Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
Crafty Angelenos will remember back in the day when SoLArc Brewing had a tap or two at the late and lamented Mumford Brewing DTLA space and now Crowns & Hops will be doing a residency at Creature Comforts at their just south of DTLA taproom.
This residency will run through September 30th of this year and you will be able to get Crowns pints over the bar, Crowns Beer to-go, Weekly events curated by us and Crowns Limited merch.
There has been such a fantastic outpouring of support for Los Angeles by breweries far and wide in the wake of the devastating wildfires of this past January.
The charity program spearheaded by Common Space Brewery has garnered quite a bit of support from California and the rest of the Fractured States of America.
Here are my thoughts on the latest beers that I have had in the worldwide series…
Crowns & Hops with Malibu Brewing – this is my second C&H beer from this charity series and it has a little more sadness attached since the other brewery is Malibu Brewing who are so near the destruction. It is a West Coast IPA that pours a really light orange color with hints of yellow. The aroma is quite an astringent lemon and the flavor follows to an extent before going into pine territory. Very punchy and not for the fearful of hops.
There Does Not Exist – love the little E character from the brewery name logo moved to the We in We Love L.A.. There is a bit of a sweet tart candy aroma in this lager from SLO. That shows in the flavor as well before the malt notes sneak in all quiet like. This has more of a pilsner snap to it. Overall, I do like it.
This month, gonna keep this an all We Love L.A. edition of the beer shopping list.
Crowns & Hops Heritage Amber Lager – 5.6% – “our special release beer brewed for Black History Month to celebrate the history and current contributions of African Americans.”
Trademark Brewing Ocean Thunder West Coast IPA – 7% – a Double Dry-Hopped IPA featuring Nelson, Citra and Strata hops.
Beachwood Brewing Jukebox Jammer IPA – 7.1% – “this West Coast IPA is packed with a bold, dank four-hop blend (Mosaic Dynaboost, Columbus Cryo, Mosaic, Talus) that hits all the right notes!”
And here is a wee bonus option that you might want to track down….
Almanac Beer Co. has joined the 8 Trill faithful with their Crowns & Hops collaboration, One Love Eight Trill West Coast IPA. Sure to please your charitable soul as well as your hop taste buds.
Last week this time, Smog City Brewing unveiled a new more charitable Gorilla.
Combining with Crowns & Hops and their 8 Trill Initiative and the mission of achieving racial equity in craft beer and supporting up and coming black owned breweries is….
“This colossal Double IPA draws inspiration from our OG ape Amarilla Gorilla, the 8 Trilla Gorilla turns everything up to eleven and beyond. A ferocious infusion of Strata, Simcoe, and Citra hops rampage out of your glass with every sip. Strap in and prepare for an onslaught of amazing grapefruit, passionfruit, and fresh resinous pine so fresh you’ll swear you’re drinking hops straight from the bine.”
Usually mergers and acquisitions occur and it is a net negative. Especially when it is the big players in the beer industry. A big brewery buys a small one and then proceeds to water down the product or distributors get bigger and bigger until they cannot service all the beer they have in their portfolio.
But the new Circle of Crowns Beverage Group Strategic Alliance is indeed that an alliance. CCBG includes Inglewood-based Crowns and Hops, Fresno-based Full Circle Brewing and its sister brands Speakeasy Ales and Lagers and Sonoma Cider. All black owned breweries.
The two main prongs of the alliance are a combined sales force bringing not just one brewery but multiple to the table and second Full Circle will use their excess brewing capacity to brew Crowns and Hops beers which, I think, may change once the Inglewood brewery is up and running.
Owning your local market is quite important these days so the fact that each one is in a different sector of California will help as well. But the combined weight might just push growth so that these beers get more placement.
The Crowns & Hops 8 Trill Initiative continues with a Great Notion release of Crowns and Axes Tart Ale “made with strawberry, pink guava, sea salt, and coriander.” Unique ingredients for a unique cause.
Black is Beautiful is back with Volume 2 of their Hazy IPA recipe, this time brewed with association with the National Black Brewers Association.
Below is one of the Crowns & Hops labels and it looks really classy. Hope to see lots of breweries taking this recipe on this year.
Now that we are in September, I can commence talking about Festbiers in 2023 and I will start with…
Dopetoberfest from local to L.A., Crowns & Hops.
Second is the Oaky Marzen from Firestone Walker.
Lastly, the classic OktoCollab from Chico, with Hamburg’s Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei .
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.