Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
Speedway Stout, the classic big stout from AleSmith has its first variant of the year and it is caffeinated, “Speedway Stout Special Variant #1: Speedway Stout Espresso and Madagascar Vanilla – a signature edition of their imperial stout infused with tons of Madagascar vanilla and a bold espresso blend, bestowing intense notes of chocolate, coffee, vanilla and dark fruit.”
If you want to get a craft beer geek salivating then just say the word Yeti. To the normal population, it is just a creature of myth. To the beer nerds it is a beer with many different spins from the Great Divide Brewery in Denver. A favored stop on the GABF tour.
Limited amounts of their beer would make it here to LA but now the bounty increases! And the place to be is Blue Palms on Hollywood. (With their new parking system). You can try out some Yeti and other delightful Divide beer.
Laurelwood Espresso Stout. Coffee and beer works well together. Will need to wait for a chilly night though. Bright sunshine and stout don’t go together for me.
When you have had as many beers as I have had, surprises don’t happen frequently and when they do they are usually of the bad variety. But lately, I have had some really good but really odd flavors. Sloeber from Belgium has a sort of apple-esque quality but it has an sweet alcohol back. It is really hard to find the right words for. It is delicate and the most un-Belgian, Belgian beer I have had.
The XH aged in Sake casks from Hitachino is another odd taste. You get a hint of sake but also fruit and grain. It is a beer that at first tastes not like a beer but then all the flavors meld and it is wonderful. I do not know how many people will like either of these but to me they fall into the category of “what is this? It tastes really good.”