Tag: beer review

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In the Tap Lines for July 2023

Climate change has weirded out the weather here in Los Angeles and in many other spots on the globe but this month is the time for lighter beers as we get higher temperatures. Plus the other fun stuff below….

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from Australia for the Women’s World Cup

~ special featured reviews of beers from around the country

~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 The Trackers by Charles Frazier

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Drifting Off with Joe Pera

~ Sports & A Beer returns with Bad Owners

~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month

~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

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Review – Pineapple Party Punch from Rogue

For the final review of June, let’s go a bit Tiki with Rogue Ales Pineapple Party Punch.

No rum involved in this hazy IPA, just pineapple and toasted coconut. The aroma is pineapple smoothie. Not unpleasant but a bit sweet to me even for a fruited hazy. When tasting, is actually works. The hop bitterness and the pineapple play off each other and the mouthfeel is pillowy soft. The coconut is a little less present but that is the way I prefer, a little of it goes a long way for me.

I was worried that this would be too much but Rogue has mixologisted it up in balance.

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Review – Sneaky Sips & Juicy Drips

Two breweries. One mission. Use the same hop combo of Galaxy, Mosaic and Cryo Pop.

That is the challenge for Three Weavers and Tarantula Hill and now is the time to see who wore the hops best…

Juicy Drips – pours a light yellow with a light bit of haze to it. Strong stone fruit aroma. Getting peach and nectarine in both the aroma and taste. Also a bit of wine character as well. Body is light as well with a deceptive bitter kick to it.

Sneaky Sips – looks like a pilsner in the glass. Initially this was 100% pine needle with a sharp bitter hit at the beginning of the sip but as it warms up a little bit of fruit flavor kinda like grape adds a secondary note that the beer needed to avoid being one dimensional.

You would not know from tasting that these beers used the same hops, at all. I was more partial to the Three Weavers with that peach fuzz taste.

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Review – Bread Spread from Firestone Walker

Let’s keep that FW energy going with a review of the weirdly named barrel-aged Bread Spread. I had two excellent barrel beers at their Invitational (Wild Pirate and Boilermaker), will this be a third winner….

There is a lot in this bottle. Vanilla beans, hazelnuts aged in chocolate bitters barrels and Bourbon barrels. First, Weirdly, what I get in big amounts is banana. Not hefe banana but a chocolate covered banana. Yet, not sweet at all. There is that Bourbon note lurking in the background. Second, Weirdly is that as this warms up, the hazelnuts really pour forward. In both the aroma and flavor. Almost two different beers.

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Review – Seavo Pils at FWIBF23

It is no secret that I am not a fan of the Humble Sea branding. But, the beer is what counts so when I saw that they had a Pivo Pils homage, I had to seek it out at the festival.

Seavo Pils pours a bright yellow.  First beer of the fest is this humble version of Pivo pils. Very crisp.  Bit of a metallic hit to it as well.  Simple and nice to drink. Compared to lager titans like Heater Allen and Bierstadt Lagerhaus, well it pales a bit. Overall though, quite nice.

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In the Tap Lines for June 2023

June is a special month on the calendar. You have the Firestone Walker Invitational, you have L.A. Beer Week and the weather ain’t like a pizza oven yet here in Los Angeles. This month plenty of posts about the festivals and less about the weather.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from the Central Coast

~ special featured reviews of beers to and back from Paso Robles

~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 Lone Women by Victor Lavalle

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Vinfamous

~ Sports & A Beer returns with the transfer portal

~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month

~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

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Beer Review – London Lager from Machine House Brewery and Lowercase Brewing

I have been jonesing to try a beer from Seattle’s Machine House Brewery. It seems to be a brewery where the best is draft but thanks to some Lowercase Brewing beers sprinkled into Los Angeles, I get to try the collaboration London Lager from the can.

“A traditional base of Simpsons Lager malt and Crisp Floor Malted Maris Otter with some of the finest East Kent Goldings. We decided to recruit some Hallertau Mittelfruh hops from Germany because Lowercase are Mittelfruh Children.”

To me, this is a classic watch Premier League highlights beer. Light orange in color. Lovely malt aroma on the nose. Soft and delicate mouthfeel. Nothing really dominates. All subtlety. Some potpourri and orange pith with a tiny metallic clang.

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Beer Review – 15th Anniversary DIPA from Bootleggers

It has been some time since I had a beer from Fullerton’s Bootleggers Brewery. But I found a nice, big beer to break that bad streak on…

This beer comes across first and foremost as strong. Big pine and earthy bitterness dominate. When first opened, I did get an initial grapefruit nose but that faded off quickly. Getting a tiny touch of menthol here too. Quite a different DIPA than the current fruit forward styles but not really to my liking to be honest.

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Beer Review – A Trio of Oregon Beers

Some great Oregon breweries have been sneaking into the L.A. beer market of late. I have seen a bit of Wayfinder Beer and Heater Allen and lately pFriem Family Brewers too.

So instead of a single review or a duo, it is time for a trilogy of Oregon beers in one post. Three different styles but only one best of show….

Wayfinder Beer Russian Circles Black Pilsner – if you closed your eyes and drank this, at first, you would certainly know it was a pilsner but you would probably then lean towards either German or Czech styled. There is a bit of roast, Malliard reaction in the aroma and taste but overall this is a really nice, hearty pilsner.

Heater Allen Pink Boots Brew – the famous McMinnville lager brewery utilized the 2023 Pink Boots hop blend for this pale ale. Quite a melange of hop notes here. Getting pine and some citrus and even a touch of strawberry as well. A bit slick on the tongue as well.

pFriem Sparkling IPA – pours a dark orange. Initial taste is a bit of marmalade paired with pear as well. Was expecting more bubbles due to the name but there is a swirl of flavors. The label name checks seven fruits including sugar covered strawberry which is quite specific. Just a crazy four dimensional IPA.

My Winner – Due to the complexity, I select the pFriem but this was a close contest for sure.

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Sour Day – Beer Review – Lucky 13 from Eagle Rock Brewery

Semi- quietly, Eagle Rock Brewery hit year 13. So, time to review their anniversary sour…

This blended sour ale from Wood #0011 pours a muddy red color. Aroma wise, the sour is there a bit but no cherry taste pops up. First sip is very weird. Getting very pastry bread hit right off the top. Not super sour. As it warms up a skosh, the cherry pie flavors take the foreground but that aggressive breadiness is still there at the back. If I could hold that cherry note all the way through would like this better.