Tag: beer shopping list

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Sean Suggests for October 2025

This month, we are all over the map from fields of lavender and hops, sours to quads. And from Los Angeles to the world.

Far Field Brewing Two Wheeler Lavender Sour – 4.2% – “won a Gold Medal at the Great American Beer Festival last year for the Herb & Spice Beer category. It’s a tart, effervescent, bright, lively, herbal, spritzy pour that kinda tastes like a party on your palate with some fresh herbs from the garden.”

Highland Park Brewery Fresh Hop Sticky Fresh IPA – 7.3% –  “a collaboration Fresh Hopped West Coast IPA with our pals Balebreaker Brewing, Yakima Chief Hops, & Loftus Ranches.”

Straffe Hendrik Heritage 2024 – 11% – “Our iconic Quadruple has matured a whole year in carefully selected oak barrels. The beer has thus developed a rich and complex character, which will continue to evolve in a bottle to amaze you for many years to come.”

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Sean Suggests for September 2025

Moonlight Brewing Cellar Clown – 5.3% – “This Märzen-style Lager has light malty notes of biscuit, and a flavor so delicately balanced it’s like riding a unicycle on a tightrope.”

Beachwood Tailgate Mate IPA – 6.7% – new football season IPA with Krush Cryo, Krush, Rakau, Ekuanot, Simcoe, Riwaka Hop Kief

8one8 Brewing Nuts & Bolts Brown Ale – 6.7% – “Built from the ground up with classic UK ingredients, Nuts & Bolts is a full-bodied brown ale that brings together tradition and bold flavor. Brewed with earthy Fuggle hops and rich British brown malt, it pours a deep mahogany hue with a creamy head. Expect layers of roasted nut, toasted bread, and subtle cocoa balanced by a smooth malt sweetness and a touch of earthy hop bitterness.”

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Sean Suggests for August 2025

This month, let’s climb the ABV ladder.  Starting in the 4’s and working all the way up into the 12’s! We will also climb the state of California from San Diego through to Ventura.

MadeWest Ventura Lime Light Lager – 4.2% – the original “Golden, full-flavored light lager made with the finest ingredients to achieve a clean crisp refreshing finish.” plus lime.

Pizza Port / Tarantula Hill Ultimate Rush IPA – 7% – “Brewed with a generous heap of dank hops, this West Coast ripper floods the senses with notes of Sauvignon Blanc grapes, bright lemon zest, mango skin, chopped papaya, kumquat, and stone fruit. The finish is dry and resiny, loaded with citrus zest and dank pine…”

North Park Quadrangular Quad IPA – 12% – “This quadruple dry-hopped Hazy Quad IPA boasts an impressive lineup of Mega Terps, Krush, Manilita, Peacharine, Citra, Waimea, Nectaron, and Nelson Sauvin, which offer aromas of fruit punch, pineapple, and lime peel. Consider yourself warned – this one packs a 12% ABV punch hidden amongst flavors of red berries, guava, and pineapple fruit leather.”

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Sean Suggests for June 2025

This month, it is all about collaborations and it includes at least one Los Angeles brewery in the mix in honor of L.A. Beer Week.  

Ambitious Ales / Solaris 6 FT Nachos 12° Czech Style Pilsner  – 5% – “Using only Floor Malted Bohemian Malt, a pseudo-decoction method, and a healthy dose of 100% Czech Saaz Hops. 6 FT Nachos pours a beautifully clear gold color, showcasing marvelous foam, a soft mouthfeel and firm bitterness all backed up with a zesty floral hop character.”

Smog City / Fremont Highway Hypnosis West Coast IPA – 6.8% – “cruises through orange zest, yuzu, peach, melon, and a smooth twist of coconut and pineapple.”

Highland Park / Monkish Light Eaters Triple Dry-Hopped Hazy DIPA – 8.3% – “with Abstrax Citra Quantum, Citra Hyperboost, Citra T90, Galaxy, Citra Cryo and Krush Cryo.”

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Sean Suggests for May 2025

I did warn that this month would have Irish here, there and everywhere and the first of the three beer choices this week.  But then we quickly move on to Italy and then we might need some food to go with the last choice.

Sullivan’s Irish Gold Golden Ale – 5.2% – “As lagers were brewed in the 1800’s, this is a traditional kettle-hopped Golden Ale with early & late hop additions for a clean, citrus finish and a rich, copper / gold colour. Brewed by a true master, the beauty of this ale lies in its balance, sessionability and subtle apricot & tangerine tasting finish.”

Tarantula Hill / Relentless Brewing Feel the Flow Italian Pilsner – 5.5% – “Brewed with our good friends at Relentless Brewing Co, this Italian Pils was brewed with tradition in mind using 100% Italian floor malted Eraclea pilsner malt. Hopped generously in the boil with German Perle & French Aramis and then fermented cold & dry hopped judiciously with Saphir & Tettnanger before being lagered for 6 weeks! Soft breadiness leads the way to a clean bitterness, with waves of floral and soft spicy notes, and finishing with a spritzy carb that compliments the finish.”

Highland Park Brewery Burger Eyes West Coast IPA – 7.3% – “West Coast IPA with a dry hop combo of Mosaic Cryo, Mosaic Hyperboost, Columbus Cryo, Chinook, & Cascade. Bursting through the fluffy white foam is an array of aromas like citrus zest, dank weed, & evergreen pine. This is the beer to reach for while enjoying this month’s collaboration burgers during Burger Month.”

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Sean Suggests for March 2025

This month let’s head to the farmer’s market and then level up our favorite fruits with wild extras and then amp up that ABV.

Great Notion Double Papaya Shake – 9.1% – “We’re shaking things up with our shake series and switching out those beautiful berries for lots of juicy papaya, passionfruit, and vanilla.”

Cellador Ales Orange Sunshine – 9.4% – “This is our third release of Orange Sunshine, and this vintage features Riesling grapes from Kick On Ranch.” It “is a true beer/wine hybrid with more than just a few grapes thrown into barrels. It’s a 60/40 blend of saison and pressed Riesling and you’d be forgiven for thinking it was just a sparkling orange wine if you tasted it blind.”

The Bruery Strawberry Charm’d – 12.7% – “Let Strawberry Charm’d cast a spell on you with its magical blend of tart strawberry, sweet marshmallow, and graham cracker.”

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Sean Suggests for January 2025

Two out of three ain’t bad, right? The first two beers are collaborations between brewery and outside partner. They are also both in the 5% range. Then there is Sadie. An excellent outlier any day.

Paperback Brewing Crazy Clown Time Blonde – 5.1% – “Circus Liquor collaboration Blonde Ale”

Bright Spark Fika Swedish Coffee Milk Stout – 5.8% – coffee collaboration with Beacon coffee.

Beachwood Sadie Batch 11 – 12% – “This is our 11th batch of this expressive strong ale that spends a year in American bourbon & whiskey barrels—rich caramel and vanilla flavors are intertwined with delicate notes of oak and toasted oats. This adventurous beer is as spirited and delightful as the girl who inspired it.”

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Sean Suggests for December 2024

Collaborations x 3 this month as we travel around the Golden State from San Diego to Los Angeles to Sacramento via new hops and old recipes.

MacLeod / Tomm Carroll Oat Malt Stout – 4.6% – “this sub-style, which was made with malted oats (along with malted barley), not oat flakes or oatmeal, was first brewed by Maclay & Co., LTD of Alloa, Scotland around 1894.”

Smog City / Pizza Port PC Load Letter White IPA – 6.5% – “Packed with a rock-solid punch of grapefruit and zesty yuzu, juicy hits of peach and apricot, and a smooth herbal backbone, it’s the ultimate cure for a case of the Mondays.”

Urban Roots / Societe Fun Fare IPA – 7.1% – “stacked with Krush, Krush Cryo, Krush Dynaboost, Citra, and Nectaron hops, so expect your taste buds to be flying first class.”

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Sean Suggests for November 2024

It has been a bitter November so let’s dive into some hops to console ourselves.  And let’s keep it in the Los Angeles family and within low 7% abv too.

Los Angeles Ale Works Steady Coastin’ West Coast IPA – 7% – “Crisp with notes of juicy melon, berry, sweet fruit, and fresh pineapple.”

Brown Soul Brewing Juguito Hazy IPA – 7.1% – “inspired by our very own Chef Hugo, who many have come to know affectionately, as “Juice”, this hazy IPA packs a punch”

Ambitious Ales Frodo Foggins Hazy IPA – 7.2% – “we took the base of our NZ style Pils and beefed it up into a mighty foggy one! Pillowy soft with lots of juicy character the Freestyle Hops Motueka and Kohia Motueka Hop Kief are bursting with notes of lime sherbert, starbursts and tropical fruit.”

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Sean Suggests for September 2014

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