A little change up for the April suggestions. It’s an L.A. IPA edition. And all three are fairly recent to bottles and can.
Just click the link to get a handy shopping list!
Lost Abbey on Vimeo
Again, I am late to the game. Only took me 8 vodcasts to finally catch on with what Lost Abbey is up to. But now I know and hopefully you do to that if you head over to Vimeo you can find a plethora of craft beer videos like the one below…..
Vodcast #8 The Lost Abbey Propaganda from The Lost Abbey on Vimeo.
Get worried.
I am already behind on Heretic beers. Haven’t had Shallow Grave yet and now this beer….“This golden blond Belgian-style ale is a symphony of bold and delicate wrapped into one. We took our 9.8% Belgian-style golden ale and aged it in Grgich Hill Estate Chardonnay barrels. It has a gentle warming with a light alcohol sweetness and a tantalizing fruity character full of apples, pears, and oranges. The barrel aging give it a great Chardonnay character and a dry finish.”
Plus Miscreant and Torment are coming soon too!
Tony’s is 2
So many L.A. craft beer locales are turning two! I think it is a great age and a great sign that the beer culture is taking hold of the City of Angels. And here is all the info for next week’s party.
“To celebrate their 2nd anniversary, beloved Burbank watering hole Tony’s Darts Away will be more than doubling their size for the day by adding an extended outdoor deck and bar and hosting an all-day beer festival on Saturday, April 21st from 11am to close.
While they won’t be serving their regular brunch menu in the morning, the kitchen will be cranking out a selection of menu favorites from Chef Randal St. Clair all day long, including their Jailhouse tacos (vegan or non-vegan chili ladled over Fritos, jalapenos, salsa, Daiya or Tillamook cheddar, sour cream optional) and popular vegan and non vegan sausages.
Of course, a celebration of Tony’s Darts Away would be nothing without beer – and beer champion Paige Reilly will be tapping some extremely rare specialty brews throughout the day, including Cuvee de Tomme, Supplication, Sucaba, 4 Calling Birds and MUCH more.”
Admission is $30 (includes 5 generous taster pours and a commemorative glass)
Note: additional tasters can be purchased on site (5 for $20)
A limited number of presale tickets are available for purchase at Tony’s Darts Away.
Top Hops
NYC is a great place for the beer curious and another spot that I have heard about is called Top Hops.
They call themselves “merchants and advocates of great beer.” And with over 700 bottles and 20 taps, it is no idle boast for this hop spot near the Williamsburg Bridge. With the likes of Clown Shoes, Greenport, Left Hand, Troegs and Captain Lawrence available, it looks like a place you can while away many an hour.
Link N Hops
Link N Hops is the latest addition to the L.A.Craft Beer Scene.
It is a pretty and welcoming space next door to 55 Degree Wine (and beer) with lots of warming wood and a tremendous shiny wood bar.
The tap list during the soft opening had some local options in Eagle Rock Populist and Golden Road Point the Way as well as the Palate Wrecker from Green Flash. Oh and some nice Non-IPA options as well.
The tap lines had a beautiful photo-esque mural of an old L.A. bridge on the wall above them that matched silver for silver. And to complete the local touch the main communal table had the street names of the neighborhood stenciled on top.
And if you are a fan of the sausage and beer combo. Now you have another spot with quality sausage of both the vege and full meat versions.
DIO NIC ESS X
If you haven’t been to a DioNicEss event before, the number 10 might be a good place to start. And you might want to lock down your tickets now because of who they are pairing with this time around….
“The tenth installment of the famed “DioNicEss” food & drink pairing series is coming to Long Beach’s celebrated Beachwood BBQ & Brewing on June 10. To commemorate this decadent decalogy, the theme of this event has been dubbed “DioNicEss X: Coming of Age,” a play on the fact that every course, as well as the rare beers artfully paired with them, will have undergone some sort of careful aging. Tickets to the 5pm dinner are now available for purchase, but they won’t last long. Admission is $80 per person, all-inclusive, with proceeds benefitting the Real Medicine Foundation. On deck for the evening:
5 aged foods paired with 5 aged beers — This menu is NOT for the squeamish. “We’re dealing with multiple types of preservation here,” says Executive Chef Gabe Gordon. “Pickling, salt curing, air-drying, fermenting, alkaline curing, smoking, barrel-aging, canning… you name it, we’re doing it. And some of these flavors and textures are going to be way the hell out there; I just want to be on record as having warned people about that ahead of time.”
Brewmaster Julian Shrago is creating a special beer called “System Of A Stout” specifically for this event. This limited, draft-only release is an imperial stout brewed with coffee beans (custom-roasted by Portola Coffee Lab to Julian’s specifications!), green cardamom pods, and blackstrap molasses, evoking the flavors of traditional Armenian coffee. In keeping with the event theme, the finished brew will then be aged on oak chips that have been soaked in 25-year-old Armenian brandy, adding even more layers of complexity.
In the spirit of all DioNicEss events, no detail is overlooked, thanks to a dynamic team working hard to craft an exquisite dining experience unlike any other:
Gev Kazanchyan, Public Health Professor & Food Writer
Gabe Gordon, Executive Chef, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing
Julian Shrago, Brewmaster, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing
Dave Watrous, “The Gueuzehound”, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing
Randy Clemens, cookbook author & BJCP Recognized Beer Judge
Cambria Griffith, Social Superstar, Golden Road Brewing
Guests will also be treated to a few unexpected surprises during the evening, including a small parting gift to take home and enjoy. Grand poobah Gev Kazanchyan explains this special touch: “In every one of the 10 DioNicEss events that I’ve organized, I’ve followed one simple principle: always over-deliver. There’s nothing quite like getting more than you paid for!”
More details surrounding this glorious evening and teasers for the menu will be posted to the DioNicEss Facebook page and @DioNicEss Twitter account as the event draws nearer. Additional kegs of System Of A Stout will be sent to a very small number of better beer bars in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego Counties, each of which has agreed to donate $2 per pint poured to the Real Medicine Foundation. Once the final list of participating locations is finalized, it will be announced via the aforementioned social media channels.”
Monkish Brewing
On the last day of March, I visited the newly opened L.A. brewery by the name of Monkish that has opened in Torrance. (And I squeezed in a visit to Strand and their new tasting room too)
These photos are the teaser for the main article on Monkish that will arrive tomorrow over on FoodGPS.
Henry Nguyen with a flight of Monkish Belgian ales. Oblate, Crux and Rosa’s Hips.
The brewing operations and a saint too!
April Video Review – Kona Longboard Lager
Our first review of the themeless April beer reviews is Longboard Island lager from Kona Brewing Company.
What the brewery says, “Longboard Island Lager is a smooth refreshing lager fermented and aged for five weeks at cold temperatures to yield its exceptionally smooth flavor. A delicate, slightly spicy hop aroma complements the malty body of this beer.”
Inland Empire # 1 – Packing House
Recently the L.A Times ran an article about the expanding brewery scene east of me in the Inland Empire of California. I took that as my cue and for April, I will focus in on three breweries from that article. First up is the Packing House. You will recognize their origin story. Home brewer gets rave reviews of his beer. Encouraged to open a business. Finds partners and voila! Off and running.
Their year round annuals include…..
Heritage Citrus Pale Ale,Riley’s Irish Red, Sunburst Golden Ale, Blue Eyed Loon Blueberry Wheat, Cream Stout and Packinghouse IPA
Their seasonals include…..
Holiday Ale, Liberty Belgian, Wheeter Melon, Boysenberry Coffee Stout and ACB (Accidental Chick Beer)