Tag: August

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Best Beers of August 2024

This month it is the all IPA edition. Which is weird because usually I find most IPAs to be smack in the vast middle of pretty good land. I do my best to taste fresh IPA but even the most ardent hop hunter can fall prey to hops that just aren’t packing the same punch as earlier.

Two were draft and two were canned. In the runners up category was Smog City and their CCBA White IPA, the first of two of that sub-style that I tasted this month. It was bright and light without getting too thin and it had a real nice subtle character to it. The other draft was at Great Notion where I had their Orange Creamsicle IPA. Usually not a fan of the milkshake but this did not have the fake orange and too sweet. It tasted much like the ice cream treat.

The cans were from North Park Beer Co. and from Ambitious Ales and it was a tight call but North Park’s Dead as a Doornail DDH West Coast IPA made me sit up a bit straighter than the Gimme That from Ambitious.

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Sean Suggests for August 2024

Gonna lean into the hops for August seeing as how we are nearing fresh hop season. Here are three SoCal IPA’s to add to your shopping cart.

Benny Boy Brewing Hazy Persuasion IPA – 6.3% – “first ever hazy has landed and a juicy one with an intense amount of Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe.  The result is a light, pillowy body with a dank fruity nose.”

Beachwood Patio Project – 7.1% – “Get ready to fire up the grill, grab a deck chair, and start sippin’ this new aromatic West Coast IPA featuring Mosaic & Citra hops!”

Riip Beer Riip’n Greens – 7.5% – Back to Back winner of the Best of the West Coast IPA National Throwdown at the TopWire beer garden at Crosby Hop Farms.   

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Best Beers of August 2023

OK, bit of a change-up for this month as I am picking the beer that was the most memorable upon first sip instead of my usual, rubric of best from first sip to the last.

Before we go there, here are my excellent runners up:

El Segundo / Enegren Gemeinschaft lager – great reddish tinted color and a malty easy drinker.

Chapman 7thAnniversary Dry Hopped Pilsner – I applaud any non-IPA anniversary beer

Bottle Logic A Quad IPA in this Economy? – big but not just in ABV. big on haze and fruit as well

Winner – Fremont Gose with cucumber and sea salt. You take a sip and that cucumber just hits you. Then you get a gentle touch of salt and a little tang of acidity. A wonderful spa Gose as it were. You will not forget the first sip.

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Best Beers of August 2022

It was a bit of a hoppy month, was August. The three runners up were all in the pale to IPA categories. My first beer from Wagon Wheel, their Pintail Pale ale made an impression as did two collaborations. MadeWest + Alvarado Street and Short Lived as well as Common Space + Riip Beer with Three Hop Drop. But the best was Magnificent Everything from the new Everywhere BeerCo..

It was super, super soft and the ABV was well hidden and the fruit and wheat were allowed to shine.

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In the Tap Lines for August 2022

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August is a non travel outside California month so I will take the weekends to play catch-up with L.A. breweries that I haven’t been to in a bit. But if you do travel, maybe layover in NewJersey and show support to their breweries who have been burdened with some truly galling laws.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from New Jersey who have been handcuffed by anti-beer laws
~ special featured review of pilsners and lagers
~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 Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to A History of Coffee
~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

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Sean Suggests for August 2021

This has been a hot goddamn August. Time to cool down with some pilsners and lagers. Here are three excellent California choices.

LIGHT

Faction Hipster Conformant Lager – 4..8% Simply, “Industrial lager”

MEDIUM

Artifex Czech Your Citra – 5.1% “Bright, crisp, and hoppy. Dry hopped with Citra.”

DARK

Smog City Hoppy Lager – 5.2% “Hoppy Pilsner are beautiful cans full of refreshing, crisp, & universally pleasing pilsner make the perfect weekend companion and are available in 4-pack cans & draft. Packed with just the right amount of hops to keep things interesting, Hoppy Pils is a great all day sipper.”

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In the Tap Lines for August 2021

header_attractionsWelcome to the second half of 2021!  Sad to say that hopes that the world would be back to normal by now have yet to come true thanks to the  unvaccinated but there is plenty of good beer news to talk about, like…

~ e-visits to (3) breweries in Anaheim
~ special featured reviews of beers from breweries in the El Segundo area.
~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 a Rachel Cusk trilogy
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Dolly Parton’s America
~ Great Beer names and Best Beers of the Month
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

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Best Beers of August 2020

Another month in the books, and it’s time to unveil my best beers of the month.

Two Pale Ales nearly took the top spots, Friendly Skies from Los Angeles Ale Works and XTRA Citra from Surly Brewing were bright hop spots.

But the winners were from the California Craft Beer Summit At Home pack, one not easy to get and one that you can now more easily find. Canopy from Fieldwork Brewing is the third Pale Ale on the list. It was a bright bouquet of fruity and earthy hops that was also bright on the palate. Harlot a Belgian Blonde from Societe Brewing took that simple style and jazzed it up with Belgian tones. Delightful with each sip.

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Sean Suggests for August 2020

Loyal readers of the blog will understand why the first beer made the cut for August. Hint – Gin. But I also wanted to highlight baseball being back with Arrow Lodge and collaboration with Mumford.

Lightest

Einstock Icelandic Lime & Juniper / 4.8% – “A unique blend of Icelandic Juniper berries and a dash of lime, combined with Noble hops and Munich malt, evoke classic Gin & Tonic cocktail-inspired flavors that make this a refreshing craft beer like no other. The senses are greeted with a vibrant citrus aroma, crisp mouthfeel, and dry bitterness on the finish that result in a naturally sessionable Icelandic beer truly inspired by the famous tipple.”

Medium

Arrow Lodge Belli Bombs IPA / 6.7% – “West Coast style IPA with Simcoe, CTZ and Centennial.”

Biggest

Mumford & 8-Bit Megabytes IPA / 9.00% – “NE IPA brewed with the homies from @8bitbrewingcompany. Hopped w/ Simcoe + X10416.”

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In the Tap Lines for August 2020

header_attractionsI keep saying each month that the next month will be better.  And I see no reason to stop now, right?  August has to be better.  Anyhoo, let’s see the good beer news coming over the next 31 days.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from the Garden State of New Jersey – Alementary, Fort Nonsense and Chimney Rustic Ales
~ special featured reviews of beers of Black is Beautiful beers and one Take Action IPA
~ Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events (Far in the future events)
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark
~ A Book & A Beer reads Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Creating Cashflow
~ Great Beer names and Best Beers of the Month
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.