Lord Hobo is making their way to SoCal and you have two opportunities to taste their take on IPA.
April 15th – Mikkeller DTLA
April 18th – Verdugo Bar
Meet and greet the LHBCo Team.
New on the East Coast # 3 – Bissell Brothers Brewing
Our last East Coast stop is to meet the brothers and their beer, The Bissell Brothers to be precise.
Let’s check out a hypothetical taster tray……
The Substance Ale – “Our flagship; a brightly dank ale that threads many needles with Falconer’s Flight, Centennial, Apollo, Summit, Chinook hops”
Lux – “This rye ale is our Tropical Escape to a sunnier state of mind.”
i-Lucky -“IPA brewed with rice & fresh ginger. a homage to restaurant workers everywhere.”
Angels with Filthy Souls – “Out first dark offering; this porter is laced with lactose sugar to balance the tremendous amounts of Amarillo hops contained within.”
They can be found on draft and in cans in Maine and Maine only.
New on the East Coast # 2 – Aeronaut Brewing
Combine three MIT students with one Yalie, an old Safety Envelope building and a passion for the farmer’s market and you have Aeronaut Brewing in Somerville, Mass.
This brewery started up last year and has a unique set of beers when taken together.
Here is what I would try in a taster tray….
Unionator Dopplebock – “Traditional malty, bready, strong lager.”
Union Square Burton Union Style IPA – “Strong hops, with fruit and wood notes.”
A Session with Dr. Nandu American Pale Ale – “Refreshing, passionfruit notes of Mosaic hops.”
Hauftoberfest Marzen – “Easy drinking malty lager.”
Summer in Cologne Kolsch – “Crisp, light, refreshing, quaffable.”
New on the East Coast # 1 – Other Half Brewing Co.
Other Half is owned by Matt Monahan and Sam Richardson their Brooklyn based brewery started brewing at the tail end of 2013.
They are covering a wide swath of styles from IPAs , pale ales, farmhouse ales, barrel-aged beers, and sours.
Their first bottle release was a chardonnay barrel-aged saison with the name of Veldrijden Love.
But the following beers have raised my eyebrows:
Other Half/Evil Twin Beat It, Nerd Brett IPA
Other Half Grand Cru
Other Half Smokescreens and Oil Slicks
Other Half Dark and Handsome
Review – Smuttynose Big Beer Series – Rhye IPA
This is a rhino of a beer from Smuttynose (which now has a presence here in Los Angeles despite being in the rebuilding phase of their brewery). Pours a dark orange and a bit foamy. Takes some time to settle. Big piney hop presence up front in the aroma. Then the rye really takes over in the taste. But the hops aren’t second fiddle. More of a co-conspirator. A bit of an alcohol aroma as I make a second pass through it. Certainly more west than east coast. Ways heavily on the tongue.
So, it’s mid-October and the books and music are being shoved to the side for college football as I root for in order:
1. Linfield College – my alma mater which needs one more win in 5 to secure another winning season. But they have higher goals. Rising higher than # 2 in the country for Division 3.
2. Oregon State – my dad’s school and despite wearing orange and black have the best uniforms of the two state schools. Mostly because a certain other team wears highlighter yellow or other strange combos of silver, yellow and green.
Review – Hoppy Feet from Clown Shoes
Clown Shoes got off on the wrong foot (pun intended) with me. Some of their names seemed chosen for shock value and attention. Plus ever since Stephen King’s “It”, clowns and I don’t mix. Even when my dad started donning clown make-up to entertain at his church, I was still spooked. But now, since some of their beers are wending their way to Los Angeles, I had to put the maxim of “It’s the beer” first and forget the backstory. So on to Hoppy Feet….
For me, a good black IPA has an equal balance between roast and hops. Not many get that. But happily Hoppy Feet does. Good citrus bitter notes intermingle with the the medium (not milk-not dark) chocolate notes. And it packs a punch of bubbles and hops that melts into a caramel taste at the very end. But the balance remains from the first sip to the last.
Oh and in my new tradition, here is what I am doing outside of craft beer. Reading The Capital of the World about the race to be the city to host the United Nations. South Dakota had a moment where it might have been the place instead of New York. Crazy. And I am still raving about Much Ado About Nothing. It may not be playing anymore since it is the silly blockbuster season and the White House has to be saved by Channing Tatum but when it comes out on video/streaming, watch it. Funny stuff and a classic story.
more Beer as History
Via The Beer Babe and the Strawbery Banke Museum comes this peek at East Cost craft beer history.
“Four Portsmouth breweries – The Portsmouth Brewery, Redhook Brewery, Smuttynose Brewing Co., and Earth Eagle Brewings — are working together with Strawbery Banke Museum to present this year’s special exhibit, “Tapping Portsmouth: How the Brewing Industry Shaped the City,” opening May 1, with additional sponsorship from Kennebunk Savings Bank.To celebrate both the extensive history of brewing in Portsmouth and the extraordinary conjunction of major breweries, brew pubs and home brewing styles and ingredients (including heritage plants, herbs and hops from Strawbery Banke) on the Seacoast, the brewers are creating three collaborative beers.
… • A Colonial-style ale, brewed at Earth Eagle, made from turnips, a splash of molasses and spruce tips;
• An Industrial-era porter will be made at the Portsmouth Brewery with Strawbery Banke ginger and molasses;
• A “super hoppy” IPA, Stride Wide Ale, at Redhook”That Porter sounds like a great beer to have in hand while checking out the exhibit!
… • A Colonial-style ale, brewed at Earth Eagle, made from turnips, a splash of molasses and spruce tips;
• An Industrial-era porter will be made at the Portsmouth Brewery with Strawbery Banke ginger and molasses;
• A “super hoppy” IPA, Stride Wide Ale, at Redhook”That Porter sounds like a great beer to have in hand while checking out the exhibit!
Review – East Coast vs West Coast lagers
Today I am doing a West coast vs East coast beer smackdown. But instead of doing an IPA, I am comparing lagers.
On one side is the new Anchor California lager and from the east is the Underdog Atlantic Lager from Flying Dog of Maryland.
The Anchor pours a dark yellow and has a sweet wheat aroma. The flavor is a touch to sweet for me and could use a burst of carbonation to cut through some of the slickness in the mouthfeel but it is a solid beer. I also love the backstory on how this is a re-creation of an old Gold Rush lager. So it has great history behind it. And I think the bear on the label would kick the ass of the Underdog on the Flying Dog label. But the beer is more sweet than refreshing.
The Underdog Atlantic lager pours a very light yellow with plenty of both foam and bubbles. There is really no aroma at all. There is no sweetness at all and has a tiny bit of metallic at the back. A bit dry as well. Very crisp.
The winner?
I have to go with the Underdog. It seemed more of a lager to me. The Anchor sweetness reminded me of the overly sweet industrial lagers though obviously light years ahead. I preferred the simpleness of the Underdog.
Pretty Things – new bitter
The Ale Project of Pretty Things has a new beer, Hedgerow Bitter, described as “…our first properly-hoppy beer. We wanted a beer that was dry and bitter, and that’s what we got. 5.4% abv with all UK grown hedgerow variety hops: Pioneer, First Gold and Sovereign.”
I’ve had one Pretty Things ale and now I want more!
Great Beer Guide – East Coast
When you find yourself traveling through the East Coast then Lew Bryson is your man. He has guides for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and even Michigan. His website and blog are also filled with information you can use.