Tag: beer shopping guide

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Sean Suggests for April 2025

This month, we go a little north and a little north of Los Angeles in search of hoppy beers.  I know, not that hard of an ask but these three choices will make your beer fridge more eclectic to say the least.

Bright Spark Brewing The Sauce Italian Pilsner – 5% – “features a slightly more pronounced hop profile while maintaining exceptional drinkability.”

Hop Secret Everlasting Hopstopper IPA – 6% – featuring Krush, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops. This hop-forward beer delivers bright citrus, tropical fruit, and resinous pine notes, balanced by a smooth malt backbone and a crisp, refreshing finish. Perfect for those who love a flavorful, aromatic hop experience.”

Radiant Beer / Breakside Set the Night Alight DDH West Coast DIPA – 8.5% – “When the Portland legends from Breakside Brewery come to town, an IPA collab is a no-brainer. Ben Edmunds, our good friend and Breakside’s head hopper, believes in intense hop saturation, so we did it big with a Double Dry Hopped West Coast Double IPA we call Set the Night Alight. We hopped it with Mosaic, Breakside’s hand-selected Krush Cryo, Simcoe, our mutally beloved Cashmere, and for our first time, Abstrax’s Mosaic Quantum hop extract. With intense aromas of tropical fruit and big, bright flavors of citrus and guava, this is a night you won’t forget.”

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Sean Suggests for February 2025

This month, gonna keep this an all We Love L.A. edition of the beer shopping list.

Crowns & Hops Heritage Amber Lager – 5.6% – “our special release beer brewed for Black History Month to celebrate the history and current contributions of African Americans.”

Trademark Brewing Ocean Thunder West Coast IPA – 7% – a Double Dry-Hopped IPA featuring Nelson, Citra and Strata hops.

Beachwood Brewing Jukebox Jammer IPA – 7.1% – “this West Coast IPA is packed with a bold, dank four-hop blend (Mosaic Dynaboost, Columbus Cryo, Mosaic, Talus) that hits all the right notes!”

And here is a wee bonus option that you might want to track down….

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In the Tap Lines for August 2024

There was a lot going on in July out in the wide world, August promises no respite for that. But in BSP World, there is a lot of fun, including….

~ e-visits to (3) new breweries in Pennsylvania from listening to Lew Bryson’s Seen Through a Glass podcast

~ special featured reviews of beers from Lagunitas, remember them?

~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 You Like it Darker by Stephen King

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to The Ringer-Verse for Deadpool and Wolverine

~ Sports & A Beer returns with Hard Knocks

~ 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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Sean Suggests for March 2024

Staying local for March and also canvassing a wide array of styles so that your palate does not get stuck.  And yes, I do not approve of green beer and the first selection is a green hued beer, but, in my defense, it is also a sour.  So that means less of a points deduction.

Far Field Made With Luck Sour  – 4.1% – “As  luck would have it, your favorite clover-green sour ale returns to our shelves and draft lines just ahead of St. Patrick’s Day.”

Creature Comforts Spring Belgian-Style White Ale – 5.1% – “We’ve got Spring Fever. Our fresh take on the classic Belgian-Style White Ale is brewed with orange peel, coriander, and local wheat from Day Spring Farms.”

Enegren Brewing Doppel Valkyrie – 8.2% – “a double version of our beloved flagship altbier, Valkyrie and a throwback to some of our first anniversary beers.  This strong, dark ale has rich flavors of dark fruits with hints of dark chocolate and rum, balanced with just a touch of Mt. Hood and Herkules hops.

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Sean Suggests for January 2024

Time for my first beer shopping list for 2024.  It is doubly toasted and very serious and all California brewed.

Highland Park Brewery Toast Points Czech Style Lager – 5.9% – “brewed with our pals Moonlight Brewing. The crew at Moonlight are one of our favorite American lager producers & we couldn’t be more stoked to create a lager with them. This is also the first time we’ve done a decoction mash on our system in Chinatown. Decoction is a process that involves taking part of the mash, boiling it separately, then mixing it back into the main mash to raise its overall temp. It can darken a beer’s color, impart richer malt flavors, give it a smoother mouthfeel, & even result in more stable foam.”

Paperback Brewing Siri-ous Problems Hazy IPA – 6.8% – “anything but a problem to your taste buds, with an overload of juicy hop aroma snd flavor.  Zamba, Citra, and Azzaca hops lend themselves to creating juicy tropical fruit notes, such as pineapple, mango, stone fruits, candy, and orange tangerine.”

21st Amendment Find Your Fortune – 7.5% – “our newest Imperial Toasted Golden Ale is embellished with a QR code directly on the can so drinkers nationwide can scan the code and open their own virtual fortune cookie! Who needs horoscopes when you have a beer like this?! 

With toasted sesame, vanilla, and lactose, Find Your Fortune is a complex beer that offers a delightful blend of flavors and aromas. The toasted sesame adds a nutty and slightly savory note, balanced perfectly with a sweet aroma and flavor of vanilla, followed by a silky smooth, creamy finish.”

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In the Tap Lines for November 2022

Halloween just passed, Turkey Day a’comin quick and before you can blink, Christmas. All of that means holiday beers and winter warmers and IPAs dressed up cold for the snow. Plus, this…

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from the Brewseum Breweries

~ special featured reviews of the Sierra Nevada Bourbon Barrel Bigfoot Barleywine

~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 Endless Night by Agatha Christie

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to The Briefcase featuring Casey Holdahl

~ 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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Totally Glendale

Looks like a Total Wine & More will be coming to my adopted town of Glendale. And within a five minute walk to me.

I really like that they do single can sales but they do not refrigerate the majority of their beers. I am tempted to mark some cans with dates to see how long some beers, especially IPAs, last on the shelf.

Unless their inventory process changes, you will need to be super careful as to what you buy here. Keep it to stouts and spirits.

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Sean Suggests for August 2015

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We leave the state of California behind in this month’s shopping list as we hit up three very different styles and ABVS.

~LIGHT
Boulevard Brewing/ Pop-Up Session IPA 4.30% ABV
“Boulevard Pop-Up Session I.P.A. joins its big brothers Single-Wide and Double-Wide in our trailer park of hop-centric beers. This “session” model is built for frequent excursions, with a very drinkable character and relatively low bitterness tucked behind a big, fruity hop aroma”

~MEDIUM
Left Hand Brewing/ Oktoberfest 6.60% ABV
“This is no festivus for the restuvus – on the contrary – we start brewing in the Spring and it takes a full two months to reach lagered perfection. Biscuity, malty goodness dominates upfront while the noble pedigree hops lend a properly spicy, dry finis”

~DARK
Sound Brewery/ Tripel Entendre 9.90% ABV
“Complexity and balance from a simple recipe of the finest ingredients obtainable. Clear and light in color, this strong Belgian ale drinks smooth and easy but has the complexity to complement the finest meals or to savor alone at the end of the evening.”