Another anniversary alert, this time for Common Space Brewery. 5th anniversary time.
A Common Anniversary
Boom8
Boomtown Brewery will be celebrating their 8th annivesary and will be bringing out some rare beers. Might want to head to the Arts District to check it out.
Five and Fourteen Tomorrow
14 Cannons Brewery will celebrate the number 5 tomorrow….
…there will be four new beers for the special occasion so you will have to make a decision as to which to try first.
Long Beach Lagers
Long Beach Beer Lab is celebrating both their 5th Year Anniversary and ultimate Oktober Lager Festival that will conclude on October 23rd but before then are some festive beers to try.
August
– Oktoberfest Marzen
– West Coast Lager with Casa Agria
September
– Oktoberfriends Festbier Vol. 1 The Long Beach Beer Lab version
– Oktoberfriends Festbier Vol. 2 The HopSaint version
– Crispy Pair of Levi’s Rice and Beans Pils with Untitled Art
Review – 26th Anniversary Imperial IPA from Stone Brewing
Stone released their first anniversary beer under Sapporo and surprise, it is an Imperial IPA.
This triple dry hopped imperial IPA pours a surprising dark orange color. It is a shade under 10% ABV so it is quite a big beer with a very creamy malty mouthfeel to it. The hops coat the mouth with each sip. To start I get berry notes but that moves to a more lemon lime flavor as it warms up. Stone has a few hop tricks for what some might think is just another big IPA.
818 x 3
Throwing some numbers at you. The event calendar for 8one8 Brewing which is headlined, in my mind, the Anniversary. Busy times in the Valley starting tomorrow!
(818) DAY: 8-18-22
7 Year Anniversary Party: 8-20-22
(818) Oktoberfest: 9-17-22 – 9-18-22
King Postponed
Thanks to the stupid unvaccinated we are still not out of the woods, so it is no surprise that this happened…
But fear not because of these two bits of news from King Harbor Brewing…
“First, while the anniversary party may be postponed, our special anniversary beers are not. We’re so stoked to share the brews we’ve been cooking up behind the scenes with some of our friends/collaborators. Keep an eye out for those special releases in the weeks to come!
And secondly, we’ll be offering some “Almost Anniversary” packages that’ll include KHBC merch and a 4-pack of exclusive beers. More details to come, but don’t sleep on these packages cos they’re sure to go quick!”
AleSmith-aversary
For many months we have seen anniversaries go by without any celebration due to the pandemic, now we are starting to see more pop up which brings us to AleSmith which is on year 26. Follow their social media to see details on their plans as they arrive.
19 vs 24
Each year, I buy the latest Firestone Walker Anniversary Blend and also bring out the oldest one that I have. Then I review them. Here is old vs new for 2020.
24 – big tan head quickly bubbles away to practically nothing but super dark brown. Sugar and fondue on the nose. Getting rum and sugar flavor wise. No burn on this at all. Very smooth but there is a bit of cola bubble too. Tiramisu / custard notes send this into dessert territory.
19 – dark brown with bubbles. Caramel in the aroma and the first big hit of flavor. Still an alcohol burn here which makes it a bit prickly. There is a tiny bit of spirit barrel flavor coming through as well. Still well carbonated after five years. My little cap popped off and flew across the room.
Aftermath – Part 8
Grand RE-openings. There are going to be quite a few if people in Texas and Wisconsin are any indication when given any sort of quasi-approval to open the doors again. Previously, I talked about the simple ebb and flow problems that will arise when a taproom reopens but what about bigger parties?
There are breweries that were just about to open, breweries who will be ready this summer and a backlog inventory of missed anniversary parties in the second half of the year.
How do you creatively balance the celebration aspect with the safety aspect? On Mother’s Day not only were people viral video complaining about the wait times at Red Lobster but they were going to church, sick. Less than a week later 200 people were sick. From 1, one person.
How do you get beer fans to your brewery and then keep them safe and in a fun mood? I do not have the answers. I have been visiting breweries to pick-up only with a mask on but I understand if people are not comfortable with gatherings.
I would say that providing branded masks would be a good start. Having a hosted video of parties would be good as well with options for VIPs to get beer and special video. Sending beer to EMTs or hospitals would be good. Maybe doing a drop off for the hardworking grocery store workers. Creativity will need to come to the fore.