Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
Highland Park Brewery is heading toward their 9th anniversary soon which means two things.
Highland Park Brewery has a new westie IPA, Fellow Humans a collaboration with Orange County’s Everywhere Beer Co.
“Fellow Humans is a 6.2%ABV west coast IPA with lots of fun hops! This clear beer uses NZ Cascade, Eclipse, & it’s also our first time using the hop Nectaron! We’re so excited to experiment with this rad new hop, especially on this beer! bursts of intense aromas like Orange Tic-Tacs, mojito, Big League Chew Bubblegum, & clementines.”
Love HPB beers but toning down the from left field, weird flavor descriptors might be needed though.
Did you think I would NOT review a bourbon barrel-aged beer this month? I specifically hunted a good choice to start with and who better than Firestone Walker who collaborated with Highland Park Brewery on the excellently named, No Ends, Only Beginnings.
This is a simple and effective beer. No bells. No whistles. There is a lovely sugary, caramel aroma here. Not much in the way of oaky barrel. I could see comparisons to brown sugar or a restrained vanilla cupcake. The booziness is really held in check by the sugar. If tasted blind, I would not say bourbon but I would rate it highly.
If you haven’t been to the original Highland Park Brewery, here is a reason to head to…
“Our pals at The Hermosillo have been with HPB since day 1, literally! We started off brewing (& still brew) in a tiny space in the back of their spot on York. We’re so excited about their 10th anniversary & so excited to share Hermosillo Lager with y’all!
Hermosillo Lager is a 5.2%ABV lager made in collaboration with The Hermosillo to celebrate their 10th anniversary! Ross & Michael asked for something crisp & hoppy with a focus on more Noble hops, including HopHead Farms Zuper Saazer.”
Time to give the verdict on the 2022 Unity beer, an IPA from Highland Park Brewery.
The label has a Muppet feel to it which is cool with the logos on the left but not so much with the reaching hands from the word Unity.
The beer pours a dark orange and right off the bat loads of Concord grape here. A lemon note backs that up. Medium to low bitterness level to me. This review is from first day of release so it was at freshness peak. It is light and refreshing and as it warms up more tropical flavors appear.
Mark your calendar, Highland Park Brewery’s Timbo Week 2022 kicks off this year on June 10th with a canned release of Timbo Pils plus more pils-y fun.
Bob Kunz and crew are busy making as much as they can since last year they whipped through the stock in three days. To make it last longer they are brewing up a batch at the teeny tiny original location too. Last time they did that was back in 2018!
Love those hops from New Zealand? Well you can stay in LA and taste them in….
…or…
So fly away or get the legs moving to Trademark Brewing in Long Beach or Highland Park Brewery in Chinatown or your favorite bottle shoppe.
The World Beer Cup spent Cinco de Mayo passing out medals.
Beachwood was the big local winner with three medals. Figueroa Mountain picked up a pair which I count as L.A. because of the Westlake Village outpost. Below are the Los Angeles area medalists:
Gold
Highland Park Brewery – Hello, L.A. – International Pale Ale
Silver
Lincoln Beer Co. – Mosaic Pilsner – American-Style Pilsner
Cellador Ales – Akimbo – Fruited Wood and Barrel- Aged Sour
Beachwood – Full Malted Jacket – Scotch Ale
Bronze
San Fernando Brewing Co. – Imperial Death Star – American-Style Imperial Stout
Beachwood Blendery – Funk Yeah – Belgian- Style Sour
Beachwood – Mocha Machine – Coffee Stout
Just in time for your Omicron safe celebrating for New Years…
Highland Park Brewery has The Party for you. In a classy labeled can.
Finally seeing an L.A version of Brave Noise. From Highland Park Brewery.
“Brave Noise is a worldwide collaboration with one big goal: a safe & discrimination-free bee industry. HPB is very proud to be a participating brewery in the Brave Noise campaign & hope it helps push for continued growth & accountability in our industry.
It is a 6%ABV hazy west coast pale ale hopped with Citra, Copper, & Nelson hops. We’re very excited to be using Michigan grown Copper hops from HopHead Farms for the first time ever, such a rad hop! This beer explodes with aromas of tangerine, lime caviar, green gummy bear, & bright lemon zest.
A portion of proceeds from Brave Noise will be going to support @ihollagram. An organization that has a mission aimed to end harassment in all its forms by transforming the culture that perpetuates hate & harassment. They carry out this mission by building the power of everyday people to create safe & welcoming environments for all. Check out their page to learn more about Hollaback & to see how you can support.”