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A Podcast & A Beer – A Crispr Bite

Cultural anthropologist Dr. Lauren Crossland-Marr hosts the five-episode spanning podcast A CRISPR Bite. It takes a look at gene editing with a critical eye but also with hope too.

I like me a limited podcast series where a topic can be presented and a deeper dive can be made and this cleverly titled food podcast does just that as it clears up the difference between GMOs and gene editing as well as discussing the long term implications of changing, say, tomatoes to have more of a certain vitamin. The episode about creating cows with no horns was particularly thought provoking.

Since this topic is in the agricultural weeds, I have three drinking suggestions for you. First is cider, second is mead and then third, a little harder to find, a single malt or hop (SMASH) beer. Anything that has an easy link to nature.

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Apple, Cherry and Time

I don’t usually go for flavored ciders, I tilt towards just the apple please. But I am intrigued by Benny Boy’s Madame Ruby’s a bourbon barrel-aged cherry cider.

Here is the short description from the brewery / cidery, “10 months in the making, she’s tart, she’s fruity, and slightly boozy.”

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Poker Face

I admit that I do not have a poker face. If I did have one, it has since evaporated. Others have mastered subtlety and can eve pretend that they like that candle you bought them for their birthday even though they have not lit a candle in decades.

That is all preamble to this post about instant reactions to beer. Read it HERE.

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Chalice

Not too many beers are named after the glass you pour them into, but Super Bolleke (the bowl-shaped chalice in which beer is served) a collaboration from Ommegang with Brewery De Koninck from Antwerp, Belgium is.

The beer will be a Belgian-style amber ale (an imperial version of the classic Bolleke) that hits 7.8%-ABV.

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Sip & Stroll

The Los Angeles Zoo is presenting their first Sip & Stroll at the Zoo. on April 13th. The brewery list isn’t large but it does have a good sampling of local favorites plus some distillery action too and as I have said previously, it is a great location to drink at.

Here is the basic info: “It’s a playful parade of specialty cocktails, craft brews, and mocktails and other nonalcoholic delights, all paired with live beats, pop-up animal keeper talks, food trucks, and more! This celebration of beverages, melodies, and wild encounters will be an event to remember.”

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First and Hazy

Usually for a collaboration, one brewery takes the lead with the label design and canning.  But sometimes, two beers come out of a collaboration.

Smog City and Ogopogo got together and now there are two IPAs out for craft beer fans to try…

  1. First Stride “a magical concoction bursting with enchanting flavors of ripe strawberries, juicy mangoes, and tangy grapefruits so incredible you’ll hardly believe it’s a West Coast IPA until that nice dank undertone hits you.”
  2. Hedorah Hazy IPA another mythical monster monikered beer from the San Gabriel brewery.
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Draught Devil

The last few years have brought to light women in brewing (finally and belatedly), the latest being The Devil’s in the Draught Lines: 1000 Years of Women in Britain’s Beer History by Dr Christina Wade.

It is from the publishing arm of CAMRA and is described as a “new groundbreaking book that delves into the history of women in brewing, explaining the real reasons why women brewers became marginalised, while also debunking some tired old myths along the way.”

Since I am a beer history fan, you know I will be ordering this one.

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Distilled Into a Podcast

If you are past the enthusiast phase and want to know more technical info when it comes to distilling, there is a new podcast for you, Craft Spirits & Distilling Podcast, with hosts Sydney Jones of FEW Spirits and Molly Troupe of Freeland Spirits.

I haven’t had a FEW spirit but I really liked the gins from Freeland and their bottles are way cool so I will certainly check this podcast out. Find it from your podcast app of choice.

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Review – K-Town Lager from Common Space

Los Angeles has been on a bagel kick over the last couple years and my wife has had me driving from Highland Park to Culver City and points beyond for taste tests.

On a recent Saturday, I was on the road to Calic Bagel for another round when I noticed that there was a featured beer named K-Town Lager. I scanned and saw a few Common Space Brewery beers and deducted that they had made this beer for this bagelry. So, does this lager pair well an everything bagel?

Pours a bubbly and fairly dark yellow color. Got a nice zip to it. A burst of floral hop notes from the German Magnum hops. Followed by a full but not slick mouthfeel with a good corn taste to it without being sweet at all. One of those where the glass is empty before you know it beers.

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In the Tap Lines for April 2024

Spring sprang a day early this year and SoCal has been getting actual weather with slight variations instead of 80 degrees and dry as hell, so time to celebrate the season and bottom left corner of the country.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from San Diego

~ special featured reviews of Spring beers

~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events

~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark

~ A Book & A Beer reads The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzales James

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to A Crispr Bite

~ Sports & A Beer returns with

~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month

~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.