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I don’t believe in “signs” but this a fun IPA series idea from Chapman Crafted. Pisces pours a hazy light orange. If it weren’t for a bit of wood chip type bitterness, could be mistaken for a witbier. That bitterness grows with successive sips. Getting a bit of peach / apricot aroma. Gives off a little fuzzy feeling in the mouth.
Thanks to the crew at Hopped LA, I got the opportunity to test out beers from new Torrance brewery, Buzzrock. (and be filmed for an “unCanned” segment too)
Gary Magnone received a whopping 12 crowlers. Basically covering all but a couple of the beers that Buzzrock makes at their Brews Hall at Del Amo location.
Considering the brewer lineage of Stone and Monkish, it was no great shock to find that the beers were all above average. There was some weirdness though, the pale ales were all dark orange in color while the IPA’s were uniformly golden yellow. The Witbier was made with peaches and boy was it dripping with the actual fruit taste, then there was the Sabro Hop Double IPA which was a straight up coconut bomb.
Of the group, my pick for what to try is the Hazy IPA because it too, was weird, but it grew on me. It had the right color and haze profile. The aroma was spot on but when you sipped, it was Cascade hopville. Picture a hazy with the fruit taste removed, replaced by pine. More classical was their Oatmeal Stout which ticked all the boxes for the style. Coming in third for me was the Oat Pale Ale which was bright with fruit and had a nice hop/malt balance.
Between the George Lopez and Colin Cowherd sub-brands, I would steer to the Cowherd. Both the Pils and IPA were down the middle whereas the Lopez beers seemed to be trying to hard and ended up not working well for me.
Promising start though for Buzzrock, enough to make a visit to their Torrance brewery a better bet.
Slowly going through the cellar stash. Don’t think it will ever truly be emptied. May start collecting again but the thrill of pulling out a bottle for a special occasion is real. For the 50, I went to Firestone Walker and their Oatmeal Stout from 2014, Velvet Merkin. This is the Proprietor’s Vintage aged in Bourbon barrels.
There is a little residual bourbon smell on the nose of this almost black beer. True to Oatmeal Stout, it is only 8.5% in this amplified version and probably should not have been held for 5+ years but it overall is quite nice. I get the bourbon, surprisingly a bit of cola caramel and even more surprising is a bit of wood character notes as well at the end. Still has a bit of fizz to it as well. Some alcohol burn but it is minor and comes across more as warming.
A proper way to celebrate.
BPLB, the first Los Angeles release from Crowns & Hops with an assist from Eagle Rock Brewery, doesn’t pour super hazy. Haze being hard to nail down. The first taste leads me to think Session IPA more than the ABV on the can. A bit watery to me with a grassy aroma. Some haze softness and a decent amount of hop bitterness. Part orange, part grapefruit taste here. I want to like it more than I do. I am still looking forward to trying more of their beers as they move towards their own brewing facility and tap room.
Each year when I buy the latest Anniversary beer from Firestone Walker, I crack open the oldest bottle that I have which is 6 years old at that point. Which means that number 18 is the lucky number. I now only have two of the old school 22oz bottles left before the format went down to 12.
Here is my review of 18 – I get a bit of cola upfront here. Dark brown in color with not much head to it. A bit of spice and caramel come to mind. Does not taste heavy and is probably middle low in carbonation but not silky, more spiky to me. A tiny bit of vinous quality to me as well.
You really have to start any Christmas beer review with the undisputed King which is Anchor Merry Christmas. “The 2019 edition of this established holiday delight lends velvety spices and rich flavors of roasted malts, western evergreens and subtle hints of Mexican chocolate.”
I would call this a return to form for Anchor. The 2019 edition of Our Special Ale has a bit more kick to it than past years. I am getting spice (cinnamon) and some pine / Christmas tree notes. It tastes more bubbly this year as well. There is a slight cola tinge at the back to add a little depth. The only flavor I am not getting is the Mexican chocolate but that could be just a me thing. This is a Claus approved beer.
I thought I would kill three birds with one stone and get a Dogfish Head beer since I hadn’t had one in such a long time, and try SeaQuench, their popular seller for the first time, and get the 19.2oz can too.
The lime (from either peel, juice or different varietal) comes through in the aroma. That is immediately cut by a one-two punch of salt and then wheat. At first SeaQuench comes across as sour but with each progressive sip, it becomes less aggressive. It has a cocktail quality to it. Lime Rickey maybe.
I can’t quite wrap my head around why this is such a popular beer, not from a taste standpoint, because this is a nice American twisted Gose, but because of the salt. I think the American palate has tilted towards extremes. Sugary. Salty. Sour and even bitter to a certain extent but this mixes tart and salt. I do wonder if a brand extension is in the offing too.
As far as the larger format can, this is a perfect choice at 4.7%. This would be a great beach beer.
I haven’t had a Carlsberg in a long time but at the price that my local Trader Joe’s was selling them, I couldn’t pass it up. Here is my review of the stovepipe can of the Danish Lager.
Well, technically not a stovepipe, but it is above 16oz even if by just an almost ounce, so I am counting it. Pours super clear. Darker yellow than expected and a lingering foam to it as well. First note is pear. A little dry. A bit sweet close to honey note. Not super grain forward. A bit slick. No snap to it.
Now that we are in September, it is seasonally appropriate to talk Oktofest beers. Today, I will compare and contrast the gold standard (since the German collaborations have started) Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest and a local marzen from Chapman Crafted in Orange.
Starting with the latter. This is really quite biscuit rich. That creates a backbone for other flavors to play off of. I get a little citrus note as well as a bit of nutty. Good sparkle to this. May not have the mineral tinge that a classic may have but this is a beer that reminds what happens when malt is in the fore.
The Bitburger 2019 version of the Okto pours a red/brown color. Another malt forward beer but this is a notch or two lighter in both malt character and heft. There is a nice hop character here but the beer overall still tilts to the German side. Searching my memory, this seems like the lightest version so far. Part dunkel and bigger part lager.
Thanks to beer buddy Richard, I was able to taste an all Cryo Hop IPA from Mikkeller San Diego. How do Henry and Sally fare in my tasting notes?
This is a super clear yellow hued beer with orange tint to it. The aroma is a mix of pine and candied orange. This has a solid bitter backbone to it. The hop resins are sticking to the roof of my mouth. Pretty viscous and slick as well. Pine and woodsy flavors are the headliners for this one. Cryo hops are still new-ish but this IPA reminds me of beers of yesteryear.