In my mind, the Bruery has been on a roll in 2012. So many beers covering a wide range from light to dark and some great local collaborations with Eagle Rock and Bootlegger’s to name just two beers. Now they have teamed up with the high flyers at Hangar 24 for a strawberry accented beer called Ichigo Highway. Here is the review…
Here is the label copy, “Ichigo Highway is a collaborative beer that we created with Hangar 24 Brewing from Redlands, CA. The base style is a sessionable sour red ale that we aged in oak barrels along with a whopping amount of strawberries, most of which were picked from the fields besides Hangar 24’s brewery. Aged for approximately 8 months, this beer has developed a pleasant funk and a delightful acidity that is balanced by the intensely sweet aroma and flavor of the strawberries as well as a unique dryness achieved by using a sake yeast along with our house strain along with souring bacteria.”
Hammer-Humpty-Immel-Cobra
Hangar 24 has been growing at a furious pace and one reason is their barrel roll series of limited beers. One of them, Pugachev’s Cobra is returning along with a celebration of all of their beers….
Celebrate the “return of winter ..and… bourbon barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout, Pugachev’s Cobra on Saturday, Dec. 8. Hangar 24 will also be marking the occasion by hosting an inaugural Barrel Aged Beer Tasting Event that day with twelve different beers to choose from for sampling.
Pugachev’s Cobra, which won gold at the 2012 California State Fair, is an intense assault on your senses. This Russian Imperial Stout, with a thick caramel head, is bursting with aromas of chocolate, vanilla, oak, bourbon, licorice and dark fruits. Flavors of chocolate-covered plum, sweet malt, bourbon and roasted coffee explode on the pallet with every sip. Pugachev’s Cobra features three different-dark roasted malts and rich maple syrup in a truly unique brewing process to create complexity and depth. Once fermented, it’s then aged for eight months in freshly emptied bourbon barrels. While Pugachev’s Cobra can be enjoyed the day it is purchased, Hangar 24 recommends cellaring the bottle for up to three years to receive the full flavor effect.
Pugachev’s Cobra gets its name from an aerial maneuver where a pilot suddenly raises the aircraft nose to near vertical before dropping back to attack mode. Pugachev’s Cobra was first released on Dec. 10, 2011 with 3,495 bottles; due to the extremely popular demand for the craft beer, Hangar 24 has increased its production for 2012 to an estimated 6,000 bottles.
Attendees of the inaugural Barrel Aged Beer Tasting Event will be able to sample six, 4oz pours of any of the following Hangar 24 Barrel Aged craft beer:
· On Draught:
o 2012 Pugachev’s Cobra
o 2011 Pugachev’s Cobra
o 2012 Hammerhead
o 2011 Pugachev’s Cobra aged in Rye Barrels
o 2011 Immelmann aged in Rye Whiskey Barrels
o 4th Anniversary Dopplesticke Alt aged in Rye Barrels
· In Bottles:
o 2012 Pugachev’s Cobra
o 2011 Pugachev’s Cobra
o 2012 Chandelle
o 2012 Hammerhead
o 2011 Humpty Bump
o 2010 Immelmann
Pugachev’s Cobra will be available for sale in 750mL bottles ($20 each, limit 6) and draught in Hangar 24’s Tasting Room in Redlands, California. Limited Southern California distribution to on- and off-premise locations will begin on Monday, Dec. 10.
Tickets are available on Dec. 8 for $25 in the Tasting Room. The first 250 participants will receive a complimentary, Hangar 24 Barrel Aged Beer taster glass. Hangar 24’s Tasting Room will be fully open on Dec. 8 and will be serving all of its craft beer styles.”
Sean suggests for September
This month I bring you some fall seasonals. Two from either ends of the great state of California and one from where this whole Oktoberfest tradition began, Germany.
Sean suggests for September 2012
Just click that link twice to get a handy print out to guide your beer shopping.
And speaking of beer shopping, if you are based in L.A. like I am, you can turn your beer purchases into a free L.A. Beer Week hat! Bottle shops around town will be selling specially stickered bottles or you can pick up a logo’d cap like Eagle Rock or Browerij West and if you collect 12, you can turn them in for a cap. Caps for Caps.
the latest Barrel Roll
Looks like Hangar 24 is ramping up the Barrel Roll series again. I missed the first two of the series but starting with # 3 Pugachev’s Cobra was not a bad way to go but I am glad that they are heading into sour territory with Chandelle. It is a good change of pace from the barleywine, Hammerhead and it uses the apricots that they are famous for with their wonderful Polycot beer.
Pitting for Polycot
On Tuesday morning, I ventured an hour and a half (no traffic, thank goodness) to Redlands and Hangar 24 Brewery to help in the creation of….
“Polycot is a wheat beer brewed with hundreds of pounds of organic apricots grown in Southern California’s High Desert. We brew this beer during the very small window of time when the apricots are at their peak of freshness, usually early July. The pureed apricots add a wonderful fruit flavor to the beer and combine with the wheat for a refreshing tart finish. This beer goes down smooth, but at over 1.5 times the alcohol of the Orange Wheat, it will sneak up on you.”
I pitted for three hours in between chatting fellow volunteers and drinking Polycot 2011 and the Hangar 24 DIPA.
The Hangar crew would bring out a pallet of apricots (1 pallet = 1 batch) and the volunteers would grab a box take the sticker off the apricots, remove the pit and toss the fruit into a collection bucket.
There were a lot of apricots but the buckets of fruit filled up pretty fast.
And despite apricot stained fingers, it was a fun way to be a small part of the brewing process and I will be able to proudly hold a glass of 2012 Polycot and say that I helped to make it happen.
# 4 for Hangar 24
“Hangar 24’s turning 4 and we’d love to have you celebrate with us. Join us for a year that’s even better than the rest with more food, more music and a bigger variety of beer than ever before. We’ll also be releasing our surprise 4th Anniversary beer. The party’s sure to be great but what makes it even better is the support that we are able to provide to a local charity. Proceeds from our Anniversary Celebration will benefit the Childhood Cancer Foundation of Southern California.”
April Video Review – California Spring Beer from Hangar 24
The third and final review for April, the poor month with no overarching theme is a beer from Redlands, California based Hangar 24.
Here is what I thought about California Spring Beer…..
One Night Stand
I love Meet the Brewer nights but a much better name has been devised by Beer Belly in Koreatown, A Series of One Night Stands, the first of which is starting February 22nd, 2012
“Behind every craft beer is a story, and starting in February we’re bringing the story to you.
We all love craft beer, that’s a no-brainer…but just how well do we know the stories of the beers we drink?
This year the Beer Belly family is going straight to the brewer and bringing back the stories of local brewers to share with you and the Beer Belly community.”
What this means for you:
-Throughout the month stay tuned-in to our Facebook and Twitter for news, stories, and specials…starting with this video from our visit to Hangar24:
-Mark your calendars (see below) and join us for our One Night Stand community nights where we’ll feature a variety of beer styles from the featured brewery
-Meet and greet fellow craft beer lovers, brewers, and more
The One Night Stand schedule:
2.22: Hangar 24 Anniversary Party (ONS Kickoff)
3.21: Golden Road Brewing
4.18: Bootleggers Brewery
5.16: Coming Soon
6.20: Coming Soon
7.18: Coming Soon
This is a labor of love for us and we really hope that you’re able to join and be a part of this craft beer passion project.
Follow the beer,
Hangar 24 – Mark your calendars
I have been seeing more “release” calendars this year which can be really helpful if you have a special beer that you are pining for. So here is one from Redland’s Hangar 24
(Click on the image to see it a bit bigger)
Review – Hangar 24 Double IPA
I purchased this bottle on Christmas eve and it tasted better than the tap! Hangar 24 is a rapidly growing brewery that is doing some great stuff and has a wonderful airport location. I have also been impressed by their Helles and on the other end of the spectrum, the big Pugachev’s Cobra Imperial Stout.
On to the review: