Tag: Eagle Rock Brewery

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Stimulating

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I don’t approve of buying Christmas gifts before Christmas because I am a grinch.  Wait, that isn’t it.  I just like to celebrate Thanksgiving without looking over my shoulder at the next holiday.  But if you are of the kind to buy before then this now annual tradition is perfect.  You get a handy box that you don’t even need to wrap filled with Stimulus Belgian Amber brewed with Intelligentsia Coffee, a special edition glass and a bag of the actual coffee used in the beer.

Eagle Rock makes Christmas into one stop shopping.

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City Hall

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Once again Eagle Rock Brewery was hauled downtown to answer for their crime of running a brewery in the City of Los Angeles.

The fourth time in five years. And each visit is preceded by paperwork and fees for the paperwork not to mention time spent away from brewing.

This time, as with all the others, there was no opposition save for a City Hall gadfly who was anti-alcohol only and who all but said that he had never visited the brewery.

Obviously, the tide of support coupled with the impeccable way ERB has conducted itself carried the day. But only in LA could a win seem so ungratifying.

First this hearing only produced a “recommendation”, granted it was the one they wanted but now the paperwork goes to another back logged department to be approved or denied or changed. If it passes as I fully expect it to, ERB will get a determination letter. If no one appeals that letter in 15 days, the ruling will stand.

If all goes as planned (knock on wood), then these hearings will finally cease.

And though the hearing was smoothly run and by the book, the lack of knowledge about the brewing industry was clearly evident. This process needs to change and guess who is doing that too, yup, Eagle Rock.

The city desperately needs to hire someone with knowledge of beer, wine and spirits. An Alcohol Czar, who can rewrite the inane rules that force a brewer to complete a paperwork decathalon just to open. And then doesn’t stop there. This czar could also cut through the paperwork and be a one stop shop. Where the toughness needs to be is afterwards. Bad actors should be fined when they do wrong. Right now, you are assumed guilty until proven innocent. Four times.

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Unity ’14

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Ever had a beer collaboration? Sure, you have. There are plenty out there. Ever had a beer where all the ingredients were from one state? Longer shot but you might have. But I am sure that you haven’t had a beer brewed with Gargoyle hops. Oh and it’s a sessionable pale ale with local fruit.

And it is the signature beer for L.A. Beer Week the 6th. Of course I am talking about the beer named Unity. The beer was brewed at Eagle Rock Brewery with members of the Los Angeles County Brewers Guild. Country Malt Group also pitched in with a donation of California-Select malt and add in some Centennial hops to pair with the rare, native to California Gargoyle and you have one heck of a way to celebrate all things craft beer in Los Angeles.

UPDATE: I sampled 6 on its release day on the 12th and I really liked it.  Nice and hoppy but it has the characteristic sessionability you come to expect from Eagle Rock.  I detect quite a bit of grapefruit notes throughout but without crossing over into juice territory.  I strongly suggest trying a pint and getting a bottle to toast with later.

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A Public House in Eagle Rock

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Thanks to the e-newsletter from Eagle Rock Brewery, we can now resume waiting for their second location (how good is that to type) for our beloved Eastside brewery.  In what was a restaurant called Fatty’s that seemed only open intermittently and way before that Dahlia Motors will be a full restaurant with Eagle Rock beers in Eagle Rock proper.

Check out their website for the construction photos and stay tuned for news about when the opening will happen.

 

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Lou

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Eagle Rock Brewery will be unveiling a new beer LOU (the beer, not the ballplayer) as part of the Ales for ALS series.  It will kick-off tomorrow night at the ERB taproom.

Here is the info about the beer and the charity that it will benefit: “As our contribution to the Ales for ALS charity this year, we’re excited to introduce “LOU.” Lou’s a hop forward American Brown Ale with hints of chocolate, caramel and roasted malt flavor. The beer features the proprietary blend of hops created by Loftus Ranches and Hopunion (heavy on the Citra and Mosaic notes) for the Ales for ALS charity. We’ll be releasing LOU here on Thursday, July 10, and $1 of every pint we sell for the duration of LOU (not just the one day) goes towards the ALS Therapy Development Institute. We’ll also be participating in the larger Ales for ALS event up in Alameda at Faction Brewing (July 26 INFO). We’re very proud to be able to do our part for such a great cause.”

Helping out while getting a great beer is an easy way to make the world a better place.  So do it.

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A Session at Eagle Rock

Everyone has their favorite yearly beer event, for me it is Session Fest from Eagle Rock Brewery.

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Here are my thoughts and photos of the 4th annual…..

This year there were 26 taps a pouring according to Ting Su whose Bitter Ting was a hoppy English bitter.  There were guest taps this year like the medal winning Torque from Kinetic and the two guest taps that I sampled, Saisonita from Monkish and Oats of Birmingham from the Brewery at Abigaile’s. It was a wide ranging guest tap list, all to help benefit the LA Brewers Guild.
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Last year might have had crazier ingredients but I was introduced to a PaterBier and the smokiest, hammiest Gratzer this year from the Eagle Rock side.  Plus the layout made getting beer even more easier without waiting in line.  All of the guest taps were in the main taproom with the Eagle Rock 12 being in the brewery itself.

In my personal best of show, it was a close call but the Texas Brown won by a nose over the Radler with bitter orange.  The brown was hopped up but it didn’t lose it’s base style  under a hop onslaught.  The Radler was delicious and the orange was great but it was a bit too soda-y for me to vote it as the best.  Third place of the Eagle Rock brews would be the English Breakfast.  English traditional meets hops.  The winner for prettiest goes to the hibiscus tinged Hop A Feel Session IPA which poured a pretty pink. It also tasted great but the aroma was missing and would have tied it all together in a bow.

It is great to go to a fest where I don’t have to worry so much about the ABV.  Yes, you do have to pace yourself but it is much easier to kick back and enjoy a Session without having to be always asking the server how much alcohol is in this one.  Plus it encourages much more experimentation because you have that room.  If I have one 11% beer, I may miss two or more beers because I need to slow down.  Here, you can sip away.

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Review – Dairy Tank from Eagle Rock Brewing

The legend of the traveling dairy tank grows and is now immortalized in milk stout form with the collaboration of Eagle Rock with AleSmith.

As it was explained by the ERB, “Several years ago, AleSmith was kind enough to sell us their old brewhouse when they were upgrading to a new one and it seemed fitting pay homage to these tanks history by brewing a style that employs lactose sugar derived from milk.”

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The new collab pours dark with a creamy head to it. Getting a mixture of chocolate and tar that really works together. But beware this does not taste 10% at all. It is a strong one that catches up with you while you are having your next round. It is also very smooth as opposed to lactose sweet. This is not only a pretty beer but a nice sipper. Makes me want more beers from both breweries.

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40 Years of Falcons

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For the 40th Anniversary of the Maltose Falcons Home Brew Club they will be conducting a Baltic Porter Tasteoff!  Love that a semi-obscure style like that is getting love. According to their website, “We’ll be tasting everyone’s Baltic Porter creations to determine a recipe to take to Eagle Rock for brewing! If you have a Baltic Porter, bring it!”

I for one, am looking forward to tasting this at Eagle Rock later this year!

 

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From Threes to Fours

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Time to celebrate 4th anniversaries….

First is the one day event for Eagle Rock Brewery

“...lots of special beers on tap, including ALL of our previous anniversary releases and some super special casks. Aaaaand, of course, it wouldn’t be a proper celebration without having another beer to add to the family of anniversary beers (while they last). Come on out and taste White Rabbit! It’s our 4-year anniversary release so be here for it’s debut!

The deets? Admission is $20 and includes 4 beers (additional drink tickets will be available for purchase), an amazing time with some special beers, and a commemorative anniversary glass for you to take home, and a raffle ticket to get some Eagle Rock Brewery or Keep A Breast shwag. **A portion of the proceeds from the day will be donated to the Los Angeles Brewers Guild and Keep A Breast Foundation.

We’ll also have some GREAT food trucks at the brewery that day!”

…and don’t forget to spend one day, or how about a week! at Ladyface. They have their 4th as well!

 

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#DrinkPink

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Eagle Rock Brewery is one of two breweries in the LA area that reaches across the aisle to raise craft beer awareness to women.  And for their Women’s Beer Forum for this month, they will tie that cause to help benefit the Keep A Breast Foundation for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

According to Ting Su from the brewery, “We’re going to be featuring a bunch of pink beers…. Don’t worry, not gross ones. The line-up is actually going to be pretty amazing, particularly since we’ve got Craftsman, Ladyface, Pizza Port Solana Beach, The Bruery, Angel City, and Goose Island participating at the event. And everyone’s bringing out some really fun stuff for it.”

So use the hashtag #DRINKPINK for the event to remind people that it’s for Breast Cancer Awareness that is a much better use of the pound sign!

The cost is $22 and it includes a commemorative Women’s Forum Glass with pink logo, flight sheet, mingling time with brewers/brewery reps to talk about the beers they’re trying, a flight of 7 pink beers.