Sean Suggests for February 2019


For January, let’s look to the darker side and to devils and doubts.

~LIGHT
Bear Republic/ Sonoma Tart 5.20% ABV
“A pleasantly sour golden ale kissed with guava and passion fruit. Delicious fruit flavors with a sweet and tart finish.”

~MEDIUM
Little Beast / Ferme Rouge 7.50% ABV
“Oak-Aged Tart Red Ale. Our mixed-culture farmhouse red ale has bright flavors resulting from a balance of developed malt character, toasted oak and soft acidity. Unfiltered and bottle conditioned.”

~BIG
Indie Brewing / Nobody Walks in LA IPA 8.00% ABV
“A double dry hopped double IPA featuring Sabro, Styrian Wolf and Moutere hops.”

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

Featured Reviews – The Light Side of Figueroa Mountain


Now we taste test the lighte side of Figueroa Mountain. 101 and Light. Which will win this battle?

The “light” beer is really good. If I had been given this blind, I would not have said it was calorie counting beer. It does not taste thin at all. Light pours a bright yellow color. The aroma almost has a slight funk to it but mostly just malt presence. It is not a bubbly beer at all and doesn’t scream flavor at you. Just a super mellow unwatery beer.

101 by contrast tasted way lighter. I would have picked this as the light beer in a hot second. It almost has a watery taste. A highly mineral water taste at that. It is zippier and crisper but most certainly more lawnmower or first beer of the night. Not much grain character to it and not layered with flavor either.

Of the two, I would choose the light. Not just for Heavenly-The Good Place reasons either.

Reflective

Capture
Coasters are marketing tools. But they can also be used for art. And now they can also be used to light your way. Reflector Protectors takes the form of the coaster but once you peel the top layer off and affix it to your clothing it becomes reflective.

Conceived by the Edward Snell and Co. in South Africa it was created to help slow a nearly inconceivable and grim statistic that an estimated five pedestrians are killed per night walking home from a bar. Hopefully the reflectors will hop the pond and become available here for our bicycle culture.

Sean Suggests for February 2015

header_beer_shopping_listFor February, a slight change of pace.  Let’s go low ABV and let’s go hyper L.A. local with three very tasty beers that won’t knock you off your stool.

~LIGHT

Noble Ale Works/ Dirt McGirt  4.70% ABV

“Our dirty blonde is a slight variation on the traditional blonde ale. We set the base with Bohemian Pilsher malt and then added in Vienna and Munich malts for a change to bring a soft breadiness to the beer, while still keeping the overall perception light and super drinkable.”

~ANOTHER LIGHT

MacLeod Ales/ Barclay Perkins 1941 3.9% ABV

“A proper historical recipe for a bit of a challenge.  Interesting recipe as it has lactose, inverted sugar, and oats which I believe is rather unusual”

~ALSO LIGHT

Eagle Rock Brewing/ Li’l Fred 3.90% ABV

Have you met the newest member to our little family? Meet Lil Fred! He’s a red mild with super tasty toast and nutty notes.

Sean Suggests for June 2013

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Sam Adams Longshot 2013 Beer Flower Wheat 5.8% abv

“With the hot summer months and fun gatherings in mind, James brewed a refreshing wheat beer with an exotic kick. This beer is smooth and light bodied with the delicate flavors of hibiscus.”

Golden Road / Heal the Bay IPA 6.8% abv

“The two-row pale malt body takes a back seat to the Citra, Centennial, and New Zealand hops for a bright, citrus forward, summertime drinking IPA. Part of the proceeds from this beer will be donated to our hardworking friends at Heal the Bay – an organization committed to restoring and protecting the Southern California coastal waters and watershed.”

The Bruery Beer 15.5%

“Bois, our fifth anniversary ale..is brewed in the English-style Old Ale tradition using our house Belgian yeast strain and then blended using the solera method, where a portion of each of our anniversary ales is saved in our barrels and blended in with the next year’s production, providing more complexity and depth of character that comes with age.”

Sean Suggests for April 2013

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Since April in Los Angeles is a bit hotter than in most of the country, I have selected three beers with a little less ABV oomph to them than usual.  And all three will be good NBA playoffs choices.

LIGHT

Widmer Columbia Common 4.7% abv

“The Columbia Hop was near extinction when we brought it back to create this crisp, easy drinking common ale. With a rich amber hue, Columbia Common, the new Spring Seasonal Release for 2013, has a Mild grassy and spicy hop notes are complemented by a fruity character and clean finish brought on by the use of hefeweizen and lager yeasts and unique malt bill. It’s the perfect beer for Spring.”

MEDIUM

Strand 24th Street Pale 6.1 % abv

“This is what we had intended to brew when we made Genesis. Serving as our flagship ale, 24th Street Pale contains exactly the same hops but is less malty than Genesis which leads to less masking of the hop profile. It’s a smooth little Pale with a bitter finish. Slightly floral, slightly fruity. It is dry and drinks quickly. ”

DARK

New Belgium Hoppy Bock 6.9 % abv

“Meet the first in our new Hop Kitchen series: A German-style springtime lager brewed with rye then loaded with Hallertauer, Perle and Fuggle hops for a spicy, earthy aroma. This Hoppy Bock Lager offers a medium body and slightly sweet malt character perfect for your spring hop-fling.”

Sean Suggests for September 2011


September can be too hot for heavy beers and chilly enough to make pilsners too little and nowadays pumpkin beers are hitting the shelves early too.

But I have found three great choices for your next beer shopping excursion….
Sean suggests for September

Click twice and the PDF should appear ready to print out!

Above is the second of three new logos designed for me by Charissa Santos. If you like the look of it, check out her site HERE

Sean Suggests for October 2010

October is a great time for beer. Malty Germanic beers come back into people’s minds. Holiday beers are around the corner. And who doesn’t love pumpkin beers. OK, yeah. Those are probably not the pinnacle of brewing. But there are even good punkin offerings this year.

That being said, I recommend a truly freakish beer, a beer for brunch and a beer for charity…

October 2010 Beers