Tag: beer shopping list

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Sean Suggests for April 2024

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.”

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Sean Suggests for November 2023

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.”

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Sean Suggests for October 2023

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.”

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Sean Suggests for September 2023

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.

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Sean Suggests for July 2023

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….

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Sean Suggests for June 2023

We are going full on L.A. Beer Week beers for this month’s shopping list. From two Freaky Friday South Bay friends to a Crenshaw collaboration.

El Segundo Squirrel-Toothed Tiger – 6.7% – “We went hoppier, Americanier, and, dare we say, downright more majestic than a pre-historic squirrel on their best day. Sure, the tiger may look friendly, albeit a little funny, but it remains a tiger with an inherent instinct to kill nonetheless!”

Crowns & Hops / Los Angeles Ale Works Down Crenshaw IPA – 7% – Mosaic, Nelson and Enigma hops headline this dank West Coast IPA Boulevard.

Smog City Smogberry IPA – 7.2% – Smog City re-imagines the iconic Mayberry IPA.

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In the Tap Lines for May 2023

It has been a colder than usual spring here in L.A., heck the whole West Coast. No joke but it snowed in Portland on April 1st. Let’s dive into a month of beer fun with shorts on.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from the upcoming Firestone Walker Invitational

~ special featured reviews of whatever is new in my ‘fridge

~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 Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Doctor Dante

~ Sports & A Beer returns with the proliferation of team jerseys

~ 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 April 2023

We are going to stick to SoCal but let the styles wander all over the place this month.

Ogopogo Outnumber the Downs Pilsner – 4.5% – A West Coast Pilsner brewed with Northern Pine Brewing.

Trademark Morning Drive Coffee Cream Ale – 5% – “light in body with an aromatic coffee punch.”

Societe Flashback Time IPA – 7.2% – “a virtual collision of juicy flavors and hoppy infatuation.”

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Sean Suggests for March 2023

This month’s trio is brought to you by the letter S for Spring. Also the letter C for California.

Riip Brewing Solo Triip IPA – 6.8% – “The next adventure in our single hop series focuses on one of the most ubiquitous hops in the world, Mosaic.”

Beachwood / Urban Roots Steely Jam IPA – 7.1% – “A collaboration between Beachwood and Urban Roots, Steely Jam is a hoptacular riffage using sustained chords of Strata, Mosaic and Mosaic Cryo hops.”

HiDef Brewing Spring Reverb – 7.45% – “Barrel aged mixed culture fruited sour with a mild pleasant funk, tart and crisp. Fruited with peach, raspberry and passion fruit.”

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Sean Suggests for February 2022

This month, heading into lighter beers. Even the over 7% choice is guava-fied putting it into more refreshing territory. To either ease out of big barrel-aged beers or into beer after a month off.

Westmalle Extra – 4.8% – “Golden blond ale, refreshing, loaded with flavor, fairly light-bodied.”

All Season Brewing Are We There Yet? IPA – 6.7% – the new IPA project for the Mid-City brewery.

Figueroa Mountain Guava Point Conception IPA – 7.2% – “One of our favorite IPAs amped up with fresh guava.“