Extra

Fremont Brewing (which we get a nice little supply of in SoCal) is bringing something extra. “Extra Lush … is all the things you love about Lush packed into a 9.8% DIPA or Imperial IPA depending on your tolerance for hops.

Sean Suggests for June 2025

This month, it is all about collaborations and it includes at least one Los Angeles brewery in the mix in honor of L.A. Beer Week.  

Ambitious Ales / Solaris 6 FT Nachos 12° Czech Style Pilsner  – 5% – “Using only Floor Malted Bohemian Malt, a pseudo-decoction method, and a healthy dose of 100% Czech Saaz Hops. 6 FT Nachos pours a beautifully clear gold color, showcasing marvelous foam, a soft mouthfeel and firm bitterness all backed up with a zesty floral hop character.”

Smog City / Fremont Highway Hypnosis West Coast IPA – 6.8% – “cruises through orange zest, yuzu, peach, melon, and a smooth twist of coconut and pineapple.”

Highland Park / Monkish Light Eaters Triple Dry-Hopped Hazy DIPA – 8.3% – “with Abstrax Citra Quantum, Citra Hyperboost, Citra T90, Galaxy, Citra Cryo and Krush Cryo.”

Best Beers of December 2023

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.

Review – 2 Fremont Collaborations

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.

Sean Suggests for July 2022

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.”