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Once again, more collaboration brews in the news but this time it is a home and away combo from MadeWest Brewing. First with Tarantula Hill Brewing in Thousand Oaks on California Street and then with Fremont Brewing of Seattle on the latest Short-Lived IPA.
Looks like taste test will be in order.
I believe this will be a first for my Best of… lists. No IPA or barrel-aged stout taking the top spot.
But first, the runners up:
Enegren Brewing’s Single Hop Pilsner with Talus hops which I have had twice now and both times it sparkled. Next is Five Point Five Brewing and their Nitro version of their Proud Mary Irish Red which just showcased the foam and cream. Finally, Fremont Brewing’s 2023 B-Bomb. An old-school throwback bourbon barrel-aged monster.
But the winner was a draft taster of Bagby Beer Co.’s collaboration with Bierstadt Lagerhaus on a Weissbier, wEYESsbier. So good that I grabbed the last single can in the cooler.
SoCal gets a nice amount of Fremont Brewing beers and they are collaborating again with a local brewer, this time Beachwood Brewing. The resulting beer is Tidal Track IPA. Look for “aromas and packed hop flavors from Mosaic, Citra, Centennial Cryo, and Chinook hops.”
I am glad that we here in L.A. are getting a little bit of Fremont Brewing beer. And I will be even gladder if I can find the collaboration IPA they did with local champion Beachwood Brewing.
Fremont Brewing of Seattle (and Earth) has a pretty solid reputation and thankfully we get a bit of their beers here in L.A. Specifically a couple of IPA collaborations with sone equally well-known breweries…
Let’s start with Specific Void the ominous sounding IPA with Burial Beer Co.. Even the NW Fremont bird on the label has a museum exhibit quality to it.
This smells very NW to me. Pine backed by a slight fruit note. Very precisely targeted. Little banana on the taste. More malt than hops initially. Has a soft quality to it. Tastes closer to a Belgian Pale Ale to me and not in a bad way.
The next partner is Bale Breaker who also farm hops, so why not put those hops into a Cold IPA, Cultivision. Bird seems a little less goth on this label. Great aroma here. Quite earthy and dank to start. Very crisp. A bright yellow color to this one. Grassy overall.
I would take the Cultivision over Specific Void based just on crispness alone.
Summer might be the time for pilsners and lagers to shine but there are still a lot of IPAs out there with almost all the hops you can imagine.
Smog City Squall Line IPA – 6.4% – “the next beer in our Smog Days IPA Series. This is one bright & crushable West Coast IPA, coming in at 6.4% and featuring Azacca, Veteran’s Blend, & Simcoe hops. It’s got wonderful flavors of mango, pineapple, & stone fruit.
Fremont / Bale Breaker Cultivision Cold IPA – 7.5% – “we used Yakima Chief Hop’s 301 Mosaic Fresh Cryo Hops. Just because it’s not fresh hop season, doesn’t mean we can’t bring you a fresh hop beer. By using fresh hops it really accentuates the pine, grassy and fresh floral aromas.”
Societe Brewing Glorious Odds Hazy IPA – 7.5% – “a playful hazy with a boat load of stone fruit notes. Adorn your senses with aromas of peach, tropical fruits and lemon followed with some orange & sweet aromatics. Crafted with Idaho 7, El Dorado, Mosaic, and Azzaca hops, this spunky brew is mildly bitter with a heavy haze.”
Not the most elegant portmanteau but the duo is super strong…
Fremont Brewing meets El Segundo for, you guessed it, an IPA.
Round two of the Black is Beautiful campaign has an excellent start with a collaboration between Fremont Brewing and Inglewood’s own, Crowns & Hops.
Mikkeller SD beer looked north to Washington States Fremont Brewing for a new Mexican lager by the name of Operador Suave. What makes this an interesting fall choice is that corn tortillas were part of the ingredient list.
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 them….
October 4th – Calidad Beer, Oakspire and Frogtown beers and Cellador’s 2nd Anniversary
October 18th – The San Fernando Craft Corridor, Field to Ferment Fresh Hops and the SoCal Cerverceros.