Firestone Walker (Propagator) has added to the Pivo legacy with the new Slowvo Pils a collaboration with Bierstadt Lagerhaus from Denver. The famed Slow Pour – Side Faucet Pilsner Palace.
Take It Slow
Hi-Def Brewing Announcement
The announcement is that there has been a name change….
Next time you visit the south DTLA brewery, do not get confused by the new moniker, Audio Graph Beer Co. According to their press release, the brewery is still under the same ownership with the same brewer so expect the same award winning beers.
New Address for the Party in 2024
Party Beer Co. is on the move and it is for typical reasons for an L.A. brewery. The landlord.
But do not fret. The beer will continue, brewed at Eagle Rock Brewery until they can find a new forever home. The beer will also be on tap at what will be a combo Eagle Rock – Party Beer taprrom.
It is a shame that West Adams is losing a spot for craft beer because the area is under beer-ed.
Featured Cider Review – 2 Towns – 2 N/A
I have had limited success with Non-Alcoholic beers but maybe my luck will turn with 2 Towns Ciderhouse and their N/A Cosmic Crisp and Pacific Pineapple ciders, sorry, Sidekicks…
sidekick cc – pours a super light yellow color. tiny vinegar tang upon opening the can. apples being pressed aroma. some sweetness. nice carbonation. has that Martinelli’s sparkle to it.
sidekick pp – big pineapple aroma on this one. much like the cc. a teeny vinegar note tucked into the folds of what is essentially pineapple juice. pp does not have the carbonation balance though. Could be amped up to create the illusion of a pineapple cider.
If blind tasting, I would not have pegged either as de-alcoholed cider. I would have said both were juice. With the Cosmic Crisp being the closer to hard cider to me.
Stats – Part 2 – The BSP Spreadsheet
2023 Statistics from my Beer Spreadsheet, yes, I am geeky like that.
This is all my beer drinking data. I haven’t posted as frequently about it as I have in the past because I post monthly about the best beers of each month.
But I do like to go through and cover some findings that jumped out to me….
- Average ounces per week is down to 143.84 a drop of over 11 ounces
- Average ABV was 7.21%
- Brewery with most Best of the Week Wins was Firestone Walker with 3, there were 5 breweries with 2 wins
- Top 5 Breweries by Beers tasted are Firestone Walker with 43, Sierra Nevada with 32, El Segundo with 26 and Smog City with 24
- I visited 16 new (to me) breweries with 5 being in the Los Angeles area
- I tasted 17 new (to me) brewery beer with 3 being in L.A.
- Tasted 620 beers overall
- Only 3 in the popular 19.2oz format, one of which – Juice Force IPA from New Belgium was certainly in my bottom 5 beers
- IPAs were 296, Barrel-Aged 45, Pilsner/Lager 78 and Sour 14 (at least IPAs were under half)
- 520 of the beers were California brewed, 44 from my home state of Oregon, 38 from the other 48 states and 18 Foreign brewed.
Stats – Part 1 – Untappd
With each year my use of the Untappd app skews more to researching beers and breweries than it is on checking in beers. But there is still enough data to see a couple points of interest in what I drank last year. And without further ado…..
More interesting was this drop in style variety….
Maybe next year, I will need focus on checking in to the non-IPA styles or, alternatively not check into IPAs as much.
At Least on the Ballot in Colorado
December saw the first distribution of presidential beer as Russian River’s Pliny for President 2024. “This new recipe is a triple dry-hopped IPA loaded with notes of citrus, stone fruit, tropical, pine and resin.”
Available in both draft AND bottles for the first time!
Lager Wear
Who among us has not bought themselves a late Christmas gift after looking at our haul from Santa and found it a bit wanting?
An Enegren Lager sweatshirt, would be perfect for that small window of kinda but not really cold SoCal January when you want to sip your lager outside and enjoy the slightly crisp weather.
Another Capistrano Christmas – Cocktails
I love me a hotel bar. Something about the charging of a drink to your room gives me a charge. And the Inn at the Mission in San Juan Capistrano has a really nice one. This year there was even nightly free hot cocoa with marshmallows.
This year my goal was to splurge on a smoked cocktail….
I will circle back to it at the end but first I had to try their signature Mediterranean Old Fashioned with Old Forester bourbon and a sprig of burnt rosemary for a touch extra. I could order these by the case. That initial whiff of flame and herbs is great.
I also partook of two selections from their Heritage Classics section of the cocktail menu and I will start with what could be a new favorite drink for me, The Aviation (not the Deadpool gin) with a combination of gin, maraschino liquor and creme de violette. Soft and floral and each flavor component got a turn but none wore out their welcome. I sipped from coupe next to a Christmas tree while watching guests check in.
The other classic was my first ever Brooklyn which is rye whiskey, maraschino liquor and dry vermouth. It was just fine but far too close to a Manhattan in my limited cocktail experience book.
As promised, the smoke. I went the Gin route. The presentation was great. Smoke piped into an empty tequila bottle, then the drink was mixed separately and then added into the smoke. Wait for the two to meld, then poured. Mine tasted of, you guessed it, smoke. Nothing but smoke. I smelled smoke all night, it was on my pillow in the morning. Yikes. The rye drink was better but still the balance was tilted to the smoke.
Despite that, I was glad to have tried it because now I know a bit more about my tastes and what will be more successful choices in the future.
The 2024 BSP Disclaimer
Each and every year, I start the blogging calendar with a disclaimer. As a beer blogger, I feel it is important to be clear about my rules and morals.
Every beer, brewery, event, restaurant reviewed on this site whether paid for or complimentary will get the same treatment when reviewed. If I don’t like the beer, it will be described as a beer that I did not like, even if it was handed to me by the brewer and I like the brewer.
If I forget, (which probably will happen, because it has before) to mention how I got a beer or a pass to an event, then go back and read the previous paragraph.
I clearly want the Los Angeles local beer scene to continue to flourish and I want craft beer in general to do so as well. So, my reviews will also take that into consideration. Some points in 2024 will require cheerleading and others require harsh sentences. I am not subtle in any way, so I am sure you will figure it out quickly.
I will be as impartial and truthful as I can be while also staying as opinionated as usual.