Tag: beer shopping list

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Sean Suggests for February 2017

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For February, let’s go with the color red. I know it is a day after Valentine’s Day but beer (like cards and chocolates) shouldn’t be just one day a year.

~LIGHT
Dieu du Ciel/ Rosee D’Hibiscus 5.9% ABV
“The Rosée d’Hibiscus is a soft spoken wheat beer. The rose colour comes from the hibiscus flowers added during the brewing process. The aromas and flavour of this tropical flower are very prominent in the beer, giving it a slight acidity and a very agreeable fragrance. It is the perfect thirst quencher on a hot summer day.”

~MEDIUM
Crux Fermentation/ Banished-Better Off Red 7.00% ABV
“Flanders Reds may be called the Burgundies of Belgium, but we age our take on this complex, slightly tart style in Oregon Pinot Noir barrels for nearly a year. A fresh batch will present spicier notes while older versions pick up more oak and yield cherry flavors. So we blended them figuring we’re better off presenting this exotic mélange simultaneously. “

~DARK
Logsdon/ Ceraus 8.5% ABV
“From Hood River, Oregon near the orchards of the Fruit Loop, a Flanders Style Red Ale with organic cherries.”

All of these beers can be found at Sunset Beer Co. (unless they got bought up real quick)

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Sean Suggests for January 2017

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For January the theme is “North of $10” & Barrel-Aged, so let’s dive into three big beers to keep you warm in our one cold L.A. month.

~LIGHT
Good Beer Co./ Hot Totty 5.00% ABV
“Farmhouse ale aged in American oak bourbon barrels with lemon zest and ginger. This dry and complex ale is inspired by a popular cold remedy that includes hot ginger tea, bourbon, and a squeeze and lemon – sometimes referred to as a Hot Toddy. The resulting beer is bursting with bourbon, ginger and citrus flavors. “

~MEDIUM
The Commons/ Bourbon Little Brother 8.80% ABV
“Little Brother is a rich and malty ale. A bit of roastiness, toffee, candy and chocolate come through as it warms. A smaller batch of Little Brother was aged in a Heaven Hill Bourbon barrel and blended back in for a touch of Bourbon. Little Brother is a pleasant and satisfying cold weather warmer. “

~DARK
Avery/ Tangerine Quad 10.00% ABV
“Patiently aged in the finest of Bourbon barrels, this bold Belgian-style Quadrupel layers notes of rich, dark fruit, vanilla, and caramel with a burst of tangerine peel culminating in the vibrancy of this full-bodied creation”

All of these beers can be found at Sunset Beer Co. (unless they got bought up real quick)

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Sean Suggests for December 2016

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Since the December blog is filled to bursting with holiday seasonals, for the monthly suggestions we will end with what to drink for Christmas morning, breakfast beers as it were.

~LIGHT
Dogfish Head / Beer for Breakfast 7.4% ABV
“A stout tricked out with all sorts of breakfast ingredients including Guatemalan Antigua cold press coffee, Maple syrup harvested from Western Massachusetts and for the quintessential Delaware breakfast touch – Rapa Scrapple and their secret blend of spices. 2-row Applewood smoked barley, Kiln Coffee malt, Flaked oats, Roasted barley, Caramel malt along with additions of Molasses, Milk Sugars (lactose), Brown Sugar, Roasted Chicory lay the foundation for this malty, breakfast-themed concoction. Enjoy huge notes of coffee in the nose and savory layers in the flavor”

~MEDIUM
The Bruery / The Grade 7.6% ABV
“The Grade is in. It’s built on the backbone of a rich, cold-fermented baltic porter made popular in countries bordering the Baltic Sea. Similar to an imperial porter but distinctly different, the baltic porter style is heralded for being full-bodied, roasty and smooth, with overtones of toffee, coffee, caramel, chocolate and dark fruit. We take it one step further and hammer it home with the bold, sweet flavors of maple syrup and a touch of fenugreek, placing it in a different, experimental class entirely. “

~DARK
Epic Brewing/ Big Bad Baptista 12.6% ABV
“Big Bad Baptista is inspired by traditional Mexican coffee, Café de Olla, which is served with cinnamon and piloncillo, an unrefined sugar. The Cinnamon adds another layer of complexity and accentuates the earthy character of Mexican Coffee, but more importantly, it captures the essence of a place and its culture. As beverage geeks we wanted to pay homage to that rich tradition and offer our unique take. “

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Sean Suggests for October 2016

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For my October suggestions, it’s a wide style variety. The complexity of brett and wood to the clean and crisp of a Midwestern Pils before heading to Japan for some salt and fruit from Hitachino Nest.

~LIGHT
Eagle Rock/ Woodwork #2 5.40% ABV
“Beginning with ERB’s “Unionist” as a base, this beer is aged on red wine barrels and bottle-conditioned with Brettanomyces.”

~MEDIUM
Founders/ PC Pils 5.50% ABV
“Pleasantly crisp, perfectly clean and profoundly crushable, PC Pils is our take on the classic Pilsner style. While Noble hops have been the preferred choice of Pilsner brewers around the world, we went with some of our favorite American varieties. Piney Chinook, pleasantly citrus Cascade and punchy Centennial make this an easy-drinker with floral hop characteristics.”

~DARK
Hitachino/ Anbai Ale 7.50% ABV
“Anbai literally means “Salty Plum” and the word is also used to describe the stat of taste and flavor. Ii Anbai means “just right”! Hitachino Nest Anbai Ale is brewed based on the high alcohol version (7%) of the signature beer Hitachino Nest White Ale, infused with locally grown green sour plum (ume), and finished up with a pinch of Japanese sea salt (moshio).”

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Sean Suggests for April 2016

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Is it just me or are the shelves filled with frooty IPA’s? And are there more and more beers above $13 for one bottle? Here are three options that are neither on this tax due day.

~LIGHT
Oskar Blues/ Beerito 4.00% ABV
Beerito is a light bodied, amber Mexican lager brewed with premium German and coloRADo sourced craft malts and featuring a crisp accent from noble hops. The mouth feel is incredibly smooth with flavors of walnut, toasted bread, plum, honey and cocoa.

~MEDIUM
Ex Novo/ The Most Interesting Lager in the World 5.00% ABV
Crisp and refreshing, this Mexican Lager was brewed with Vienna and Pilsner malts with a hint of flaked corn.

~DARK
Eagle Rock/ Equinox 6.60% ABV
As the winter thaws and the daylight hours lengthen enough to balance with the night, it reminds us all that spring is in the air. The aroma of citrus, and the taste of Muscat grapes, starfruit and freshly cut grass are a refreshing blend in this young sour ale. The perfect balance of sweetness, an intriguing tartness, and subtle hop bitterness are like a cool spring breeze in the warmth of the sun.

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Sean Suggests for December 2015

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Holiday Ale time is one of my favorites and each year brings new beers to add to the winter classics from Anchor and Sierra Nevada and Deschutes. Here are two newbies to the snow scene and a British favorite for your holiday drinking.

~LIGHT
Samuel Smith/ Winter Welcome 6.00% ABV
“This seasonal beer is a limited edition brewed for the short days and long nights of winter. The full body resulting from fermentation in ‘stone Yorkshire squares’ and the luxurious malt character, which will appeal to a broad range of drinkers, is balanced against whole-dried Fuggle and Golding hops with nuances and complexities that should be contemplated before an open fire.”

~MEDIUM
Eagle Rock/ All Your Oats 8.00% ABV
“2015 has been a year of change in our industry, so why should the holiday season be any different? This year, instead of celebrating the holidays with Jubilee (our gingerbread-spiced ale), we celebrate with Hops and oats. In fact, we decided to be greedy and use all the oat ingredients we could find. Oat malt, Flaked oats, and Golden Naked Oats provide a soft, silky background for those piney, resinous hops, reminiscent of another familiar holiday aroma- Christmas trees!”

~DARK
Ironfire/ Ginger Dead Man?% ABV
“Merry Christmas Outlaws – We are proud to release our new HolidALE brew. Introducing Ginger Dead Man! It is a liquid ginger bread cookie brewed with brown sugar, molasis, allspice, cinnamon and of course GINGER!”

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Sean Suggests for November 2015

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Let’s play the numbers! We have .394, 22 and 6. Two beers from San Diego and an anniversary beer from Boulder, Colorado for your November beer shopping list.

~LIGHT
AleSmith/ .394 Pale Ale 6.00% ABV
“In early 2014, Tony Gwynn’s team approached AleSmith to create a distinctive beer for the baseball legend. A meeting was called at the Gwynn household, which included a sampling of AleSmith beers to identify Tony’s preferences. He wanted the beer to be “light with a kick” which he elaborated further to mean full of hop character and light in body and color. The result of the Gwynn family’s feedback on test batches rendered a golden pale ale full of American hop flavor and aroma, with a subdued bitterness and a malty sweet finish. AleSmith San Diego Pale Ale .394 pays tribute to the city that Tony loved and the career high batting average that he achieved in ’94. Discover what happens when a Hall of Fame perfectionist crafts a beer with a world-class brewery. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Tony and Alicia Gwynn Foundation (TAG).

~MEDIUM
Avery/ Twenty-Two 6.80% ABV
100% Brettanomyces dry Fermented Dry-Hopped Wild Ale. While touring Belgium with the greatest of friends in 2006, the Avery family came across a stunning creation in a quaint countryside pub that we all agreed was the best brew of the trip. Secreting home a couple of bottles, they intended to cultivate the wild yeast that spontaneously worked its magic in Beersel and propagate our own projects here in Boulder.

~DARK
Ballast Point/ Homework # 6 7.00% ABV
“A Hybrid-Style Ale with a rich, Oktoberfest inspired malt base and a slamming hop profile, very similar to an India Pale Ale. CTZ (Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus) hops are added to the boil for bitterness, and copious amounts of Centennial hops are added during the late kettle hop addition and dry hopping post fermentation. In the Great American Beer Festival Style Guidelines there is a gap between the American-Style Amber/Red Ale and Imperial Red Ale. This beer fills this gap, whether you call it a Hoppy Red Ale or an India Red Ale, one thing is for sure…you will call it good.

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Sean Suggests for September 2015

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Screw the pumpkin beer! It is my new motto in this monthly shopping post. But, you may argue, the medium choice is a Halloween beer. Am I contradicting myself? Nope, because AleSmith beers are best really fresh and their haunting offering is no different. Get it now rather than later.

~LIGHT
Bell’s/ Best Brown Ale 5.8% ABV
“A smooth, toasty brown ale, Best Brown Ale is a mainstay in our fall lineup. With hints of caramel and cocoa, the malt body has the depth to stand up to cool weather, but does not come across as heavy. This balancing act is aided by the generous use of American hops.”

~MEDIUM
AleSmith/ Evil Dead Red 6.66% ABV
“Each Halloween we release this special concoction to celebrate one of our favorite holidays. Deep blood-red in color, an intense aroma of pine and citrus from an abundance of American hops balances the sweetness and rich, bready flavors of this beer’s caramel malts. The result is a fiendishly smooth brew that will make your taste buds scream with delight.”

~DARK
Green Flash/ Green Bullet 10.1% ABV
“With the aim of finding new and unique ingredients, we honed in on New Zealand grown Pacific Gem and Green Bullet hops to create this adventurous Triple IPA. Green Bullet leaps onto your palate with bold, spicy pine and citrus flavors including tropical notes of mango and pineapple. The aggressive yet well-balanced finish will stun the senses of even the most skilled hop hunter.”

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Sean Suggests for July 2015

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Trying to keep things a little light without being too one-sided in beer styles. The other, more noticeable theme is, breweries a good day trip distant from L.A.

~LIGHT
Claremont Craft Ales/ Indian Hill 4.0% ABV
“Indian Hill is our version of a Session IPA: bursting with hop flavor, but restrained in alcohol. We aggressively hop this one with huge amounts of citra, while the addition of wheat keeps this beer crisp and easy-drinking – perfect for your adventures to the beach or the mountains”

~MEDIUM
Pure Order Brewing/ Red Eye Wheat 4.85% ABV
“The inspiration for this beer is derived from the old Dunkelweizen style of South Germany. It is a red wheat beer with slight caramel and raisin tones. While a traditionally bitter beer, the Pure Order brewing team’s western influence has made it a perfect brew for the warm Santa Barbara sun. Contrary to what you may think, the name Red Eye Wheat is a reference to the flight you might take to the German home of this beer’s style rather than the state of your eyes after a couple Pure Order cold ones. The label itself is a tribute to the famously convenient and uniquely styled Santa Barbara Airport.”

~DARK
Bravery Brewing/ Old Rat 9.0% ABV
“An old rat is a brave rat. This is an English style old ale, with flavors of chocolate maltiness,toffee, and subtle dark fruit. ”

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Sean Suggests for March 2014

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There are two common threads amongst the choices for this month. Three if you count that they will be perfect for a sunny spring day in Los Angeles. See if you can catch the other two.

~LIGHT

Avery Brewing/ Joe’s Premium American Pilsner 4.7% ABV

“A contemporary rendition of a classic style, Joe’s is hopped with purpose: beautifully bitter and dry with an abundance of floral, Noble German hops.

Über sessionable. Utterly American. This is Premium American Pilsner.”

~MEDIUM

New Belgium/ Snapshot Wheat 5.0% ABV

“Snap! You just captured an unfiltered wheat beer full of refreshment and a flash of tart at the finish. Smile-inducing aromas of citrus hops jump from the nose, accompanied by the sweetness of coriander and grains of paradise. Brewed with wheat and pale malt, Snapshot pours a hazy, lemon-yellow with bright-white lacing. But the real enticement is the snap of tart. New Belgium’s affinity for sour beers led to the in-process blending of lactobacillus to pucker up Snapshot’s base. An extra step to acidify and beautify and get this beer ready for its close up.”

~DARK

Great Divide/ Lasso IPA 5.0% ABV

“LASSO is the new frontier of India Pale Ale. Brewed with a robust roundup of Columbus, Centennial and Cascade hops, its sessionable simplicity proves bigger isn’t always better. But make no mistake – the Wild West hasn’t gone mild. That same untamed IPA spirit thrives, and we reckon this’ll go down mighty fine.”