Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
I don’t know if it is the lack of snow but there are not too many Christmas beers coming from SoCal. Los Angeles Ale Works is changing that with a double holiday release with one hoppy and one Belgian. Available at their Hawthorne brewery to-go.
Craft beer and collaborating go hand in hand. And across the street from each other, Los Angeles Ale Works and Common Space Brewing each have a beer made with friends out now.
So honey, citrus and spice….
And / Or ice cream…
Christmas shopping was going to be difficult this year but Los Angeles Ale Works has solved the problem for you. Personalized cans of beer! Way better than an annual Christmas card. Buy a case and pass out holiday spirit this year.
Let’s take a drive down Sunset Boulevard with a quick review of the collaboration beer from Los Angeles Ale Works and beer shoppe extraordinaire, Sunset Beer Co.
This West Coast IPA pours a vibrant orange color. There is an orange peel and pine aroma that leads to a juicy hit of tangerine for me. That is followed by a weird malty meets metal taste that is out of step with the early flavor of citrus. At the tail end is a bundle of bitterness that takes the flavors in another direction again.
Cali Fizz from Los Angeles Ale Works pours a lovely rose color. Not super bubbly. Expected a little more carbonation. This is not a sweet seltzer which is good. Many competing flavors inside the 16oz can. Orange and grape and a discordant tea note as well. A lot going on here. Points for going bold for sure. Jello meets white wine is the best descriptor.
I rounded up three of the local versions of the Weathered Souls Black is Beautiful beers to review in one big post. Smog City, Los Angeles Ale Works and Ogopogo.
Smog City
Pours s dark brown/ black mix. Big espresso head of foam. Burnt notes big here. Lowest abv of the trio. Chicory. Coffee. A bit watery but only just barely so. Direct and simple.
Los Angeles Ale Works
Pours a dark black. Coconut strong to start. Lovely aroma. Sorta like a salted caramel. Sweet and salt. Tilted a bit much to the salt side though in the end. Does not taste 10%.
Ogopogo
Cinnamon is the dominant flavor here. Alcohol more prevalent here too. Very smooth mouthfeel. Sorta like a fall coffee drink. Minor roast notes. Minor sweetness.
SoCal and summer go together about five to six months, give or take, each year. That means lighter beers coming to the forefront. Los Angeles Ale Works is adding to your Helles choices with a non-extinction level event. I doubt it is boiled with hot rocks from either space or earth.
This damn virus has stolen St. Patrick’s Day from us and now unless you are daring with your life (I.E. Georgia or Tennessee), Cinco de Mayo will go by without the typical fanfare.
I have posted many a time about how I spend those nights safe at home away from packed bars and packed police checkpoints but I thought I would give three recommendations for tomorrow’s Cinco de Solo.
Stone Buenaveza Salt & Lime Lager is a great place to start. Light and refreshing and with enough citrus to make it a fun way to start the night.
Boomtown Bad Hombre is a Mexican Lager with a spicy kick from Hallertauer hops.
Los Angeles Ale Works Dead Cowboy – labeled as a rustic red lager. This amber beer uses puffed rice.
A) Brewery cats are cool.
B) There will be a can release party with the label designer and all-around awesome Kelly Erickson on the 15th. Details HERE.
C) Oh, and it is an IPA.
Here are your lucky numbers for February….
1st Anniversary – Wingwalker in Monrovia on 2/8
3rd Anniversary – Los Angeles Ale Works in Hawthorne on 2/15
2nd Anniversary – State Brewing in Gardena on 2/22
1st Anniversary – Ambitious Ales in Long Beach on 2/29