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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.“

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Sean Suggests for January 2023

Let’s take a little drive around SoCal to taste all sorts of hops from Noble to un-named and Pilsner to IIPA to start the year off right.

Bottle Logic – Semplicitá Italian Pilsner – 5.2% “Saphir and Saaz hops tout delicate aromas of pine and white flowers and transition to the palate with an up-front bitterness. It lingers for a moment and folds into the fresh bready sweetness of the malt base with a medium-light body and effervescent carbonation.”

El Segundo Brewing – Simcoe West Coast IPA – 6.8% – “Once again, we love a hop so much, we had no choice but to name a beer after it. Simcoe’s been around since 2000, making it a classic hop of the West Coast IPA. There’s been plenty of hops that have made a splash since then, but Simcoe has a certain… je ne sais quoi that keeps us coming back for more.”

Ogopogo Brewing / Harland Beer Co. – Merlion 2 DDH Hazy IIPA – 8.5% – “With Citra, Incognito Citra, HBC 586 and HBC 586 Cryo.”

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Sean Suggests for November 2022

Three beers that will have you traveling all over SoCal. But each of these three beers would work well with your Holiday meal choices.

Malibu Brewing Company Railway Rye Pale Ale – 5.6% – “This gorgeous ale boasts rye-spiced richness and balanced bitterness, the perfect transition from Summer to Fall.”⁠

Trademark Brewing Get Toasty Hot Chocolate Porter – 5.8% – “Get warm and toasty with this Hot Chocolate Porter made with Letterpress Chocolate cacao nibs.  A roast-toasty body and silky smooth finish will carry you away.”

Radiant Beer Co. Home With You Hazy IPA – 6.8% – “This fresh & fruity hazy will bring cheer to any table.  Featuring a lush combination of Citra, Mosaic, Simcoe, Amarillo & Cashmere hops, this juice bomb hugs you with notes of mango, tangerine, peach and a hint of strawberry.”

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Sean Suggests for October 2022

Staying in Los Angeles this month with three pretty big beers.  One is the definite outlier but fits the spooky season for sure.

Angel City Saisonic Ritual – 7.2% – “Featuring 1,000 pounds of Pinot Noir grape must and skins fermented with a demonic farmhouse saison that is just in time for Halloween. We aimed to blend beer making and the dark arts to bring about a dry saison with just enough wine grape flavor to keep the ritual going.”

El Segundo Octo Brew Hazy DIPA – 8% – the final beer in the Octo series is a hazy DIPA loaded with Citra, Simcoe and CTZ Cryo hops.

Common Space Hey Big Guy Triple IPA – 10% – “lemongrass, kiwi, dank.”

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Sean Suggests for September 2022

Hopefully, by now, you have partaken of a few Oktoberfest styled beers.  For those here in Los Angeles, I have two more suggestions for your boot steins plus a further afield beer that has BBQ involvement. 

Societe Brewing – Oktoberfest Lager – 4.6% – “Inspired by the famed light brews of Munich, this festive lager is crisp and clean with floral and mineral notes, plus a touch of lemony citrus zest.”

Far Field – Oh! So Smoky Smoked Porter – 5.3% – “Smoked Malt + Chocolate + Coffee and malts smoked by Osos BBQ.

Paperback Brewing – Doctor Octobock – German Fest Bock Lager – 6% – “pale, malty lager beer designed to distinguish between blandness and too much color.  The hop character is balanced with toasty malts and spicy notes from the hops.”

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Sean Suggests for August 2022

Thanks Climate change!  Time to go a little lighter this month to compensate what we humans have done to this planet.  Let’s drink some lighter beers and also help, just a little while we are drinking.

Arts District Brewing Summer Crush – 4.3% – “Crafted on a bright and tart sour wheat base, our brewers go all out pulverizing Meyer Lemons into our own purée to double down on that acidity, and then toss in heaps of raspberry and blackberry for a mega jammy and sweet tart experience.”

Unsung Wormhole Pale Ale – 5.5% – “Hoppy west coast pale ale with strata & simcoe hops.”

VNBC Hair We Go Hazy IPA – 6% – A mixture of Cascade, Saaz, Calypso and Citra Cryo.  Proceeds from the sales will be donated to Wigs for Kids.

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Sean Suggests for July 2022

Summer might be the time for pilsners and lagers to shine but there are still a lot of IPAs out there with almost all the hops you can imagine.

Smog City Squall Line IPA – 6.4% – “the next beer in our Smog Days IPA Series. This is one bright & crushable West Coast IPA, coming in at 6.4% and featuring Azacca, Veteran’s Blend, & Simcoe hops. It’s got wonderful flavors of mango, pineapple, & stone fruit.

Fremont / Bale Breaker Cultivision Cold IPA – 7.5% – “we used Yakima Chief Hop’s 301 Mosaic Fresh Cryo Hops. Just because it’s not fresh hop season, doesn’t mean we can’t bring you a fresh hop beer. By using fresh hops it really accentuates the pine, grassy and fresh floral aromas.”

Societe Brewing Glorious Odds Hazy IPA – 7.5% – “a playful hazy with a boat load of stone fruit notes. Adorn your senses with aromas of peach, tropical fruits and lemon followed with some orange & sweet aromatics. Crafted with Idaho 7, El Dorado, Mosaic, and Azzaca hops, this spunky brew is mildly bitter with a heavy haze.”

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Sean Suggests for June 2022

This month it is easy to be green in Los Angeles as a bevy of heavily hopped beers are out there waiting for us to experience the loudest bitterness.

BIG

Ogopogo / El Segundo Hop City Express 2: Double Trouble – 8.5% WC DIPA This San Gabriel meets El Segundo collaboration is hopped with Incognito Mosaic, Incognito Chinook, Michigan Chinook, and Mosaic Cryo. 

BIGGER

Beachwood Brewing Greenshift DIPA – 10% – West Coast Double IPA from hopped with a lot of the green stuff.   Citra, Amarillo, El Dorado, Nelson Sauvin, Galaxy, and Warrior too.

JUMBO

Highland Park Brewery Jumbo Timbo IPA – 7.5% – “Timbo Style IPA hopped with Mosaic & Citra hops, just like Timbo Pils, but we bumped it up a notch or two. This crisp, clear, hoppy beer explodes with notes of dank blueberry kush, flamed orange peel, & zippy blueberry razzzz. What a crop of aromas, what a crop!”

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Sean Suggests for May 2022

This month is all California with a leaning to styles not normally seen or ingredients not as often used.

Firestone Walker / Green Cheek – Parrotphrase – 4.5% “We teamed up with Green Cheek Beer Co. to create Parrotphrase, a limited-edition Dry-Hopped Grisette with crisp flavors of passionfruit and guava. Parrotphrase will be the Welcome Beer at the Invitational Beer Festival.”

Cellador Ales – Golden Healer – 5% “an intensely aromatic, and reminds me of the perfumey quality of walking by a guava tree in Southern California in the fall. The base beer has lots of depth, with classic Farmhouse beer character, which plays well with the slightly herbal note of the guavas.”

Beachwood Brewing – Barrel Aged Full Malted Jacket Scotch Ale – 12% – “Bringing back our two-time GABF award-winning Full Malted Jacket Bourbon Barrel-Aged Scotch Ale. With its NEW partner in crime, Full Malted Jacket RYE Barrel-Aged Scotch Ale. You’ll taste accents of vanilla and toasted oak that meld seamlessly with notes of toffee and caramel.