Report from FWIBF17 – BSP’s Top 5

Here are my totally subjective and totally correct best beers from this year’s edition of the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival.

(Of course, I only had, maybe a 15% of what was actually poured)

Fonta Flora – Carolina Custard (their spin on the Kvass style was excellent too)
Firestone Walker – Walker’s Cuvee with Meyer Lemons (should have tried more of the Barrelworks offerings)
Russian River – Scratching Post (cat people like cat jokes)
Beachwood – 28 Haze Later (best beer name of the fest0
Surly Brewing – Xtra-Citra (best beer next to the non-stop Side Project line)

In the Tap Lines for February 2017

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Now that Herr Gropenfuhrer has been installed as POTUS and the contractors at the White House are getting stiffed on invoices, it is the time to drink up, for the end of the world is nigh. So keep checking in to see what to drink and where to go in L.A. in February.

~ e-visits to three breweries from around the world like the Hong Kong Beer Company and Microbrewery Le Castor + 1 more.
~ special featured reviews of Beer Duos.
~ 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 Dark Matter from Blake Crouch.
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

Here are two events to get your February started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) February 4th – Melvin Brewing from Washington State invades Beachwood Brewing in Long Beach
2) February 5th – Super Bowl Sunday at Surly Goat West Hollywood

Invasive Species – 4 Beer Review


I prefer to think of the beer name as a derogative toward a certain coming sorta-president (check it Merriam-Webster) but this 4-pack is a smack to a certain brewery that landed in Long Beach in 2016 with all sorts of Sculpins.

Here are my capsule reviews of the four IPA’s

“Plain”
Getting grapefruit pith here. Dark yellow, orange in color. Coats the tongue. Getting done grain in the back too. Rye spice notes here too. At 7.1% this is a strong and not necessarily neutral base for the other beers to follow.

Grapefruit
Lots of ruby red in the aroma. I was worried that the original was too grapefruity to differentiate much but this does that.  Little bit more sawdust type grain here. Not as much pith here but more of the juice bitterness.

Mango
Initial thought is sweeter but that is incorrect. Aroma is fresh cut mango.  Seems lighter than the two previous beers. The fruit is forward until the last few sips when a hearty bitterness takes charge.

Habanero
Wow. This is spicy. I can feel my lips tingling from the spice which lingers on and awaits food to suck up the heat. This beer subdues the hops for habanero too much but on its own is a fine spice beer.

Vote for Independence

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The best way to defeat the bitterness of this election, (We say that every election nowadays, don’t we) is by having a bitter IPA that makes us feel independent even when the election process doesn’t.

So sit back and follow the results with a 22oz bomber from >Beachwood Brewing.

Chicago to Long Beach

If you have heard of the famed Daisy Cutter Hoppy Pale Ale, well then you will want to be in Long Beach at Beachwood tomorrow night.
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Yeah, DC will be on tap alongside Akira American Wheat Ale, get Right Kolsch and Navaja DIPA for the very first time here in Los Angeles.

Thanks to a second brewery location, the Chicago brewery location has been expanding their beer’s reach.

In the Tap Lines for August 2016

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With any luck the heat in Los Angeles will start to drop into fall-ish temperature ranges because there are quite a few Oktoberfest biers heading our way as well as the annual influx of gourd beers. Speaking of the pumpkin, considering the backlash and overproduction of the pumpkin beers last year, it will be interesting to see how much does get to shelves and if it is a little less this year. Now onto what you will see this month on this blog….

~ e-visits to three of the new arrivals to the filled Portland, Oregon scene. Ross Island Brewing, Ferment & Scout Beer.
~ special featured reviews of a mix of styles with fruits and herbs (but no fruited IPAs this month).
~ 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 City of the Lost
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world

Here are two events to get your August started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) August 2nd – Hopernicus DIPA re-release at Beachwood
2) August 11th – Nisei Week Pre-Launch Tap Take Over with Coedo Brewing at Far Bar.

…and here is the beer photo of the month…(OK, no beer this month but this time lapse photo of the moon in front of the Earth is too wicked cool to not re-post)
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City to Wood

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Getting bottles of those hoppy IPA’s from Beachwood will become a lot easier once this deal goes through….
“We are getting ready to embark on a pretty large expansion; while the deal isn’t done yet, we recognize that many people have come to learn that we’ll be acquiring Beach City Brewing in Huntington Beach. We are still in the process of securing the proper licenses that will allow us to take over the facility, so we’ve been a bit coy on the topic. Our hope, once the purchase of the assets and the transfer of the licenses takes place, is to increase our production capabilities over the next five years to upwards of 8,000 barrels. This will allow us to introduce more consumers to a steady line of Beachwood Brewing products via retail outlets such as bottle shops and grocery stores as well as restaurants and bars throughout Southern California. Our beers are increasingly growing in demand and this production facility allows us to expand at a rate we believe the market can sustain.” – Gabe Gordon

It is too bad about Beach City. Apart from the poorly executed labels, the minimal amount of beer that I had from them was quite above average and showed promise though it never achieved wider distribution. The failure of one business though will lead to expansion for others. I am flabbergasted each week when I look at the tap list of Beachwood beers then I remember the Blendery beers too and am more amazed at how Julian Shrago does it. He must be a logistics maven. This new space will allow more flexibility for his skills which is great news.

In the Tap Lines for December 2015

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I hope that you survived Black Friday and Cyber Monday and any other days of the week in this holiday season and are ready to sample all the Christmas beers out there. Here is what is on tap for December on the blog.

~ e-visits to three breweries that brew beers with figs
~ special reviews of holiday beers plus a special Anchor Holiday Ale review
~ Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark
~ Holiday Beer Daily started last month and continues up to Christmas.
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world
~ … and Session # 106 is all about the holiday ales

Here are two events to get your December started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) December 5th  – Smog City + Vagabond Cheese pairing
2) December 17th –  Beachwood 9th Anniversary

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I know that I haven’t even posted about Beachwood’s L.A. Beer Week events but their anniversary party this year looks to be a mega tap list of goodies.
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As seen from this screenshot, there is enough casks and aged rarities to keep one busy for days. Plus a new beer!

That is one month from now!

Review – Citraholic from Beachwood

I am late to the party.  This is my first time tasting the famed Citraholic from Beachwood Brewery.
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This West-Coast IPA pours a pretty orange color. The aroma is mostly spice with lemon peel backing that up. The taste reinforces that duo with the lemon taking more of a co-star role. It tastes strong and a bit heavy almost to DIPA territory for me. But the lemon notes that alternate between just cut and a lemon pledge really works. And in the end it has an almost emonade quality.

Plus, Bless Beachwood for date stamping too. This bottle was 5 days old when I cracked it open.