May 12th is when you can have the luck of the stars with the new Beachwood beer release, Cosmic Lottery, with a hop blend of Strata, Mosaic, Citra, & Pahto. Plus that label is a colorful delight.
The Universe
World Beer Cup – Los Angeles medals
The World Beer Cup spent Cinco de Mayo passing out medals.
Beachwood was the big local winner with three medals. Figueroa Mountain picked up a pair which I count as L.A. because of the Westlake Village outpost. Below are the Los Angeles area medalists:
Gold
Highland Park Brewery – Hello, L.A. – International Pale Ale
Silver
Lincoln Beer Co. – Mosaic Pilsner – American-Style Pilsner
Cellador Ales – Akimbo – Fruited Wood and Barrel- Aged Sour
Beachwood – Full Malted Jacket – Scotch Ale
Bronze
San Fernando Brewing Co. – Imperial Death Star – American-Style Imperial Stout
Beachwood Blendery – Funk Yeah – Belgian- Style Sour
Beachwood – Mocha Machine – Coffee Stout
May the 7th Be With You
Calendar time and also a blast from the past. Tony’s Darts Away is a great little spot in Burbank that I have not been to in a long time. Working from home instead of working in Burbank has dropped visits to the neighboring city down.
One of their yearly highlights was a midnight tapping of their Darts Away IPA and then a weekend of hourly special tappings.
Guess what? It’s back…
….and the IPA is from Beachwood! Follow their socials to see what goodies will be on tap and when.
From the Rickhouse
If you want to learn about barrel-aged beer then the next Beachwood Beer Side Talks event is for you.
Here are the details:
“On May 12th we’re continuing our educational speaking event series with “Tales from the Rickhouse: Barrel-Aged Beers” featuring speakers Julian Shrago, Brewmaster and Co-Owner at Beachwood and Lindsay Langton, Creative Director (Lead Design of Barrel Blends program) at Bottle Logic with Brewmaster and Co-Founder Wes Parker.
$15 Ticket includes a flight of 3 specialty barrel-aged beers hosted at Beachwood Downtown Long Beach.”
The Center Does Hold
Be careful not to open after you turn this can upside to get the full effect of the label.
Trademark Brewing had visitors from just down the road at Beachwood for this new IPA.
History & Landscape
Beachwood Brewing is launching “Beer Side Talks” this month on March 10, it is “a new educational speaking event series that will bring together people across the beer community for lively conversations on a range of beer and brewing-related topics!”
Up first is talk of the West Coast IPA and you can RSVP for free to this event in Long Beach. Check out the Eventbrite page to reserve your seat.
“Beachwood will also be live-streaming the event on Instagram for those not able to attend in person.”
Another Beachwood to Visit
Beachwood is going to be sliding a new location to us in 2022. Not yet in Glendale unfortunately but at the 2nd & PCH location…
Review – 2 from AleSmith
Two new releases hit my doorstep courtesy of AleSmith Brewing and I couldn’t choose which to review, so I chose both!
Here are the brewery details on the latest Speedway Imperial Stout variant, “We used the comforting trio of Mexican dark chocolate, sea salt, and Mexican coffee to give the beer delectable notes of cacao and dark fruit, a subtle touch of cinnamon, and a kiss of roasty earthiness.”
The Tower of Flower is described thusly, “We’ve teamed up once again with our good friends at Beachwood Brewing to make this behemoth west coast-style India pale ale that has been double dry-hopped with Galaxy, Cashmere, and Nelson hops. This monstrous hop blend gives this beer intense notes of passion fruit, citrus, peach, and melon.”
On to the reviews…
The Tower of Flower pours a medium yellow shade. Initial thoughts are that it is crisp and bright, almost like an IPL. The dominant flavor for me is Concord grape. The four fruits listed in the description elude me. I also get a grasy bitterness as well. And that really sticks.
I expected more from the Speedway. Chocolate, coffee and sea salt are big flavors. I didn’t get much of a hit of that trio. Slightly like a milk chocolate covered espresso bean but really toned down.
Best Beers of July 2021 + IPA Ranking
Let’s go straight to the top, my favorite beer of the month is Natural Born Shredders from the combined talents of Beachwood Brewing and Highland Park Brewery. This IPA has a Wonderful aroma. Bright with dried fruit and pine. As it warms sone cat pee notes creep in. Loads of tangerine flavor. Overall light mouthfeel. Nice bitterness bite that lingers.
So let’s update the IPA rankings before mentioning a couple honorable mentions.
3 – Crooked Stave Idaho 7 IPA
2 – Offshoot Beer Co. DDH Visions
1 – Beachwood / Highland Park Natural Born Shredders
Two other really great beers wowed me this month. Total Boss Red IPA from Smog City was malty and hoppy and filling in equal measure. Radiant Beer Co. and their Can Down By the River Motivational Lager which from can design to flavor was great.
Written in Chalk
News from Beachwood….”In the beginning… Beachwood’s beer was written on small chalkboards and hung from behind the bar. It’s a tradition we continue at our original brewing location in Long Beach. As a tribute to that, we’re launching “Chalkboard Series,” a rotating selection of small-batch canned beers, available only at Beachwood’s own locations.”
The series started last week with a classic pale ale. Their first-ever pale ale in cans.