Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
In honor of fresh hop season, this month it is all about hop varietals. Three choices filled with all sorts of different hops to feed the bitterness that we all seek.
Everywhere Beer Co. Branching Out – 5.6% – Modern Pilsner hopped with Krush (586), Nectaron, and Nelson
Beachwood Brewing Lupulin Lounge – 7.1% – IPA hopped with Citra, Strata, Idaho 7 Cryo and Columbus
Green Cheek Beer Co. Playing It Loud – 8.6% – DDH Hazy DIPA hopped with Citra and sprinkled with Mosaic, Motueka and Strata
Gonna lean into the hops for August seeing as how we are nearing fresh hop season. Here are three SoCal IPA’s to add to your shopping cart.
Benny Boy Brewing Hazy Persuasion IPA – 6.3% – “first ever hazy has landed and a juicy one with an intense amount of Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe. The result is a light, pillowy body with a dank fruity nose.”
Beachwood Patio Project – 7.1% – “Get ready to fire up the grill, grab a deck chair, and start sippin’ this new aromatic West Coast IPA featuring Mosaic & Citra hops!”
Riip Beer Riip’n Greens – 7.5% – Back to Back winner of the Best of the West Coast IPA National Throwdown at the TopWire beer garden at Crosby Hop Farms.
This month we are staying in California for our beer shopping list but we will travel far when it comes to different styles so buckle up.
Enegren 13th Anniversary Czech-Style Amber Lager – 4.8% – This lager features a perfect blend of malt sweetness and mild bitterness, offering flavors of caramel, toasted bread, and a hint of spice. Crafted to honor our legacy, it boasts a clean, crisp finish that leaves you wanting more.”
21st Amendment Hell or High Twilight – 5.6% – “a citrus wheat ale brewed with sweet orange peel and natural flavor.” The latest in the Hell or series.
Ambitious Ales / Riip Beer All in the HIIPS – West Coast IPA – 7.2% – “Making a WCIPA that was truly a balance of both our house brewing styles. Starting with a super pale malt base to showcase the massive punch of Mosaic and Riwaka we threw in both the kettle and dry hop, then just a kiss of Hop Kief to round it out! Booming with big notes of dankness, pink grapefruit, melon, and fruit from the tropics!”
Since it is both L.A. Beer Week Month and Pride Month too, let’s jump into some happy hoppy IPAs brewed right here in the City of Angels.
Angel City LGBTQI(P)A+ – 4.7% – “an easy-drinking session IPA designed with warm June days in mind – brewed with Nectaron and Nelson Sauvin hops exclusively in the boil and whirlpool, and double dry-hopped to boot. It has a super fruity and tropical aroma, tropical fruit flavor and a dry, easy finish.”
Arrow Lodge / Claremont Craft Ales All the Mosaic – 7.5% – three different types of Mosaic hops fill this West Coast IPA collaboration.
Common Space Dealer’s Choice Triple Hazy IPA – 10% – with notes of dried mango, orange Starburst and lime.
This month the theme is unique and hard to find and I have three that will test your mettle as both a beer shopper and a beer drinker.
Homage Brewing – The Flower Called Nowhere Barrel Aged Saison – 6% – “This marks the 5th blend of one of our favorite beers to make. A few years ago we conceptualized a Saison with delicate nuances of flowers. We trialed various flowers and settled upon Europe Rose for its soft and fragrant aroma, as well as Osmanthus, which has a unique fragrance of peach and apricot that compliments the stone fruit qualities of the wild yeast. Lastly, we added Chrysanthemum, which has a sweet, hay, and honey like quality that supports the aged hops in the beer, adding a rustic touch.”
New Belgium – Tart Lychee – 7.5% – ” sour ale brewed with lychee and a hint of cinnamon that combine to create a beautiful balance between sweet and tart.”
The Bruery – Cire – 18.9% – “Produced through painstaking care and attention from our Bruers, Cire is more than just a beer; it’s our Solera Blended Anniversary Old Ale. Blended from the best of the Bruery’s stock each year & aged in Buffalo Trace and Heaven Hill Bourbon barrels, Cire carries a deeply complex, layered flavor profile. The perfect way to commemorate 16 years of leadership in the industry.”
Time to play, one of these things is not like the other. I am a fan of collaborative beers and so that is two-thirds of the theme this month.
Enegren Brewing / Bierstadt Lagerhaus American Reinheitsgebot – 4.8% – “Being two breweries that share a passion for exceptional, filtered, and crisp German lagers, we decided to brew one of our all-time favorite beers for this year’s American Reinheitsgebot: an American Helles Lager. This classic beer is crafted with American malt and hops, staying true to its style. Make sure to swing by Frühlingsfest and grab a taste before it disappears!”
Santa Monica Brew Works Todo Chido Mexican-Style Lager – 5% – “this crisp Mexican-style ‘surfveza’ is pure golden refreshment. Enjoy the bright, well-balanced taste with delicate notes of orange blossom and a touch of tangelo.”
Wagon Wheel Brewing / Tarantula Hill Wagon Full of Tarantulas – 6% – “We set out to brew a Hazy Single IPA and the resulting brew is a Tropical fruit bomb that is out of this world! Wagon Full of Tarantulas is a Hazy IPA featuring HBC 630 and Mosaic hops. This beer is layered with flavors of papaya, grapefruit and pineapple.”
This month really runs the gamut. Of styles, ABV’s and ingredients. Give thanks for the wonderful diverse world of craft beer!
Stone Brewing Liberty Station Centennial Pilsner – 4.7% – “American pilsner dry hopped with Cryo Centennial hops to celebrate 100 years of the naval base at Liberty Station. Notes of white grape, pear and mild citrus.”
Cellador Ales Subtle Peaks: in Spring Bright Nectarine – 5.9% – “A Dry-Hopped Masumoto Nectarine beer will be the first release from fruit season”
Samuel Adams Utopias 2023 – 28% – “Now released every two years, Utopias is a blend of multiple batches of the brewery’s earlier Extreme Beers which are further aged in multiple types of barrels. Utopias has always been aged in charred whiskey casks, and this year the Sam Adams brewers expanded the kinds of barrels for more complex flavors.”
“In addition to American bourbon barrels, we use imported Scotch and peated whisky barrels. The peated Scotch barrels add a wisp of smoke to the flavor, while Ruby Port and Carcavelos casks from Portugal and Cognac barrels from France bring dark fruit notes. New to Utopias 2023 are the barrels from Pineau des Charentes – a rare, fortified French aperitif wine from western France. While Utopias 2023 has European roots, it’s a distinctively American innovation.”
This month, gonna do breweries that have locations in Huntington Beach since I will be there for a brief weekend stay.
Green Cheek Pull’n Levers – 5.3% – “A New Zealand-Style Pils w/ Super Sauvin.”
Riip Beer Co. Pineapple Panacea – 7.3% – “hazy ipa with pineapple. straight from the “fountain of juice”, this elixir is certain to ease your mind and refresh your soul. healthy doses of cascade.”
Beachwood Mocha Machine Picoso – 9.2% – “It’s our multi-award-winning Imperial Coffee Chocolate Porter roasted with coffee from Portola Coffee but with an added twist of Saigon cinnamon and spicy chilies.”
Small town breweries can get lost when you live in the big city of Los Angeles but sometimes you have to drive away and find the out of the way spots. Here are three worthy of trying….
Heater Allen Bobtoberfest – 5.6% – from my college town of McMinnville comes this excellent example of a festbier from brewer Lisa Allen.
Bright Spark Good Natured Saison – 6.6% – giving off flavors of clove, yarrow flower and peach from a family owned brewery just south of downtown Ventura.
RT Rogers The Crystal Gazers Hazy IPA – 6.7% – The Monrovia brewery tucked up in the mountains has joined the haze craze with this new IPA.
Los Angeles Ale Works Leisureland Lager – 4.7% – “Classic, crisp and clean at 4.7% ABV, you could say that this is “beer flavored beer” featuring subtle cracker flavors, floral aromas and minimal (but lingering) bitterness.”
MadeWest TRZ Flip Pale Ale – 6% – “X Games are coming to town and have inspired this brand new West Coast Extra Pale Ale hopped with Mosaic and HBC 586 from @yakimachief! This epic duo delivers bright citrus and ripe tropical fruit with notes of passion fruit and papaya.”
Trademark Brewing Neon Enigma DDH West Coast IPA – ??% – “A bright, flashy can bursts open – popping aromas of raspberry and white wine – while a dazzling trio of Enigma, Simcoe, and Cashmere dance with nuanced flavors of mango, tangerine and a touch of stone fruit.”
As a summer bonus, be on the lookout for this anniversary beer from Beachwood….
