Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
Just because the main construction is complete on the Portland airport does not mean that additions are not still underway. In addition to Loyal Legion for beer and food and the excellent Westward Whiskey shop, there are two other drinks spots to hit, plus Powells. Cause it’s Powells and books must be bought.
Freeland Spirits will be available as well as Straightaway canned cocktails including airport exclusives. And lest I forget, there is also Deschutes and HopWorks beer too!
I have to admit despite living in the greater Los Angeles area, that both San Francisco and San Diego have us beat when it comes to beer weeks and the latter is hosting theirs in November which is a great time to drive south and take in some beers from the self-proclaimed Capital of Craft.
Check HERE for the schedule of events such as their kick-off beer festival at Kilowatt Brewing as well as a special West Coast IPA release and a clean up the streets event.
Since the Great American Beer Festival kicks off, well, today. I have to reach back to a 2023 winner first. So we head to Puttsburgh and any one of the three locations for Cinderlands.
They won Gold in the Experimental Category for their Hill & Hollow- Cayuga. A “Golden saison fermented with our house mix culture of farm house yeast and Brettanomyces in an American oak foeder. Pressed down for 4 weeks on pressed Cayuga wine grapes.”
So whether you go to the Warehouse, Wexford or the Long Story Short sandwich shop, here are some ideas for a taster tray…
Lil’ Cinder Lime Light Lager – 4.2% – “Classic American light lager brewed with real lime and flaked maize.”
Black and Yellow Yinzerade – 5.0% – “Hard lemonade-inspired sour beer brewed with blackberries, black currants, and lemons.”
One Way Out – 6.3% – “Hazy IPA brewed with Nelson Sauvin, Nelson Sauvin SubZero Hop Kief, Citra, and Citra Cryo.”
Hill & Hollow Chambourcin – 7.4% – “Amber rye saison fermented with our house mixed culture yeast. Punched down on local Chambourcin red wine grapes.”
I am an aficionado of grocery stores. I go on vacation and make a point of visiting them. Part of the bonus of being in Los Angeles is that there are little boutique stores, neighborhood markets that have somehow held on and a crazy variety of shops focused on foods from other countries.
The Burbank (next door to the airport) Vallarta grocery store recently got a glow up that included Mexican foods, agua frescas, paletas and a choose your own guacamole station.
I wandered around the beer aisle and saw this interesting selection….
….I will need to research these beers to see if any are not from a mega corporation but even more interesting was….
…canned Pulque. The precursor to tequila and mezcal locked up safe and sound.
Keeping searching, you might find some fun new drinks.
…National Black Brewers Day. I heartily suggest that you find a craft beer from a black owned business to celebrate this day whilst also realizing how few of these breweries there are and that there should be more come this time in 2025.
Firestone Walker’s flagship sour Primal Elements is back with a new edition for fall.
From the Barrelworks wild ale facility, Primal Elements 2024 is aged “on French oak while balancing the sun-kissed sweetness of pineapple with the exotic tartness of guava.”
Anytime the craft beer industry can catch a break, that is a good time and here in California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2174 (Aguiar-Curry) into law. This change allows breweries to sell their beer at events through the use of a new Beer Caterer’s Permit.
Kicking in on January 1st of next year, breweries can use a type 01 or 23 license to apply for a Beer Caterer’s Permit to sell their beer for consumption at events held off their licensed premises. As long as that event has been approved by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). The BC permit allows the brewery to sell up to 124 gallons of beer at each event for a maximum of 36 events per calendar year.
Followers of the blog know that I am more than just a little keen on Beer history. I like all the nooks and crannies of beer throughout the years. But it is not as well covered as many other fields. Thankfully, the Beer Culture Center along with the Newberry Library are partnering on a fellowship that will help remedy that situation.
It is the Beer History Studies Fellowship which is open to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) MA students, PhD candidates, or post doctoral scholars who are researching beer and who have a specific need for research in the Newberry Library collection.
I am hoping that initiatives like this will bring forth more beer books for me to read and review.
Right off the bat, I have never had Jeppson’s Malört even once. And I probably don’t want to pay for a full bottle since the sub-title of Josh Noel’s book contains the word, reviled.
That said, The Redemption of a Revered and Reviled Spirit has me wanting a taste, at least.
Take away the whole taste of Malört angle or the whole spirits business angle and this is still a fascinating tale of people told in a fair and even-handed way while still showing the warts of people.
It starts with George Brode and Red Horse Liquors. Brode brought Malört into the portfolio and when that business went down, took it with him and for years ran it as a side-hustle while his legal practice paid the bills (and then some).
Brode had a secretary, Pat Gabelick, who he in true 1950’s style had an affair with while staying married to his wife. This is where the story goes in a whole different direction. Brode and before him, his wife, pass away and Gabelick inherits Malört. Brode was a steady hand but not one for growth and Gabelick is even less interested never really enjoying or even really tasting the product that she sort of lacklusterly runs.
Then Malört starts being cool and fans come in and volunteer to help and eventually catch the hipster wave. And there is more drama before the story reaches the here and now.
This is an entertaining tale that Noel takes us through clearly and at a pace that matches the rise of the drink. You learn about Chicago, cocktail culture and social media too.
I like a small beer festival. I feel like I can actually taste the full rainbow if there is a tight mix of breweries. And Ogopogo Brewing is using their 6th anniversary to throw a little shindig in San Gabriel.
I am especially interested in Craft Coast and Burgeon and what they may be tapping.