Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
Guess what is back!
This is the month to buy a 4-pack not of the latest hazy but from deeper in a breweries catalog, specifically that beer that your local prides itself on or that the regional sells by the case for the Super Bowl. Throughout the month you will be able to read about flagships if you click right HERE.
Saving the Blazer emblazoned can for last. Portland beer news has been sad this month, with Bridgeport being shut down by Gambrinus and with Widmer closing their gasthaus/pub. So let’s go to a happier place and talk about the Hefe from Widmer.
Drank this Flagship while the Blazers eked out a win against the Celtics at the Garden no less. The classic NW Hefeweizen pours originally cloudy and I am getting more estery character than normal. A little spice and a little banana more in the flavor than the aroma. The mouthfeel is pillowy and finishes wet which makes it a quenching beer to really take full drinks of and not sips. Now I just need cans with the Timbers and Thorns logos.
Our 3rd Flagship comes from Bear Republic, here is my review of Racer 5. I can’t divine a brewed on date so I opened with hope for hops and hops I got. A strong wood chip aroma graced my senses and I knew I was in safe hands. A nice bitter kick hits the side of the mouth with each sip. It straddles the line of strong with a sessionable side. Very piney flavor. Very much a throwback to the West Coast style back before the IBU race really started to heat up.
Next up in my #FlagshipFebruary reviews is the newly released in L.A., Lager from Brooklyn Brewery.
Called Amber Lager on the 2019 collage designed label. Orange colored and clear as day. Initially sharp with minerality also quite bready. A very wet mouthfeel and also a touch viscous. Aroma is minimal but toasty comes through. This screams fall football on campus. Complement to BBQ.
The Ur beer of California, the oft cited influence for many a brewer across the country is the green labeled Pale Ale from Sierra Nevada.
And if memory serves (often it doesn’t according to my significant other), I have not reviewed it. So for my first #FlagshipFebruary review of the month, it is time to rectify that error.
Pale pours an dark orange color nary a haze to be seen. Orange notes in the aroma that follow through into the flavor along with a bit of pine needle. Rugged hop flavor. Not weak at all. Would stand up to many an IPA. Bit of caramel peeks through at the end to add an extra flavor to the result. It is easy to see why this was such a game changer if you were used to light watery lagers.
In case you forgot to check out the fantastic food coverage on the Food GPS website, then you may have not seen the beer coverage either.
Here is your handy link spot to read what I covered in Brew & You in December….
January 10th – New L.A. Breweries, Ladyface Barleywine + Eagle Rock 9
January 24th – #Flagship February, Firestone Walker Rosalie + Sour to the People
We have come around the sun to my birthday month again. Planning a trip to Temecula for some beer visiting as well as a planned trip to Ventura plus this little Super Bowl game as well. Should be a fun read this month.
~ e-visits to three breweries from San Diego, new to the scene like Kairoa Brewing, Kilowatt Brewing and Double Peak Brewing
~ special featured reviews of Flagship February beers
~ Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark
~ A Book & A Beer reads Only to Sleep by Lawrence Osborne
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.
Here are two events to get your February started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) February 8th – The Shroud Unveiling Day at Bravery Brewing
2) February 9th – Broxton Brewery launch day