Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
“And so… It’s time for Naja’s Place to kick off our…
3rd Annual IPA Festival on Thursday, April 21st, 2011 for one week.
To mark our 30th Anniversary, this year we will feature somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 of the baddest, rarest, and resinous IPAs, DIPAs, and IIPAs on the West Coast (and a few beyond).”
What happens when you get three of the leading lights of Craft Beer Writing and let them create a beer with the BrewDog?
“The result is a 7.5% ‘Imperious Pilsner’. Zak wrote some label copy that goes on about killing your ideals and worshipping your heroes and stuff, which is really good and adorns the bottle label. But basically it’s doing to lager what new wave brewers such as Brew Dog have done to pale ales, porters and stouts. (I’m not saying we’re the first – just that that’s what we did.) It features an insane amount of Saaz hops, and was lagered for a full six weeks before being dry-hopped with yet more Saaz.”
Kudos to Zak Avery, Mark Dredge and Pete Brown!
The Deschutes Base Camp rolled into Los Angeles last night with one of it’s first stops being the Verdugo.
And I mean rolled in. Woody the giant beer dispensing barrel (o.k. a trailer) was on the patio and for $5.00 you got a beer AND a glass.
And a strong Deschutes line-up was inside the bar as well. Including Abyss, Jubel 2010 and the mysterious Black Butte XXII.
I started with Red Chair the NW Pale Ale. Because I had to get a beer from the barrel.
Then because I thought it would run out. I grabbed a goblet of the XXII.
In the end, I had the Cascade ale as well and even though I am usually not a big stout/porter fan, the BB XXII was the clear favorite for me as well as my drinking buddy Richard who also sample Abyss and Jubel 2010. Lots of chocolate notes in the XXII. Smooth but not viscous. An enjoyable late night sipper.
Last Saturday, I got to spend a lovely spring LA day drinking beer. Great craft beer at the ColLAboration pop-up Beer Garden. I partook of Stone Vanilla Bean, Bear Republic Double Rocket. Red Poppy from Lost Abbey but my surprise favorite was the habanero Sculpin from Ballast Point. So balanced that I imagine the technical skill it took to pull that trick off. I probably can’t do a pint of it because of my low scovill tolerance but the few sips I had were great. 2nd place went to Brouwerij West’s Blonde. Perfect on a summer day. I love both of their beers.
More analysis to come on FoodGPS on Thursday morning.
Woody and the Deschutes crew will be rolling into LA with a few stops including….
Tuesday, April 12th
Beer Tasting at Verdugo Bar (5-9pm)
“Our giant wooden barrel, affectionately known as Woody, and brewer Veronica Vega will be on site for this special Jubel 2010 tasting.”
Wednesday, April 13th
Specialty Beer Tasting at Surly Goat (5-9pm)
“Our giant wooden barrel, affectionately known as Woody, and brewer Veronica Vega will be on site for this special Jubel 2010 & Lost Barrels of Mirror Mirror tasting.”
This month I review two beers from Idaho’s Grand Teton Brewery.
First up is a black IPA called Trout Hop…..
Our first stop in the state of Washington is Foggy Noggin. They are located in Bothell. You will have to really Mapquest it to see where that is. They brew English style beers like the two below that struck me….
Christmas Duck – Porter
“A mouthful of sweetened roasty flavors that linger long as a roasty dryness. Satisfying in every respect and a pint of the holiday spirit each time. Everyone deserves to celebrate Christmas year-round. Jingle Beers! Jingle Beers!”
Oski Wow-Wow – Scotch Ale
“Brewed in the olde Scottish traditional manner, Oski Wow-Wow is made with patience and love for the founders of this delicious beer style. The first 10% of the mash runnings are caramelized in the kettle, then liquified and added to the rest of the boil. Toffee and caramel flavors you have never tasted before are the result. Best enjoyed in Strawberry Canyon on a nice fall afternoon, you are sure to hear those enjoying the bounty of this special seasonal. One taste and you will shout – “Oski Wow-Wow!”
One more word, I think their logo is really cool. Simple but evocative.
This McMenamin classic raspberry brew turns 25 this year and I thought I would offer up some thoughts about it.
But first, this is what McMenamin’s has to say about it: “One of our most popular standards, we still make Ruby with the same aims we had when brewing the first batch back in March 1986: To create an ale light, crisp and refreshingly fruity. Great Western Premium 2-row and 42 pounds of Oregon-grown and processed raspberry puree is used to craft every colorful every batch. Simple but delicious.”
Ruby Ale along with Weizenberry from Thomas Kemper were my gateway to beer geekery. Some may scoff at fruit beers unless they are aged or sour nowadays but whenever I am in Portland I usually have some Ruby. It’s a beautiful pink color and the taste is crisp and sweet at the same time. It is also my sis-in-law’s favorite so it is a special beer to me.
Do you need an excuse to go to San Diego? Well, here’s one…..
For those unfamiliar with the event, here is the information…
“We are very excited to announce that this year’s San Diego County Fair will be hosting the San Diego International Beer Festival for the fifth year in a row. The festival will be held on Friday, June 24 through Sunday, June 26. The San Diego International Beer Festival has become one of the largest in the country and continues to grow in popularity each year. The festival hosts more than 150 breweries and as many as 350 beers and counting from all around the world.”
For more information and to see past Best of Show winners, click HERE
