Tag: Anaheim

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1st Visit – Radiant Beer

I made a trek down to Radiant Beer Co. on a sunny day in early May to get a feel as to their range of beers. I have has a few Radiant cans up to this point but I wanted to sample a hazy IPA made with Phantasm! powder which is a grape product akin to hop powder.

Before that, I started with the Light and the Crispy. Blank Slate witbier and Sun Spangles amber. The wit has chamomile but it was a little too faint for me. The amber was solid which is a good indicator that attention was paid.

Then it was on to the hoppy portion of the taster tray. Hazy pale, Secondary Motion was a strong contender for best beer. Spoiler, it kept the #1 spot Super soft with a citrus smoothie taste to it. Then it was on to the Sounds Phantastic! which was another well done hazy. Both the pale and the IPA have the haze but didn’t have that ugly brown unfiltered cider look. They were colorful yellow in keeping with the brewery name . Lastly was the On Chill IPA (yes, i stayed away from the pastry stouts on purpose), it was my least favorite of the group. The combo of hops used ended up being a muddle to me

The location is right up next to a railroad track on busy Lincoln Ave. so when safe, I would recommend staying indoors which is a lovely space. I like the bright colors too. Visually makes one happy. And the staff was super friendly and helpful which I appreciated.

Certainly add this to any Anaheim brewery adventure.

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Also Bright

Looks like some former Bru-ers are joining forces to form a new Orange County brewery in the former Towne Park Brewery space.

Here is the news straight from the press release: “Running the Radiant Beer Co. daily operations are Managing Partner Jonas Nemura, Director of Brewing Andrew Bell, and Director of Marketing Cambria Griffith. It’s not the first time these team members have worked together to bring an award-winning beer brand to life: having launched brands and driven growth together while working at Placentia’s The Bruery, they are dedicated to creating high quality products and experiences worthy of following. With this new project, they seek to delight, enlighten, and connect a community of lovers of the incredible.”

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Brewheim

I have fallen way behind in Ventura and San Diego county beers as well as Orange County where the relatively new Brewheim has landed in the 2nd half of 2018. It looks like I will need to plan an excursion south.

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Recap – Firkfest 2018

The 2018 Caskaway Tiki Beer Fest aka Firkfest is in the books.

Here is my beer and photo recap from Anaheim….

I went into the fest with the express purpose of hitting the Orange County breweries that I have not tasted from. So 3 Punk Kids, Towne Park, Stereo Brewing, Lost Winds and Asylum were all tasted. I also snuck in a new beer from Firestone Walker and Los Angeles Ale Works as well.

But the best drinks on the day were beer cocktails. There was a dedicated Orange Count cocktail tent and I had a rum and coke with beer called Midnight Oil as well as a coffee and rum cocktail, a style Coffee Colada with Unsung beer added. Lastly, Beachwood Brewing had a beer cocktail of their own called the Dark & Squally that was really good too. I would have happily camped out to try all of the hourly releases

As to be “expected” now, the location is great, the rain stopped for the day as well. It was easy to get whichever beer was wanted. And the brewery list was well curated. But I seemed to pick beers that were more 2oz sippers and less “go back for more” beers. Firestone Walker’s Corn ‘n’ Oil tasted way too young. Others were fine but even ones that I liked more, had either an ingredient or balance that could have been improved.

I think the Tiki can be stored away and a return to creative casks (maybe IPA only)or a further backtracking to straight up English styles might be in order. But keep the cocktails!

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Tiki-Firk


I have brought it up already, but make sure you get your tickets to the 2018 edition of Firkfest (second year with the Tiki theme).

Need one more reason to come? The OC Bartenders Cabinet will be there making Tiki cocktails.

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1st Visit – Green Cheek Beer Co.

Due to a football game in the City of Orange, I had a great excuse to visit Green Cheek Beer for the 1st time. And I had to make some decisions.

I went for a taster tray to taste the beers I hadn’t seen in Glendale. A wide variety ranging from lager to hops to stout.

Of the group, the Bier lager was my favorite, I also tried the Berried in Berlin! but it was too Sangria for me. All berry and orange peel with not much beer oomph to add to it.

The location is not much changed from the Valiant space except for the Drink While Smiling wall which I found to be way cool design and a great way to chill a crowd despite the heat inside. Nothing quite grabbed me though. Maybe my expectations for Evan’s beers were too high but the place was packed and as I looked around no one seemed unhappy.

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Green Cheek Beer

Looks like the dust did not have a chance to settle on the (now) old Valiant Brewing facility on Batavia in Anaheim as Evan Price and Brian Rauso, both formerly of Noble Ale Works have taken over the equipment for their coming sooner than you think new venture, Green Cheek Beer Company.

There is no slate of beers announced yet, but there is a collaboration beer with Cellarmaker in the wings and though no logo or web presence of yet but Green Cheek is a reference to parrots found in Anaheim…

…so expect some bird motif.

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1st Visit – Unsung Brewery

Trips to Orange County breweries are rare these days. Hard to pass by everything in L.A., even though I know I should.

Thanks to Firkfest, I was close enough to Unsung Brewing to make a quick visit to their taproom.

…and a very cool space it is. It will eventually be shared with a winery and a distillery so that all three beverage fans can mingle together by the old truck in what used to a transmission shop, or they can grab a seat in….

Inside is a clean, white look with giant green murals that showcase the comic book theme that you see in the decor around the fairly large space.

There was a wide range of beers on tap from hoppy to sour from their R&D beers and their standards. I had tasted both the pineapple sour(with mangoes at Firkfest and without at the taproom) as well as a chocolate, coffee and coconut porter that was nicely balanced without the coconut going too crazy. For a full glass, I went with the Anthia IPA. It was fine. IPA is such a crowded category that unless you fall on either side of the spectrum I don’t get too jazzed but that doesn’t mean that the beer might not sing to another person. I have also had the Naturia DIPA and found that to be a touch too harsh when it could be more soft or floral or citrusy.

I will come back though because I like the vibe and the outdoor space, and I have more beers to sample.