In one week, Beer Belly will celebrate another year of One Night Stands and serving great beer in Koreatown.
I will update this post with a beer list when it becomes available but you can imagine that it will be filled with interesting choices. I guarantee you will have a hard time picking just one beer or just two.
Smog-iversary
May 20th Smog City will celebrate another year of serving up beers (now in 2 locations!).
Here are the details:
“Saturday, May 20th, we will be hosting our annual VIP session from 11-1pm and general entry from 1-10pm. Our awesome team brewed a special anniversary beer for this very special occasion. This year it’s a Tart Saison with Tangerine! Keep an eye out, our VIP session is ticketed and limited to 200 attendees and this year we have a couple tricks up our collective brewer’s sleeves. Tickets on sale at noon on April 19th...link to come, join our newsletter (through our website) for special release info!”
Get it? Good.
Up From the Cellar – Firestone XV Anniversary
To close out 2016, I pulled out my one and only bottle of the 15th Anniversary blend from Firestone Walker from way back in 2011. The barrel-aged blend pours out a hazy NE brown coca-cola color. This doesn’t taste old at all. Big bourbon oak mixed with rum notes. There is a bit of spice here too. Aroma is vanilla and bourbon. There is a little slickness on the tongue but a skosh bit of carbonation counteracts it. Other notes that I am picking out are coconut and leather. There is still alcohol burn here too. But hot chocolate defines this beer for me.
This edition is made up of the following:
Helldorado – Blonde Barley Wine (18% of Blend)
Sticky Monkey – English Barley Wine (17% of Blend)
Bravo – Imperial Brown Ale (17% of Blend)
Double Double Barrel Ale – Double Strength English Pale Ale (13% of Blend)
Good Foot – American Barley Wine (11% of Blend)
Velvet Merkin – Traditional Oatmeal Stout (10% of Blend)
Parabola – Russian Imperial Oatmeal Stout (9% of Blend)
Double Jack – Double India Pale Ale (5% of Blend)
Crazy 8’s
Instead of one big blowout bash that winds through the Blue Palms and Fonda Theater, this year on 8 8 16, (Hey, that adds up!) the storied Hollywood craft beer haven will “be tapping 8 specialty kegs every day for 8 days.”
Follow their website and social media to see which mystery keg appears and plan accordingly.
May 21st will be Smog-gy
Here is the early announcement for the Smog City anniversary….
“Smog City is about to get another year older…and a tiny bit wiser? 🙂 We look forward to this party every year and the Smog City team puts on one heck of a show; pulling special releases, cellared beers and of course, our special Anniversary beer at 3 separate bars…it’s a day of celebrating Smog City and the rise of local craft beer in the L.A. Area.
More details to come!
Tickets for the VIP Session will go on sale in a few weeks, this session is limited to 150 people- mark your calendars…as May will be here in no time.”
A Very, Merry Un-Hopped Birthday
Firestone Walker should televise their annual Anniversary Blending Battle for the Cardboard Crown. Each year the stakes are high, the competition is fierce and sometimes you encounter unknown obstcles.
This year Brewmaster Matt Brynildson eliminated the use of hoppy beers in the blend. And XIX is comprised of only four beers: Parabola, Stickee Monkee, Bravo, and Velvet Merkin.
Brynildson “… was concerned that hoppiness might begin to encroach on the intended style of the Anniversary Ale, so [he] eliminated the temptation.”
13 winemakers participated under the more stringent rules with Sherman Thacher and Daniel Callan of Thacher Winery creating the winning blend which is…..
Parabola Russian Imperial Oatmeal Stout / Aged in Bourbon Barrels / 33.33% of Final Blend
Stickee Monkee Central Coast Quad / Aged in Bourbon and Whiskey Barrels / 33.33% of Final Blend
Bravo Imperial Brown Ale / Aged in Bourbon and Brandy Barrels / 16.6% of Final Blend
Velvet Merkin Traditional Oatmeal Stout / Aged in Bourbon Barrels / 16.6% of Final Blend
And now that you are partway to the car, ready to buy, you will need to be a little patient because XIX will be available in select markets across the United States starting in November. The suggested retail price is $23.99 for an individually boxed 22-ounce bottle.
Bounce House?
I have already forewarned readers of the 1st anniversary party for Three Weavers but now I know a bit more of what you should expect when you go. ‘Cause, you’re going, right?
There will be lawn games, pinatas and maybe even balloon animals and a bounce house. Exactly what would be at a 1-year old’s party.
Oh, and 18 different beers, which will include the 1st Anniversary IPA. And if fun and beer weren’t enough there will be food available and proceeds from the ticket sales will be passed on to the One for All community charity. Check out OFAKids.org for more details.
5 Years of Mass
Back in 2010, Congregation Ale House opened its Long Beach Chapter for “mass”. Fast forward to 2015 and they have (3) locations AND a brewery. And the time has come for a party.
Tomorrow, Saturday, September 5th 2015 all Chapters will be festive. There will be commemorative glassware + 8 different Congregation Ales brews.
Another + the below specials:
Saison Mule – Saison with Ginger and Lime Peel
Passion Tea Kolsch – Kolsch infused with Tazo Passion Tea
Peach Consummatum – Imperial IPA with Macerated Peaches
Quadruple Hopped Batch 100 – Imperial Amber IPA with hops in the KEG
Cis5tane
Cismontane Brewing will celebrate their 5th Anniversary Party from Friday the 29th through the 31st which will include the unveiling of their 5 Grain Saison Anniversary beer.
Here is the schedule for those heading to Rancho Santa Margarita:
Friday – Firkin Friday.
Stop by after work and kick off the weekend. We will have 5 firkins and vintage library releases for purchase.
Saturday – Cismontane Celebration.
There will be music, a food truck, and lots of fun! Ticket includes commemorative t-shirt and 8 – 9oz pours.
Sunday – Bike & Brew.
Come on a fun bike ride for all levels then cool off with special selections on tap for bikers.
Leftovers at Smog City
I sing the praises of going to breweries and bars the day AFTER an event. Rarely do I resist the pull of the actual event though. But for once, I followed my own advice and I checked into Smog City Brewing on the Sunday after their anniversary party.
I parked right next to the roll up door and ordered up a taster tray with a side order of elbow room and was able to sample Zwickel Bo Pils, kumquat saison, 2014 Anniversary Saison and the 2015 beer, Steamfunk Brett IPA.
The only beer that I missed was Cuddlebug, the peach and apricot sour. Thankfully, the bottle release is coming so I have a second bite at that Apple.
Zwickel Bo reminded me how much the I love a good clean lager. I could get a whole taster tray of their pils variants and count myself a happy man. The kumquat saison was also super tasty. The fruit was bright and slightly acidic on the tongue.
On to the anniversary comparison, I sipped the milky cloudy SteamFunk first and was not disappointed. It had a near creamsicle taste that mixed tangerine and brett together. Good enough to buy a bottle on the way out. The 2014 Saison held up too. It was the strongest of the group in flavor and ABV.