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A Book & A Beer – Black AF History by Michael Harriot

I have said it before and I will probably say it a million more times but there is so much more to history than the boring incantations of specific dates and the cookie cutter history written by the victors.

I wish that Michael Harriot’s book Black AF History had been on my history class reading list because I would have been well entertained while also learning.

Harriot is funny but underneath that funny are some cutting remarks and bringing some well known historical figures down a peg as you can see from the cover of the book. But this history is more about giving time in the spotlight to people from history that you should go and Google right now like Juan Garrido, Musa I and Ida B. Wells. And you need to go over the study questions at the end of each chapter. It is a clever way the author reinforces points made. If you want to study American History, this had better be part of the curriculum.

No weird style or new trendy beer for this book. Go out and buy a 4-pack from a local black-owned brewery. Here in Los Angeles it would be Crowns & Hops but a quick (second) Google search will find one in your local area or one that you can buy from further away.

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Sean Suggests for February 2024

As much as I enjoy a good themed beer shopping list, sometimes you just want to go around the style horn and end up with a wide variety of beers. Here are three to try…

Highland Park Brewery Bird Bier – 5.2% – “Witbier brewed with locally grown Buddha’s Hand plus Purple Sage & Pink Peppercorn foraged from The Audubon Center at Debs Park!”

Topa Topa Brewing Pava Rosa Sangria-style Kettle Sour – 6.5% – “Brewed in collaboration with Carhartt Family Wines.” 

MadeWest 8th Anniversary DIPA – 8% – “West Coast Double IPA with notes of pink grapefruit, blueberry and pine. Hopped with Nelson, Simcoe Cryo and Mosaic Incognito in the whirlpool followed by a generous dry hop of Vista, Mosaic, Ekuanot & Columbus Cryo.”

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ERB at 14

Eagle Rock Brewery is turning 14 in 2024 and, of course, there will be a big anniversary party and their new roommate Party Beer Co. will be attending this joint Pajama Party there on Saturday, Feb. 17th from noon – 6pm. 

Per anniversary tradition there will be special beer offerings plus karaoke, Mario Cart and food trucks.

Did I mention a pinata?

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Best Label?

Hop Culture, the allied beer writing arm of Untappd, came out with their best beer labels of 2023, which you can check out right HERE.

With a few exceptions, I was not in agreement with picks because there was a certain gothic swirly tattoo darkness to a lot of labels plus Humble Sea whose labels for sure stand out but are not for me.

But enough of my side eye, I want to point out that two of my favorites from SoCal were on the list. Brouwerij West and Everywhere Beer Co. A tip of the hat to them.

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Gin Day – Lindemans Old Kriek

Time to talk gin again bit this time with both a Belgian and beer twist to it as Lindemans, known for their sweeter fruited lambics and some harder to find distinctly Belgian beers also has a gin! And it is made from Old Kriek distillate!

You know that I will be seeing how I can get myself some.

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Gin Day – Rested v Aged

I have been intrigued by barrel-aged gins and even have bought a couple but both were lightly aged and on not pungent wood, as it were.  That changes with the new releases from The Botanist.

One is Islay Cask Aged and the second is Islay Cask Rested Gin. The latter “has been matured in cask for a minimum of 6 months, and Aged has been matured for a minimum of 3 years.”

The Botanist has a big selection of botanicals that just might meld with an Islay cask.

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Tomorrow @ 10AM

One of my favorite parts of the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival brewery announcement is finding the new invitees, seeing which foreign breweries are flying in and the number of my home state, Oregon breweries (7 this year!) in attendance.

There is not really a weak link in the bunch. But let me take a different tack this year, there are a few breweries that I would bench for a year to let in a few more fresh faces.

Revolution out of Chicago is great but I would love to see Funkytown or Turner Haus involved to bring a bit of diversity in.

Omnipollo and Garage Project garner big lines. I mean big lines but I would like to see some English or Scottish micros in California, The Kernel or Thornbridge come to mind.

I would also like to see a Mexican craft brewery involved as well, I think that would add a new dimension to the festival. Or maybe Bow & Arrow out of New Mexico.

I think removing the big line breweries would have the effect of creating more exploration. Instead of waiting 20-30 minutes for one beer, you might try two beers from breweries you don’t know much about plus a food sample.

This is, of course, the most nitpicky of posts you will read about FWIBF. It is such a fantastic festival that you have to resort to it so as not to repeat ones self.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10am. If you haven’t been, try.

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A Podcast & A Beer – True Detective: Night Country

True Detective is back in creepy form with the 4th installment, aka Night Country. The sign of a good show and a talked about one is when the streamer also plumps for a podcast as well.

And care has been taken from the jump by having an indigenous member of the Alaskan community serve as host. Alice Qannik Glenn is an activist and podcaster and does a good job moving each episode along and pulling information about both the process of creating this show as well as additional information about Alaska and its peoples. I kinda wish they would delve a bit deeper into the Easter Eggs and possibilities of what’s to come but it is a small quibble about a good companion piece to the show.

Obviously, the best choice would be something from Anchorage Brewing or Alaskan Brewing but we hear in SoCal do not see much of those brands. Ditto for anything from Iceland where the series was filmed. The next obvious choice would be to have a new cold IPA each episode to match the corpse-sicles in the show.

That leaves me thinking about the dark, since the show is set when the sun is not shining. Russia has made weird claims on Alaska recently plus Putin is a dick so we will steer away from a Russian Imperial stout and instead look for Baltic Porters.

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Uncommon

Despite the name and rumors swirling about an Anchor Brewing comeback, the California Common is not that common on beer menus and I do nor think that Russian River Brewing would launch one during the Pliny Season but here we are.

And its an interesting malt too, read on…

“Excited to announce our collaboration with craft maltster Valley Malt from Western Massachusetts! Established in 2010 by Andrea and Christian Stanley, Valley Malt specializes in malting grains for breweries and distilleries while sourcing from farms primarily around the Northeast. For our collaboration we used Golden Valley Pale malt in a California Common beer recipe which really showcases this malted barley.”