Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
Our trip to Ireland and we start in the Tallaght outside Dublin at Priory Brewing where the taproom is situated within the brewery and they are doing the tank bar style like Benny Boy here in Los Angeles. The market they are located in will be open later this year.
Their plan is for “flagship brews, seasonal specialities, and experimental small-batch releases – everything from hoppy IPAs to rich stouts, crisp lagers, and creative sours, all served at their freshest.”
We conclude the VinePair breweries to watch tour in Arizon with the Slow Body Beer Company. The Tucson based brewery focuses on lagers and session beers.
Bloom Dry-Hopped Blonde Ale – described as “smooth citrus flowerrs.
Pils German-Style Pilsner – described as “floral and tight”
Green Things West Coast IPA – “dank, dank, dank”
Body Double American Porter – described as “malty and buoyant”
The second stop recommended by the Vinepair website is in Rhode Island, Bristol specifically and Pivotal Brewing.
Time to order up a taster flight…
PIVO-tal – “Pivo-tal Czech-style Pilsner. An homage to the Czech word for beer–pivo–this pale golden lager was brewed with 100% Czech Pilsner malt, lending nuanced flavors of bread dough and malt sweetness. We used an exceptional lot of Hallertau Blanc hops, and a generous amount of Czech Saaz to create a soft and floral nose that blends beautifully with the subtle sourdough aromas created by our house lager yeast. Pivo-tal was lagered for over 7 weeks to showcase the expression of the Czech yeast strain and naturally carbonated for a silky and smooth mouthfeel.”
Midnight Bryter – “This Czech-style dark lager is a showcase of some of our favorite European malts, brewed with a blend of Munich, Caramunich, Vienna and Pilsner. Midnight Bryter pours a light black hue with ruby at the edges of the glass and a latte-colored head. It’s bright with flavors of mocha, dark chocolate candy bar and has layered aromas of dark caramel, espresso roast, and doughy bread. The finish has the refreshing spiciness of Czech Saaz and subtle floral notes of French Strisselspalt hops. Like most of our lagers, Midnight Bryter was lagered for 6 weeks at near-freezing temperatures and naturally carbonated through our spunding process for a clean and fully-mature lager profile.”
Hello Again, My Name is Pivotal DIPA – “Our latest hazy Double IPA release is a celebration of our favorite hop lots right now. This DIPA was brewed and dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin from family-owned Garston Hops in New Zealand, Citra, Citra Cryo and experimental hop HBC 1019. This DDH DIPA pours a slight neon yellow color with opaque haze and aromas of creamsicle soda, tangy gooseberry and a hint o’ cannabis. The body is smooth and creamy with tropical notes of guava, lychee and cantaloupe. Maybe the coolest thing we’ve noticed with this beer is that the flavors and aromas change and evolve throughout the experience of drinking a glass.”
Vinepair came out with an infographic on U.S. breweries to watch in 2025. First off, congratulations to Smog City Brewing right here in Los Angeles for making the cut but let’s head east to Illinois and Lake Zurich specifically to visit Roaring Table Brewing Company.
Here are some fine choices for a first taster flight…
Closer Apart – unfiltered Zwickel Pilsner – Creamy • Floral • Mickey Finn’s Collaboration
Holiday Romance – country lager – Creamy Malts • Passion Fruit • Hayfields
Redbird Bitter – English Pale ale with Simcoe and Krush hops – Shortbread • Strawberries • Sessionable
Vienna – Austrian-Style Lager – Dark Bread • Nutty • Crisp
The second brewery features in Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival Month is Mountain Culture Beer Co. all the way from Katoomba in New South Wales in Australia. They have some excellent beer names.
Status Quo Pale Ale – “Status Quo is a juicy New England Pale Ale. Made for hop lovers with massive late and dry hop additions, it’s full flavoured and more tropical than the Hawaiian ukulele orchestra.”
Authentic Irish Experience Micro-dosed NE IPA – “For this NEIPA, we’ve leaned on the luck of the Irish to ensure that it’s a banger. We’ve taken their lucky number 7 and applied it to the hop regime, bringing back our cult favourite hopping technique, microdosing, adding 7 different hops across 7 days. This has a created a NEIPA hazier than an Irish Winter’s day with more character than the inhabitants of The Temple Bar.”
Hollywood Hot Sauce West Coast IPA – “The pineapples, peaches and orange rind from the finest Amarillo and El Dorado hops only act to enhance any experience you pair them with. This age-old recipe, handed down through the Mountain Culture family over the years starts with a dank, resinous and yet highly drinkable body that allows the fruits to sparkle from it before rounding out in a moreish, crisp finish.”
That’s Enough Internet for Today NE IPA – “We’ve combined Cryo Ekuanot, Amarillo and Mosaic hops to create a flavour profile akin to fresh squeezed orange juice with a hint of stonefruit. The Cryo Ekuanot leaves a lingering herbal note that adds complexity and brightness making it far more sessionable than the ABV suggests. So be careful, you might find yourself mindlessly scrolling back to the fridge for another one.”
I believe that Panimoyhtiö Tuju or just Tuju for short is the first Finnish brewery at the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival so it has to be the first brewery featured this month.
For our taster tray, let’s start with…
K A L K K A R O- an American lager
K A R I B I A N P I L A T E S – Micro NEIPA
N E S T E H U K K A – a Red IPA
then finish with the barrel-aged barleywine, Remains – “Aged for eight months in cognac barrels, this barleywine has developed a truly unique flavor, while retaining all the best elements of its natural character. “Remains” possesses rich, inviting aromas that open the olfactory portal to smooth notes of dried fruit and toffee-like sweetness, while giving way to a dry, brandy-like finish, courtesy of the barrels.”
Our last stop is in Boring, Oregon but their non-alcoholic beers will probably prove the opposite. LaLa Brewery is owned by Timothy Devlaeminck, a home brewer making the leap up into the N/A space.
You can read more about him where I got the lead for this HERE. But here are the possible beers, “Some of the house beers include: Red Kite, an Irish style Red ale brewed with Falconers hop blend. Super Monk, brewed with Monk Fruit to give a little sweetness and bermented with Belgian Yeast. And, Malt Root Beer, a malted root beer based off a prohibition recipe.”
Each year, usually in February, I pore over the anticipated brewery openings list compiled by the fine folks at The New School Beer blog. Go HERE to read the full list.
My first pick is Tiny Giants Brewing which will be heading to SE Ankeny with former Cascade and Fracture brewer Steve Beadouin in the lead. That resume is one reason why I chose it. The other is that they are using a space used by a former brewery while they search for a forever home.
We head to Europe, specifically the Czech Republic for FUZE. A French restaurant in Prague with a brewing operation.
We will go from light to dark starting with TransFUZE the Czech Pils then moving on to FUZEnáč 13 what they call their semi-dark lager and then finish up with InFUZE 14 their dark beer. And while there they also have beers from Brewery Zichovec to compare and contrast.
I am not one for Best of the Year lists, more of a in the moment person so I am grateful for outlets like Hop Culture that go in on the whole look back at a whole year thing. You can read their list HERE and my second choice from the list is Deep Fried Beers in Athens, New York.
Not the most appetizing name for a shop known for their IPAs and rocketing up Empire State best of lists but let’s find a table to set our virtual taster down onto including…
Kilometer Long Stare – “Hazy Double IPA hopped with 8+ lbs / bbl of Citra and Galaxy.”
Built Different Batch 2 – “Hoppy Ale brewed with 8 lbs / bbl of lot selected Yakima Chief Citra, Freestyle Hops Nelson Sauvin, and HPA Galaxy.”
In Da Clurb, We All Fam – “Hazy DIPA hopped with 9+ lbs per bbl of Yakima Chief Citra, NZ Hops NZ Cascade, and Freestyle Hops Nelson Sauvin.”