near the end of the month. I will be up north in PDX but this would be a good time to visit ISM, if you haven’t already….
Featured Review – Lough Gill Barrel-Aged Beer # 1 – Tara
Back to Lough Gill based in Sligo, Ireland and the last of the three real big beers on three different barrel types…
We have reached Tara. This time the oatmeal stout is aged in Pedro Jimenez Sherry barrels so this should be quite distinct from Spear and Trinity. This is much more my speed. There are layers here. A deep wine sweetness is first. Then there is an oaky woody note that pops up. The base is still thinnish but the flavors are adding to it. Has a proper musty sort of grand library with a fire taste.
Book Review – Love & Whiskey
I love hidden stories of history being brought back into the light and Love & Whiskey by Fawn Weaver does that while also showing how Uncle Nearest Whiskey came to life.
It is quite a tale. A distiller lost to history who is rediscovered and in a very short amount of time becomes the namesake for a new whiskey from people who would normally not be in the whiskey business.
After finishing the book, my first thought was how did Weaver have the energy and time to do all this? She read about Nathan “Nearest” Green then flew to Tennessee and from there Uncle Nearest was born. First as a book idea and then as a whiskey. She and her husband then had to learn the place and the people and create something that was a true value add to the community. All the while getting the needed funding and being very careful to not step on the toes of Jack Daniels and the behemoth Brown Forman too much.
This book easily straddles the past and future. It is a propulsive read with short chapters that keep you reading just one more. What struck me was how well Weaver built cultural capital with the people of Lynchburg and how quick she was to make decisions on creating a scholarship fund and creating a tourist attraction distillery.
I also came away real hungry for food from some of the restaurants in town. With an Uncle Nearest Cocktail as well.
and maybe there will be another chapter…
