Tag: beer review

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Beer Review – No Ends, Only Beginnings from Firestone Walker& Highland Park Brewery

Did you think I would NOT review a bourbon barrel-aged beer this month? I specifically hunted a good choice to start with and who better than Firestone Walker who collaborated with Highland Park Brewery on the excellently named, No Ends, Only Beginnings.

This is a simple and effective beer. No bells. No whistles. There is a lovely sugary, caramel aroma here. Not much in the way of oaky barrel. I could see comparisons to brown sugar or a restrained vanilla cupcake. The booziness is really held in check by the sugar. If tasted blind, I would not say bourbon but I would rate it highly.

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Review – 26th Anniversary Imperial IPA from Stone Brewing

Stone released their first anniversary beer under Sapporo and surprise, it is an Imperial IPA.

This triple dry hopped imperial IPA pours a surprising dark orange color. It is a shade under 10% ABV so it is quite a big beer with a very creamy malty mouthfeel to it. The hops coat the mouth with each sip. To start I get berry notes but that moves to a more lemon lime flavor as it warms up. Stone has a few hop tricks for what some might think is just another big IPA.

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Review – 2 Fremont Collaborations

Fremont Brewing of Seattle (and Earth) has a pretty solid reputation and thankfully we get a bit of their beers here in L.A. Specifically a couple of IPA collaborations with sone equally well-known breweries…

Let’s start with Specific Void the ominous sounding IPA with Burial Beer Co.. Even the NW Fremont bird on the label has a museum exhibit quality to it.

This smells very NW to me. Pine backed by a slight fruit note. Very precisely targeted. Little banana on the taste. More malt than hops initially. Has a soft quality to it. Tastes closer to a Belgian Pale Ale to me and not in a bad way.

The next partner is Bale Breaker who also farm hops, so why not put those hops into a Cold IPA, Cultivision. Bird seems a little less goth on this label. Great aroma here. Quite earthy and dank to start. Very crisp. A bright yellow color to this one. Grassy overall.

I would take the Cultivision over Specific Void based just on crispness alone.

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Review – Bring the Noise Hazy IPA from HopSaint

I posted about HopSaint getting into cans, so without further ado, let’s try Bring the Noise.

This Torrance brewed beer pours a yellow hazy shade. Aroma has a little orange peel to it. Initial sips show off citrus and a tiny bit of pineapple to me. Has the hazy texture to it, giving the palate a bit of a hop scrape. Getting secondary grassy notes behind the fruit. No one flavor is taking the lead.

Bonus points for the glittery disco label.

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Review – Bourbon O.E. from Smog City

Time to barleywine, two ways with Smog City Brewing. Bourbon O.E.

For 2022, there is the OG O.E. aa well as a special variant that “was aged in Garrison Brothers Balmorhea Bourbon barrels and is absolutly oozing with bourbon characteristics. If you love bourbon, this variant is not to be missed.”

Bourbon Barrel – starting with the standard bearer. it has a subdued initial nose to it. the bourbon and wood is there but I also get a cherry note that is followed by a soft vanilla. There is no mistaking that this beer is nearly 14% abv but it is not heavy at all.

Balmorhea Barrel – this aroma tickled my nose literally and figuratively. Leather and vanilla are the leads and the first sip yields caramel as well. Oddly is a bit more fizzy and with much less of an alcohol burn to it.

Amazing how different these two beers are but I would nudge the Balmorhea ahead of the standard. The toned down alcohol brought the other flavors up a notch in my view.

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Review – Two from Lit Brew

Sometimes breweries fly under the radar, even for beer writers. Right next door, Lit Brew has been creating beers tied to ingredients of Armenia. Time for me to taste a couple to see what is up…

Golden Tahdig is based on basmati rice with a golden, kinda hash brown crust to it. I didn’t really get rice in this beer. But it had nice bubbles while also having viscosity plus a sugary grain taste that does not go over the top.

Fuzz Hazy with farro works a little less well. It has the signature hazy look and the softness in the mouthfeel is there but this hazy IPA is too weird and woody with odd little spiky rice notes.

Lit Brew has an apricot sour and a DIPA as well. Maybe I shall review those later as well.

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Review – Resist Anti-Imperial IPA

As Russian starts to be left off of beer names and Ukrainian takes its place, we all have to realize that it is just a small piece to pressure Putin and support the people being unjustly annexed.

Which is why I added my voice by purchasing the Sierra Nevada Resist Anti-Imperial IPA. The beer helps benefit Drinkers for Ukraine, an organization that raises money for the Red Cross humanitarian efforts in the Ukraine.

This is a bit of a departure IPA for Sierra Nevada. Aroma is pretty muted to my nose. But the flavor is decidedly dried orange peel with pine notes drifting in. There is a flowery note as well. Not a soft note but closer to tea strength. It is an odd duck of a beer to the point that I thought there might be an off flavor which is something I don’t usually detect.

If weirdo IPA ain’t your thing, go find another charity beer to put your money and voice towards.

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Featured Review – Morning Phase from Eagle Rock Brewery

This month the featured review is a Woodwork beer from Eagle Rock Brewery. Morning Phase is a sour golden ale with peaches.

This is a tart one. The sour practically jumps out in the aroma. There is a real acid jolt upon swallowing that pleasantly fades as the sip ends. I do not get a whole lot of peach flavor from this nor does the wood aspect lead the way. Those flavors have to be searched out a bit.

Overall this is a nice example of a sour ale and I hope to see more Woodwork in the future.

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In the Tap Lines for July 2022

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Even though I have lived in Los Angeles for quite some time, I never like the sweaty season.  July is the start of the heat that beats me down.  But I will be escaping to Portland this month and will relay any NW beer news I find. But before that, a quick interview with brewer Brian Waters from Figueroa Mountain about him and the big L.A. news.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from the Pacific Northwest
~ special featured review of Morning Phase Sour from Eagle Rock Brewery
~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 Tracy Flick Can’t Win
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Betwixt the Sheets
~ Great Beer names 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 – A Trio from Mumford Brewing

With their 7th Anniversary recently passed, it seemed a good time to review three Mumford Brewing beers including their 10.76% TIPA…

Return Visit WC DIPA – collaboration with Cerebral Brewing. I like the repeated Return Visit in red on the yellow label. Bright and clear orange color in the glass. Getting candied orange peel to start that settles into a WC dankness. The DIPA strength shows.

Rolling Blackout Coffee Stout – milk chocolate is the aroma order of the day, Coffee is low here. Getting more vanilla than anything as it warms. A bit if metallic note intrudes here as well.

7th Anniversary TIPA – ticks the hazy boxes than toggles up the ABV. Soft hazy mouthfeel with tropical fruit and grassiness. If I had to describe using just one word, that word would be thick. This is a texturally heavy beer.