Sean Suggests for June 2024

Since it is both L.A. Beer Week Month and Pride Month too, let’s jump into some happy hoppy IPAs brewed right here in the City of Angels.

Angel City LGBTQI(P)A+ – 4.7% – “an easy-drinking session IPA designed with warm June days in mind – brewed with Nectaron and Nelson Sauvin hops exclusively in the boil and whirlpool, and double dry-hopped to boot. It has a super fruity and tropical aroma, tropical fruit flavor and a dry, easy finish.”

Arrow Lodge / Claremont Craft Ales All the Mosaic – 7.5% – three different types of Mosaic hops fill this West Coast IPA collaboration.

Common Space Dealer’s Choice Triple Hazy IPA – 10% – with notes of dried mango, orange Starburst and lime.

Review – K-Town Lager from Common Space

Los Angeles has been on a bagel kick over the last couple years and my wife has had me driving from Highland Park to Culver City and points beyond for taste tests.

On a recent Saturday, I was on the road to Calic Bagel for another round when I noticed that there was a featured beer named K-Town Lager. I scanned and saw a few Common Space Brewery beers and deducted that they had made this beer for this bagelry. So, does this lager pair well an everything bagel?

Pours a bubbly and fairly dark yellow color. Got a nice zip to it. A burst of floral hop notes from the German Magnum hops. Followed by a full but not slick mouthfeel with a good corn taste to it without being sweet at all. One of those where the glass is empty before you know it beers.

Featured Review – Take Action Citra IPA from Common Space

Earlier this month, I posted how Common Space in Hawthorne struck out on their own to create a BLM inspired by beer and came up with Take Action. Here is the review…

Initial aroma is nice and big.  Lots of lemon. Pours bright and dark orange. A bit silky, the bitterness is not at all spiky.  Lemon and more lemon as the beer warms. One of the few Citra beers that really hits on that note.  A bit one note though. 

Sean Suggests for July 2020

An all California list this month to celebrate staying inside for even more time than initially thought. You can also find Odell’s and Great Notion here in L.A. if you need more sheltering in place beverages.

Lightest

Almanac The Future is Fluid IPA/ 6% – “A West Coast IPA dry-hopped with Mosaic, Sabro, Simcoe and Glacier brewed by the women of Almanac in support of the Pink Boots Society.”

Medium

Common Space Cocoa Stout/ 7% – “This rich chocolate cocoa stout is a mouthful of deliciousness. Mmmmm. It will take you back o your childhood. It’s like chocolate milk for adults. Smooth, luscious, rich cocoa drink.”

Biggest

Stone Brewing Ruined Again IPA/ 10.8% – “In 2002, we introduced Stone Ruination IPA (and its imposing100+ IBUs) as the first year-round West Coast double IPA on the planet. Then in 2012, in commemoration of its 10th anniversary, we introduced a new beer that would grow to be known as Stone RuinTen Triple IPA. Now, we’re bringing that back in all its over-the-top, cranked-to-11, maximum hoppy splendor, using every brewing technique in our arsenal to squeeze every last bit of magic out of a truly staggering amount of hops. It’s been 18 years of beautifully bitter evolution, and this stage dive into a mosh pit of hops is bigger and bitter-er than ever.”

1st Visit – Common Space Brewing


While visiting State Brewing earlier this month, I drove west on El Segundo to make a first visit to Common Space. I had only tried one of this new brewery’s beers so I was interested in tasting a flight and getting a better handle on how they are doing, early in the run. SO early that the version numbers are still in use and a whiteboard (better suited for a corporations meeting room) were still in effect.

The space is huge with a nice amount of seating inside and a large patio outside that buts right up to a dedicated food truck spot (which shows some forward thinking). There is a large brewing area and to the right seems just empty space punctuated by a few bags of grain.

For the beers, I tried the Pils, Jasmine Saison, Strong Saison and the new version of the IPA. All were very strong with my winner of the group being the Pils. I skipped over the Light Beer and Coffee Stout. Saving those for a future visit. The color palette was really nice and it is an overall strong start quality wise.

I am not a fan of the name or the interlocking circle motif. Both seem, well, common and don’t really scream Hawthorne or Los Angeles to me. Though you can argue that Space and Space X are matching but that seems a reach to me. Maybe the locked down versions of the beers will bear names that tie into the community.