In the Tap Lines for January 2022

header_attractionsWelcome to 2022!  I have a feeling that it will be a better year than the two previous.  Maybe that is optimism or just that I keep seeing new beers pop up and it makes me hopeful.  Have a blessed new year!

~ e-visits to (3) breweries that I would like to visit in 2022
~ special featured reviews of beer brewed in LA
~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 Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Close to Death
~ 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.

In the Tap Lines for December 2021

header_attractionsThis is where the Christmas rubber meets the holiday road.  This month we dive into seasonals every day until Christmas plus Christmas beer reviews.  Get your tinsel out.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries that made the Craft Beer & Brewing Best Of List
~ special featured reviews of beers with a touch of the Christmas.
~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 Foundation by Isacc Asimov
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to My Dad Wrote a Porno
~ 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.

In the Tap Lines for November 2021

header_attractionsThe penultimate month of the year. We will start the month with some Central Coast beverage coverage. And as we slowly dig out and start to holiday like it is 2019 again, let’s ramp up the festive beer coverage to close out the month.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries that won in the fresh hop competitionat GABF
~ special featured reviews of beers from the Central Coast of California
~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 Normal People by Sally Rooney
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Jacked Ramsays
~ 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.

In the Tap Lines for October 2021

header_attractionsI am a strict seasonalist.  No PSL before October. Partially due to being in LA where fall arrives late and we only get a sprinkling of fresh hop beers.  So hold off on your Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Let’s enjoy October first,

~ e-visits to (3) breweries taken from the pages of Modern British Beer
~ special featured reviews of autumnal beers
~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 Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to The Great James Bond Car Robbery
~ 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.

Beer Cage Match – Review # 4 – Working for Tips from Moonlight Brewing Co.

Next is review number fourfrom the City Beer Store of San Francisco beer purchase. By the end of the month, I will rank all six.

Currently Side Pull is one with IPL is Dead second and Lenticular Cap third, how will beer # 4 rank?

That beer comes from Moonlight Brewing Co., Working for Tips. A redwood ale made with redwood branches. Now I do not get any tree like notes from this brown hued beer, more a latte type of sweet note. Touch of spice tries to escape but is pushed back. The aroma has a little of the forest to it.

This is the outlier of the group. That could have worked in its favor but it was a little too sweet for me, so it brings up the rear.

Beer Cage Match – Review # 3

Next is review number three from the City Beer Store of San Francisco beer purchase. By the end of the month, I will rank all six. Currently Side Pull is one with Lenticular Cap second, how will beer # 3 fare?

BareBottle IPL is Dead is a DDH Pilsner.  Full recipe is on the can down to the hopping schedule. First time seeing that.  Getting grapefruit but the malt sticks around well.  Nice balance here.  Has a more silky mouthfeel than sharp and bubbly.  Might think at first that it is a pale ale.

I would slot this into second. A little more crisp and it might have gone first.

Beer Cage Match – Review # 1

I am loving the fact that City Beer Store of San Francisco ships anywhere in California. My most recent platypus purchase is a wide mix of beers that I thought, I should rate not in a 1v1 format but WWE style.

Here is review 1. By the end of the month, I will rank all six.

We start with Side Pull a Czech-style pale lager from Fair State and famed lager makers Bierstadt Lagerhaus from Colorado.

SP pours a super light yellow color. Did my best to get the best glassware for such traditional beer. Aroma is beautiful. Brings to mind walking around the old Weinhard plant in Portland. A sweet malt air. This is a really delicate beer to the point of whisper thin. Has a stern bite to it though that really lingers on the roof of the mouth. I hate the word crushable that is used on the label because this is just not something to throw back, this lager has a spine to it.

In the Tap Lines for September 2021

header_attractionsHello September.  Where the first two weeks are filled with Fest and Pumpkin beers which then disappear before tge month is over.  Why? Cause ‘Merica needs to move on to the next holiday pronto.  But let’s drink in the here and the now this month.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries in college football towns
~ special featured reviews of beers bought from City Beer Store
~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 Tell the Machine Goodnight by Katie Williams
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Gene & Roger
~ 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.

In the Tap Lines for April 2021

header_attractionsNo fools today.  Just more exciting beer news from Los Angeles and the world.  Really, we will go traveling as we transition from home bound to bound for taprooms  

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from Indiana and March Madness
~ special featured reviews of Belgian styled beers
~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events (Far in the future events)
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark
~ A Book & A Beer reads Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro 
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Tagline
~ 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.

Featured Review – Visions DDH Hazy IPA from Offshoot Beer Co.

When you have had enough examples of a beer style, you can begin to see the hallmarks. Those attributes that the beer needs to have to be a true example of the style.

For me, a hazy IPA needs to look the part first and foremost. It needs to have that citrus juice murk. It also needs a creamy, pillowy note but with some juice and a little hop bitterness that scrapes the tongue.

Visions from Offshoot Beer Co. ticks all of my hazy boxes. The bitterness which is usually the first casualty of hazies is nice and strong due, probably to the Double Dry Hopping. There is just a touch of juice tangled up with a fluffiness. Most of all, this beer pops off. Not your usual flat and dusty IPA without zing.

This was a media sample which I usually really examine but after a few sips, I just enjoyed it.