Tag: beer review

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Featured High ABV Review – The Nothing from Smog City

Next in our local, cellared and high ABV beers for review is The Nothing from Smog City of Torrance.

Another beer from the year 2014 and one that I thought I would bring up after the Wood Cellar festival.

The Nothing pours jet black with a toffee head to it. 4 years might be too much for this one. That would be my bad for losing track of it in time and not recognizing that it is under 10% which is the generic threshold for cellaring. Bit of a wine vinous thinness has crept in. Sapping some of the velvet nature that an Imperial would normally possess. The chocolate has a bit of tang and is in second place strength-wise to a coffee roast note.

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Featured Review – Omega from Unsung Brewing


This month, I will be featuring reviews from breweries south of LA. Specifically Orange County and San Diego and we start in Anaheim with Unsung Brewing and their Omega Hazy IPA

This hazy is part of a series that the comic themed brewery is doing and boy does Omega look the hazy part. Light yellow almost like white grapefruit juice specifically. I am getting Concord grape in the aroma and then that follows into the flavor. There are some fruit punch notes as well and a little dank in the smell. I really love the taste of this one. There is some of the fuzzy mouthfeel that I get from other hazy’s but it is restrained and not scraping the roof of the mouth. Only a small touch of bitterness at the end. Only downside is the kind of a boring can design from a brewery that has nice branding otherwise.

Recommend? Most certainly even for those not sure of hazy IPA’s

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Beer Review – Sass Machine from Arrow Lodge


Arrow Lodge can branding has been a bit hit or miss for me. One can is all green and the next is a wavy psychedelic unicorn. But I could not pass up on such a sassy beer. The Mavhine oours a hazy lemonade ice tea color. Very soft and pillowy mouthfeel, bitterness is there but a couple blocks away. There is a tropical fruit aroma. Pineapple and banana to me. I wouldn’t call it sassy. Getting some citrus flavor notes as it warms. Almost sorbet like in the flavor. I noticed that Untappd has an entry for a peach version which might be even better.

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Review – Hat’s Off from El Segundo & Topa Topa


This collaboration and charity IPA from El Segundo Brewing and Topa Topa of Ventura pours a Pilsner golden yellow. I could smell the aroma wafting out after popping the “West Coast Craft” emblazoned cap. I am getting a Concord grape flavor initially from this sprightly IPA. Herbal with fruit and a hard hit of bitterness at the end. Looks like a session IPA but you know pretty quickly that you are drinking something closer to a DIPA. But it has a nice effervescence that ties it up with a bow and keeps it from being too heavy.

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Review – BPA from Iron Triangle

I came home one night recently to find a box from Iron Triangle Brewing at my door. My guess being that one of their new canned offering was inside. I was partially right. It was actually a mixed 4-pack and inside was also a letter from brewer Kale Bittner that asked for a re-evaluation of Iron Triangle. IT called it version 2.0 of the South DTLA brewery.

So, first up is the Bavarian Pale Ale (BPA). Certainly looks the part of a hefe. The can touts melon papaya and banana. I get the last of that hefe triangle along with the clove spice. The hops are quite muted here, more underlying. A sidekick almost. If you go in looking for a modern spin on a hefe, you will be fine. If you are looking for a pale ale or big hops, you might be disappointed. I got to thinking though, if breweries kept touting hops on the label, would the wannabe hop lovers know? Maybe these spins are needed to re-calibrate beer fans. Maybe I should be happy that alternatives to IPA’s are out there?

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Review – Pils from Chapman Crafted

Finally back on track with a review of a non-hopcentric beer. Pils from Chapman Crafted from Orange, California.

Really refreshing. Light to almost the watery point. A nice bright yellow color. Getting almost a blonde ale vibe to this one and less pils when sipping but the aroma is straight up lager. A bit of corn taste malt lodges on my tongue.

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Review – Marihana Session IPA from Coedo

I swear I will get to reviewing Non-IPA beers but this one came to me from Coedo Brewing and I felt compelled to do a quick review.

This surprise of a beer delivery is almost the antithesis of what is happening in America. Marihana Session IPA from Japan is as clear as clear can be. This is truly a session beer but it has a nice solid kick of hops to it. There is a nice sparkle to it as well. Lots of citrus pith here. Aroma is solidly grapefruit.

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Review Ignorant DIPA from Boomtown Brewing

I received a lovely package of aluminum cans from North DTLA Boomtown Brewing recently which included a can of their mural style art emblazoned, Ignorant DIPA.

Here is the review:
Big flavor somewhere between navel orange and Satsuma tangerine. Bitterness is really soft. Sticks to the roof of the mouth. Appropriately hazy appearance. Bright tropical fruit (pineapple) aroma. Bit of hop sharpness upfront that fades really fast.

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Featured Review – Zero Flocs Given from Angel City

I came home from vacation to find two cans of the best named hazy IPA on my doorstep. Zero Flocs Given from Angel City Brewery is

Pours a slightly hazed light yellow color. Lots of lacing on the glass. Has the signature softness of a NE IPA. Herbal and grassy on the nose. Tastes a bit sticky. There’s good strong bitterness that coats the tongue. A bit of dried orange comes through as well.

I would deem this as an everyman’s hazy IPA. It could easily start someone on a journey of the style.