Tag: January

Posted on

Best Beers of January 2024

Time to see what beers made an impression on me in the first month of 2024. My penchant for collaboration beers is certainly showing.

Here are my runners up:

Bagby Beer Co. wEYESsbier with Bierstadt Lagerhaus

Creature Comforts Winter Trees Cold Red IPA

Everywhere / North Park Retro Steps Forward DDH Hazy IPA

This month the most memorable was:

Brouwerij West / Harland Cosmic Gulp Tarted Fruit Ale – I guess I am a sucker for passion fruit which was strongly forward but what other than that, this sour was not puckery. I think I found a tart beer that doesn’t leave my stomach in backflips

Posted on

Sean Suggests for January 2024

Time for my first beer shopping list for 2024.  It is doubly toasted and very serious and all California brewed.

Highland Park Brewery Toast Points Czech Style Lager – 5.9% – “brewed with our pals Moonlight Brewing. The crew at Moonlight are one of our favorite American lager producers & we couldn’t be more stoked to create a lager with them. This is also the first time we’ve done a decoction mash on our system in Chinatown. Decoction is a process that involves taking part of the mash, boiling it separately, then mixing it back into the main mash to raise its overall temp. It can darken a beer’s color, impart richer malt flavors, give it a smoother mouthfeel, & even result in more stable foam.”

Paperback Brewing Siri-ous Problems Hazy IPA – 6.8% – “anything but a problem to your taste buds, with an overload of juicy hop aroma snd flavor.  Zamba, Citra, and Azzaca hops lend themselves to creating juicy tropical fruit notes, such as pineapple, mango, stone fruits, candy, and orange tangerine.”

21st Amendment Find Your Fortune – 7.5% – “our newest Imperial Toasted Golden Ale is embellished with a QR code directly on the can so drinkers nationwide can scan the code and open their own virtual fortune cookie! Who needs horoscopes when you have a beer like this?! 

With toasted sesame, vanilla, and lactose, Find Your Fortune is a complex beer that offers a delightful blend of flavors and aromas. The toasted sesame adds a nutty and slightly savory note, balanced perfectly with a sweet aroma and flavor of vanilla, followed by a silky smooth, creamy finish.”

Posted on

Sean Suggests for January 2023

Let’s take a little drive around SoCal to taste all sorts of hops from Noble to un-named and Pilsner to IIPA to start the year off right.

Bottle Logic – Semplicitá Italian Pilsner – 5.2% “Saphir and Saaz hops tout delicate aromas of pine and white flowers and transition to the palate with an up-front bitterness. It lingers for a moment and folds into the fresh bready sweetness of the malt base with a medium-light body and effervescent carbonation.”

El Segundo Brewing – Simcoe West Coast IPA – 6.8% – “Once again, we love a hop so much, we had no choice but to name a beer after it. Simcoe’s been around since 2000, making it a classic hop of the West Coast IPA. There’s been plenty of hops that have made a splash since then, but Simcoe has a certain… je ne sais quoi that keeps us coming back for more.”

Ogopogo Brewing / Harland Beer Co. – Merlion 2 DDH Hazy IIPA – 8.5% – “With Citra, Incognito Citra, HBC 586 and HBC 586 Cryo.”

Posted on

Sean Suggests for January 2022

Time for the first beer shopping list for 2022! Last month, I skipped around the style wheel. This month, the arrow is pointed firmly at IPA.

LIGHT

Smog City – Frost Flower – “Frost Flower drinks soft with big punchy fruit tones. It’s medium body contrasts the dry drinkability of west coast haze. This ambrosia salad of tropical fruit steps out with big berry notes, citrus, guava and a touch of coconut while finishing with just enough bitterness to bring you in for another sip.”

MEDIUM

Firestone Walker – Hopnosis – “The Hop Ontology Project is our exploration of the ephemeral nature of the modern IPA. Hopnosis is a crisp West Coast IPA double dry-hopped with some of our favorite modern hop varieties from the USA and New Zealand.”

BIGGEST

Casa Agria – Closely Apart Hazy DIPA – “Citra and Mosaic, you just can’t keep them separated. A friendship like no other, this Hazy DIPA has everything that you need! Introducing Closely Apart Hazy Double IPA.”

Posted on

In the Tap Lines for January 2022

header_attractionsWelcome to 2022!  I have a feeling that it will be a better year than the two previous.  Maybe that is optimism or just that I keep seeing new beers pop up and it makes me hopeful.  Have a blessed new year!

~ e-visits to (3) breweries that I would like to visit in 2022
~ special featured reviews of beer brewed in LA
~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark
~ A Book & A Beer reads Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Close to Death
~ Great Beer names and Best Beers of the Month
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

Posted on

Sean Suggests for January 2020

Today we focus on new beers coming from NorCal to Socal from Seismic Brewing.

~LIGHT
Seismic Brewing / Alluvium Pilsner 5.0% ABV
“Inspired by the traditional pilsners of Northern Germany, Alluvium is brewed with 100% California grown and malted barley to get the crisp, clean finish that is a hallmark of German Pilsner. Generously hopped, Alluvium is aromatically imbued with spicy noble hops and a pleasantly bitter finish.”

~MEDIUM
Seismic Brewing / Magnetic Midnight Black Lager 5.0% ABV
“Magnetic Midnight is constructed of a clean all-California grown and malted base with the added color of an especially dark malt. German Noble hops added late in the brewing process provide a subtle fruitiness and spiciness to complement the malty, cocoa finish.”

~BIG
Seismic Brewing / Shatter Cone IPA 7.0% ABV
“Intensely aromatic, Shatter Cone features a bouquet of strawberry, stonefruit, melon, and citrus. The palate is bright, crisp, and acidic with a punch of clean bitterness which gives way to a lemon/orange and concord grape profile overlaid on a neutral malt canvas.”

All of these beers can be found at Sunset Beer Co. (unless they got bought up real quick)

Posted on

Dry

About now, some who were on the Dryuary train may have gotten off while others are moving forward in their alcohol abstinence. Those in the middle should probably read this handy guide from NPR, HERE.

I have been taking (2) days off a week from drinking since 2016 which I feel works better for me but I understand the whole resolution side of the ledger as well. But I would say that January need not be the month that EVERYONE stops drinking be it a few days or full month.

Maybe, December is a better month for people to press pause to better deal with relatives over the holidays. Maybe Half of June and Half of July is better. The month doesn’t really matter as long as you are looking into your relationship with alcohol. Dryuary is handy as a reminder but is not the gospel.

Because the goal is not to drink everything as fast as you can but to enjoy what you have. I find that after beer two, subtle flavors are lost so I would much rather limit now and enjoy for my whole life than to go crazy in the present with diminishing results.

Posted on

In the Tap Lines for January 2020

header_attractionsA new year lies before us.  What beers will amaze us?  What new brewery will blow us away and what beers will we push away after one sip.  Good and bad are coming and this month, I am covering it all including…

~ e-visits to (3)  Welsh breweries to honor the newest season of Doctor Who. Gwaun Valley Brewery, Conwy Brewery and Nant Brewery.
~ special featured reviews of beers from American Trappist, Spencer Brewing
~ Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark
~ A Book & A Beer reads The Fire is Upon Us by Nicholas Buccola
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Binge Mode: Star Wars
~ Great Beer names debuts this month
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

Here are two events to get your January started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) January 18th – Transplants Brewing 4th Anniversary
2) January 25th – Infinite Wishes Day at Smog City

Posted on

In the Tap Lines for January 2019

header_attractions
Now we can focus on the best holiday of the calendar year and all of the fun winter seasonals that will start to burrow onto shelves and into coolers of your favorite beer shops. I wish you a fabulous Christmas season! Now onto what is happening this month in addition to the holiday beer a day…

~ e-visits to three breweries from Eugene, Oregon such as ColdFire Brewing, Claim 52 Brewing and Viking Braggot.
~ special featured reviews of Beer that I got for Christmas
~ Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark
~ A Book & A Beer reads Adjustment Day from Chuck Palahniuk
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

Here are two events to get your January started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) January 12th – Trustworthy Brewing 2nd Anniversary
2) January 26th – Eagle Rock Brewery 9th Anniversary

Posted on

Sean Suggests for January 2018

header_beer_shopping_list
You like Geuze? How about trying and Old Geuze from three different barrels. Brouwerij Boon has bottled 3 VATS, 91 , 92 and 108. Could be an excellent tasting session with friends.

~LIGHT
Brouwerij Boon/ VAT 918.0% ABV
“The very subtle, elegant and tender taste of Oude Geuze VAT 91 comes from foeder Nr. 91, formerly used in Normandy as calvados barrel. Now this foeder creates excellent, tender Lambic, ideal for Oude Geuze. VAT 91 is soft, round, full-bodied, complex and in balance. The unique oval shape of foeder 91 ensures the optimum use of the foeder.”

~MEDIUM
Brouwerij Boon/ VAT 928.0% ABV
“This Old Geuze is the favorite of our tasting team. It is pleasantly full-bodied, complex and contains smoky and spicy tests. These unique flavors are derived from the oak barrel, used for red wine in France in the Rhône valley. The oak tree clearly expresses a stamp on the overall taste image and adds a particularly positive contribution to the Lambiek aroma.”

~DARK
Brouwerij Boon/ VAT 1088.0% ABV
“The very wine-like accents in this Old Geuze are combined with a clear ‘old beer’ character, which ensures a sturdy and robust taste with undeniable but not overwhelming volatile acids. This barrel from 1935 comes from another brewery, where the beers contain volatile acids. This foeder enriches the character of all our mixes.”>

All of these beers can be found at Sunset Beer Co. (unless they got bought up real quick)