Rain doesn’t visit L.A. all that often but it came out on the day of the first canned release from Highland Park Brewery. HPB crew and brewmaster Bob Kunz were selling their beer in the cold and drizzle at the Hermosillo.
I got there three hours into the sale and was glad that they had four packs of there Hello LA IPA left. (They would all be snatched up by the end of the night, so sayeth social media.)
And for a first effort on can design the label is way cool. If these had been on a shelf, you could not have missed it. The white background wrap around is bright and cheerful and not only locally brewed but locally designed as well.
The beer itself is light and fruit forward and dare I say a sessionable IPA. The Mosaic and Citra hops really work well together and also pack a late punch of bitterness that adds a layer to the beer. A great combo of the lighter side of IPA (which I gravitate towards) but with a nice kick.
Bob has made one of my favorite pilsners, he won the recent LA IPA Festival and he does very inventive sours and now he does canned beers that are perfect for sending to other parts of the country to show off L.A. beer.