Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
Or I should say Gigantic.
I sent my mom to check out Gigantic Brewing in Portland since it is a much longer drive for me here in L.A. to check out what the new tap room looks like.
The entry to the eastside establishment of Van Havig and Ben Love.
The to-go options which include their IPA and The City Never Sleeps. They also have a collaborative brew with 3 Floyds out of Indiana by the name of Axes of Evil.
Or you could sample a beer from someone else to compare and contrast.
Each month in 2012 I have an extra $20 (courtesy of my wife) for craft beer and this month, I decided to go all Widmer….
I have tasted all of the Rotator series of IPA’s and so far, my favorite of the bunch is the Spiced IPA. Primarily because it was sooo different from the normal IPA. I first encountered Shaddock at the Oregon Brewer’s Festival a couple year’s back and was mildly impressed but I wanted to re-visit thinking that the recipe may have been tweaked.
I had two Omission choices. Lager or Pale Ale. I went with the lager simply because I don’t normally buy lagers and it was a hot day when I bought it. We shall see if that decision pays off.
You can check out what I bought in June (also from Oregon) HERE
Brewing in Minnesota for awhile now, Summit Brewing Company’s 25th anniversary beer is named after Odin’s drinking companion, Sága. And according to their website is not for smelling impaired.
A blend of Citra, Amarillo, Centennial and a New Zealand hop by the name of Rakau. It might be leaning more West coast than east. I have been fortunate enough to have a couple Summit beers and this one sounds great.
Seems like the dynamic duo of Grossman and Calagione have more on their minds than just Life and Limb. They also want to build a better glass and just for IPA’s. They took time to taste Stone’s IPA as well as their own offerings in different glasses from the famed Riedel people. Sounded like a fun way to spend two hours.
Check out the story from The Philly Beer Scene HERE! Then look forward to a better way to celebrate the hop.
Twisted Pine out of Boulder, Colorado has started a Farm to Foam project and in the process have created an IPA with carrots!
Yup, Bugs Bunny approved. I am not a big carrot juice fan, I miss the texture of the actual carrot but combined with hops. Who knows? At least worthy of a taster. And if nothing else, it puts a spotlight on Farmer’s Markets which is a good thing because they have much in common with the craft beer community.
The month of March is featuring reviews of Oregon beers that I brought back from one of my semi-regular jaunts to my hometown of Portland and to start, I cracked open an IPA from Burnside Brewing.
Here is what the brewery says about the beer, “Burnside IPA is our flagship brand on our sparkling new 15bbl system. An IPA with plenty of malt body and thoroughly hopped with 6 varieties of the herbaceous perennial. Expect to taste notes of pine & grapefruit in Jason’s first offering.”
“Four native sons are hoping that the name recognition generated from the 15-year-old Coen brothers flick will help launch their fledgling brewing company in North Dakota’s largest city. Their first beer is called Wood Chipper, a whimsical reference to the famous prop from the movie.”
I am surprised that that name hadn’t been appropriated earlier. It is perfect for a palate wrecking IPA. And now the Fargo Beer Company is sending it out to North Dakota (which could use more breweries, if for the only reason that I could knock it off my tried a beer from each state list)
I have seen this new Sierra Nevada beer advertised in all of the beer-y magazines that I subscribe to and I cannot wait to give it a whirl in a pint glass.
Apparently this will replace Glissade which never won me over. It should be in SoCal markets now. Pick it up along with Bigfoot barleywine. If I find one in time, I will attempt to do a video review this month.
Stone Brewing really picks interesting combos for their collaborations. Whether it is a big trio of Dogfish, Victory and Stone or a Japanese theme, they really explore many different breweries. And the latest duo to combine with Stone are Ninkasi (fresh off a collaboration with another Stone collaborator, 21st Amendment) and The Alchemist (the famed East Coast brewer that is on my long, long wish list of brewers to try).
Nelson Sauvin, Delta, Galaxy & Citra hops combined into More Brown than Black a brown/black ale with proceeds going to help The Alchemist dig out from flood damage caused by storms earlier this year. Maybe this will be the medium roast version of the Escondidian that was good but a little too roasty for the hops (which appears to be a trend in the Black IPA/CDA style).
Bottles should be available now and would make excellent stocking stuffers!
The brewery that I can walk to in 20 minutes, Golden Road, has been making fast progress.
A name and a keg collar ready and soon the first beer will be too.
And speaking of ahead of schedule, what I consider the “backlash” articles are showing up. Just one now, and it is fairly tame but I do not like even an inkling of this sort of thing in an industry that I believe to be super collaborative.
Personally, I don’t care how or when you got involved in craft beer or how big or small your participation level is. All are welcome in my book.