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Angel City Brewery is back with a second conversation, this time gathering together beer industry women to talk about their beer journeys, should be an interesting discussion, so grab a beer (perhaps a Pink Boots Collab brew) and listen. March 28th is the date of you want to catch it live or follow Angel City on YouTube to stream at your convenience.
There are certain fruits that, to me, can get too sugary and too fake-y real quick. One is strawberry, another is pineapple. But Angel City did well by the former with a Gose and now is tackling the latter with a Saison. Review to follow because this might be a tricky one to combine.
Breweries are not stagnant in beers so the beers label image won’t stand still either. Angel City Brewery has entered the re-branding game for their IPA, DIPA, Pilsner and (my favorite, Sunbather sour).
And even though they have developed the can design with Shepard Fairey’s creative agency, SNO, Studio Number One. The results don’t seem edgy or have flair to them at all. Primary colors and a logo. Nothing cutting edge like Brouwerij West or classy like Cellador and certainly nothing that says DTLA or the art around the brewery like the previous designs. Heck, a little IP infringement might even have been in order.
I returned home from Paso Robles in time to find the latest Sunbather, # 3 on my step.
Here is my review of this new-ish Angel City kettle sour…
# 3 is briefly tart, then the hops stride in and then quickly the light malt makes an entrance. This series has been good at each turn. The dark yellow hues beer shifts flavors fast from lemon to wheat. Glad it is a 16oz can because this goes quick. I don’t get tropical and floral but I really like the hoppy aroma and lemon.
Even when L.A. gets cold weather, it isn’t nearly as cold as other parts of the country. But that should not stop you from trying a wide variety of beers
~ e-visits to three breweries from the South.
~ special featured reviews of Special Warehouse Collection beers from Angel City
~ Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark
~ A Book & A Beer reads You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.
Here are two events to get your March started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) March 2nd – Dope & Dank & El Segundo IPA Release
2) March 17th – Enegren Irish Fest
With one canned beer under their belt, Angel City is moving on to their second. And it has to be drunk fresh! And no, it is not an IPA.
It is….
…that’s right. You can take a 16oz can of Avocado Ale to your next summer BBQ, or to the beach or hiking. Basically anyplace you can take guacamole.
Angel City will be releasing a new beer and a new beer to cans as part of their week long LABW9 celebration but they will also have the Vagabond Cheese people in for an event as well. Oh, and the DTLA United shuttle will have a special night too.
June 19th: Ale Academy – Beer and Cheese – Angel City Brewery and Vagabond Cheese present a special addition of Ale Academy with a guided beer and cheese pairing. 7-8pm. Tickets HERE
June 20th: Purple Grain Launch Party – Sip the craft beer creation that won Angel City’s 2016 “What Would You Brew” competition alongside the creator, as well as Angel City Brewery’s Head Brewer, Layton Cutler. 6-8pm. Free.
June 23rd: Sunbather Can Launch – Angel City Brewery’s Sunbather Ale has quickly become a fan favorite, and for a limited time during LA Beer Week, Angel City Brewery will be selling this tart, juicy beer in cans in the Public House Retail Shop. Join us in celebrating this new can release with music by our own brewer DJ Tyler & friends, poster giveaways featuring Sunbather-inspired art and guided brewhouse tours for a behind the scenes peek at how the beer was brewed. 4-6pm. Free.
Earlier this year, Trader Joe’s had a 50th Anniversary beer with Green Flash called Fearless Fifty that was quite unique and tasty. Different because it didn’t have the private label look that most of their contracted beers have.
Now they are back with another saison that is, again, branded with the brewery name instead. This time they have gone to Angel City for lemons and jasmine….
Despite Monday being a beer off-day for me, I headed down to Angel City to hear what some of the DTLA breweries had to say about the area and the growth of LA beer as well as their fledgling DTLA Brewers United group.
I took notes and when I got home, a trend emerged. They were mostly about Mumford Brewing. Not a smack at all against the others on the panel but what was piquing my interest were three things from the Skidrokyo brewery…
1. Cloudy IPA is coming this weekend. Will our West-Coast San Diego culture join this trend?
2. Mumford is looking into canning and getting some core beers onto shelves
3. June 12th is the date for the 1st Mumford anniversary. They will have a Russian Imperial Stout in three different variants.
Other tidbits, Indie Brewing is looking at end of year for their tap room to be open. Arts District Brewing is looking at creating a “Study Room” for the more beer obsessed and geeky. Plus this fall, their just might be a DTLA only brewfest.
It sounded crazy, at first, when I heard Jon Carpenter of Angel City (& Alchemy & Science) talk of a Salted Caramel Gose. Now that American brewers have gotten their hands on the style the traditional elements of a gose, with its mixture of salty-sour ale + coriander are almost forgotten.
But Salted caramel does hold some similarities so this latest version that the brewery says is “balancing infusions of caramel and a touch of vanilla” could work. This unique beer is made with wheat and EuroPils and caramel malts, Hallertauer hops, vanilla, sea salt, caramel and lactose, and has 10 IBUs and an ABV of 4.3%.”
It is the lactose that could be the key to this beer.
If it imparts enough cream notes to work with the coriander and salt but not too much as to fight the tartness, this crazy beer just might work.