Review – Mocha Machine from Beachwood Brewing

What is this?  A review of a beer NOT from Sierra Nevada?  Well it is Beachwood and I do love their beers, so yeah. And yes this was a “press copy”,but  I knew that impartiality would be hard no matter how the bottle made its way to my ‘fridge.  But I will soldier on with an objective review.

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Mocha Machine is a Bronze Medal World Beer Cup medalist from 2014 and there is good reason.  This is a serious coffee bomb.  Coffee Beers can be big on aroma and too light on flavor but even the chocolate adds more of a bitter nib taste instead of milk chocolate so you get a double whammy of bitter that really sings.  There is a pepper skin aroma from the coffee beans that really adds an additional note that I like which is weird because I can’t eat regular peppers at all.

This does taste stronger than the 9+% ABV and is best shared.  I poured a bit out for my sis-in-law to have with dessert.  But I think this beer would actually be best paired with mole or maybe something with bacon.

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Bottles are hard to come by but you will find it (occasionally) on tap at the two Beachwood locations.

Do Not Rage Against the Mocha Machine

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July 29th marks yet another release from the seemingly unstoppable Beachwood Brewing and the release the award winning Mocha Machine Imperial Coffee Chocolate Porter.

The 9.2% ABV brew is described as thusly, the “porter—which took home the 2014 World Beer Cup Bronze Medal in the Coffee Beer category—is brewed with an array of British and German malts and infused with masterfully roasted coffee from Costa Mesa California’s Portola Coffee Lab. Then aged in cacao nibs from Ecuador, this burly brew finishes with a dimension of fudge awesomeness.”

Plus the label is pretty cool. And you won’t see many, so grab if you can.

 

2 out of 3

I have not been a big fan of Stone hop bombs.  Probably a palate thing on my part.  They just seem muddled to me.  Whereas their GoTo Session and Enjoy By seem simpler and tastier.  But this collaboration has me intrigued because it brings three distinct brewers together.  Plus I think the world of Julian Shrago of Beachwood, so I will be getting this just for his 1/3 contribution.

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Warrior, Columbus, Simcoe but mostly Citra

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April 29th, Beachwood Brewing bottles up another fan favorite. This time their “modern” west coast India pale ale, Citraholic is brewed with an abundance of Citra hops and blended with Warrior, Columbus and Simcoe in the kettle (for good measure). The citrusy brew is then dry hopped with a massive charge of Citra, imparting heavy aromas of citrus and tropical fruits along with melon and gooseberry accents.

This one will probably go real fast so don’t dilly-dally.

8 Buffalo

Uh-Oh.  Now it’s getting serious, Beachwood Brewing is releasing 8 Buffalo Imperial Stout.

It is the kick-off for the 2014 series of barrel-aged Beachwood beers.

As Brewmaster and co-owner Julian Shrago explains, “We are so excited to finally release our first large scale barrel aged beer! It’s been amazing to taste 8 Buffalo along the way, we are very proud of the final blend.”

The limited edition 8 Buffalo Imperial Stout will be released on March 4th at 5pm at Beachwood BBQ & Brewing in Long Beach, CA.

Tovarish

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Beachwood Brewing (home to many a 2013 GABF medal) is finishing their bottle year with an Imperial Espresso Stout.  And they had me at Portola Coffee Lab….

“Tovarish is a bold Russian imperial stout brewed with a base of British Maris Otter barley, heaping amounts of roasted barley, and specialty malts. “Tovarish is a remarkably rich and complex beer,” says Brewmaster & Co-owner Julian Shrago. It is finished with a touch of black-strap molasses along with a custom roasted coffee blend by Portola Coffee Lab in Costa Mesa, CA. “Savor the layers of roast, coffee, and dark fruits with every sip,” continues Shrago.”

Game Changer

One of the beers (of many) that caught my eye from the Beachwood SourFest (that I didn’t attend this year) was a lambic lager from Sudwerk Brewing.

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Long time readers know that I love a good lager and pilsner and to see a brewery that makes a damn fine one use it as a base for Belgian souring experiments is really quite cool.  Maybe I will catch it somewhere else.

 

 

System of a Stout (in bottles)

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Beachwood Brewing has already bottled Thrillseeker IPA, Tovarish and Full Malted jacket and they are “set to release System Of A Stout, an Imperial Armenian Coffee Stout on May 24.

“System Of A Stout is far different than any other imperial stout I have brewed before,” says Beachwood Brewmaster Julian Shrago. “This bold brew allowed us to take a step in a new direction, the flavor and aroma is immediately recognizable.”  System Of A Stout is brewed with blackstrap molasses, green cardamom, and a custom Armenian coffee roast blend from Costa Mesa’s Portola Coffee Lab®. This big imperial stout is also aged in Armenian brandy oak adding an additional dimension of complexity.  “The first time we brewed this beer it was in such limited quantities and on draft. We’re very excited to be able to offer this beer again and look forward to reaching a larger audience with its bottled form”, concludes Shrago.

System of a Stout will be sold in 22 oz. bottles at finer craft beer retailers across Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. The stout will also be available on draft at both Beachwood BBQ locations.”

Blind Donkey + Beachwood

On Saturday, 5/25 at 2pm Beachwood BBQ & Brewing will Tower Takeover The Blind Donkey.

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It will be the “very first tap takeover” for the Pasadena joint and Owner Gabe Gordon, Head Brewer Julian Shrago & Creative Manager Jarred Ekstrom will be in attendance with the following on tap:

Foam Top – American Cream Ale – 5.5%ABV (GOLD Award 2012 World Beer Cup – Blonde or Golden Ale)
Hef Leppard – Bavarian Style Hefeweizen – 5.1% ABV
El Verano Saison – Belgian Style Saison – 6.7% (Bronze Medal at 2012 Great American Beer Festival® French/Belgian Saison)
Street 3, Block 2 – American Pale Ale – 5.5% ABV – 70 IBUs
Hops of Brixton – English Special Bitter – 6.1% ABV
Knuckle Head Red – American Red Ale – 5.7% ABV (Bronze Award at 2012 San Diego International Beer Competition)
The Falcon – West Coast India Pale Ale – 7.1% ABV – 99 IBUs
Full Malted Jacket – Wee Heavy Scotch Ale – 9.2% ABV
Still Life – Smoked Double Oat Stout – 8.8% ABV – 69 IBUs
Beyond a Reasonable Stout – American Imperial Stout – 10% ABV – 85 IBUs

Beachwood Meet Abigailes

Over the course of two nights…Wednesday, 5/8 & Thursday, 5/9 Beachwood BBQ & Abigailes are going to CrossOver.

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Starting at 5PM on 8th in Long Beach for Abigaile beers paired with special Beachwood foods, then make the trek to Redondo Beach on Thursday the 9th for Beachwood beers paired with special items from Chef Tin Vuong of Abigaile.
This sounds like a good trend to follow up with.  Maybe LadyFace with Golden Road can be next.