Tag: May

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Best Beers of May 2024

May brought a nice mix of new beers and new breweries and that is shown in the Best of for the month…

Santa Monica Brew Works Flecha Azul Margarita Sour – I have had a couple nice sours recently headlined by this SMBW that smartly combined margarita with sour in a Gose-ish way.

Trusted Gut Kristalweizen – clean and crisp but unmistakably weizen. Perfect for a summer day.

Ghost Town + North Park Ghost Park IPA – Cannot go wrong with North Park even if they are just half of the brewing team.

The big winner for the month is…..

Brouwerij West 8x8x Hazy DIPA – now this was a proper hazy. it was like drinking cream and pineapple and it had an impressive layer of murk to it.

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The Best Beers of May 2023

To be transparent, I did take a pre-Invitational beer break so May drinking was cut short a few days but since I am a very picky beer buyer, the quality is there if bot the quantity.

This was a particularly strong beer class as well. I had Green Cheek’s Illusion of Choice (great name – by the way) Hazy on draft at North Hollywood’s Hop Merchants and it was great. Had the haze but didn’t have that unfiltered apple cider brown look. I also had a collaboration lager from two Washington State breweries, Lowercase and Machine House which was fantastic. Glad to see super high quality lagers in cans.

But the winner was Seoul Searching IPA from right here in Los Angeles. Party Beer Co. teamed with LA Mill Coffee on a tea driven IPA and it had such a bright tea note, very floral, without sacrificing the hoppiness. A really grand aroma when the can was cracked open.

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In the Tap Lines for May 2023

It has been a colder than usual spring here in L.A., heck the whole West Coast. No joke but it snowed in Portland on April 1st. Let’s dive into a month of beer fun with shorts on.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from the upcoming Firestone Walker Invitational

~ special featured reviews of whatever is new in my ‘fridge

~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 Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Doctor Dante

~ Sports & A Beer returns with the proliferation of team jerseys

~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month

~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

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In the Tap Lines for May 2022

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Moving into May with another month of fun beer news and maybe even longer visits to breweries and even maybier festivals but for sure, this…

~ e-visits to (3) breweries in NBA playoff team cities
~ special featured reviews of Abnormal beers
~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 Kaiju Preservation Society
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Dishing on Julia
~ 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.

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The Firkin for May 2021

I have been thinking about how to get the vaccine hesitant jabbed with any of the three medicines. Concurrently, I have seen breweries hosting vaccine pop-ups.

And I hope to see more of that so we can drag that vaccinated number up to at least 75%.

But here are some “fun” ideas as to using beer to increase vaccination rates…

  1. Only non- hopped beers if you can’t show your vaccination card. As much as people claim to love historical styles, no one seems to drink them.
  2. The three lowest states in vaccination rates cannot sell hard seltzer. See how fast White Claw and Truly line-up to get people Moderna.
  3. The unvaccinated will be allowed into festivals but they get special wristbands and can only drink through a straw.
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Sean Suggests for May 2021

This month, instead of a theme based on beer style or ingredient or state, let’s pick three beers from one brewery, Crowns & Hops which will be based in Inglewood.

LIGHT

Crowns & Hops Wills of Steel – 5.6% “We brewed this Pale Ale in honor of our DJ’s on the “Ones & Twos”. A solid American Pale Ale with a flavorful, aromatic hop profile that’s noticeable, yet as delicate as a perfectly executed butterfly scratch. Just like when the perfect song plays at the perfect moment, in the club or listening to a live stream at home…Wills of Steel is always on time.”

MEDIUM

Crowns & Hops Island Anomaly – 6% “One of the most delicious ingredients to add to a stout is toasted coconut. Island Anomaly includes notes of chocolate, coffee, and mild smoke, which pairs perfectly with toasted coconut making this beer straight FIRE.”

BIGGEST

Crowns & Hops + J. Wakefield The Glow Up – 9% “A Hazy DIPA loaded with galaxy, mosaic, and strata hops offering notes of tropical fruit, citrus, and pine. This collaboration with the homies at J. Wakefield (Miami, FL) is an ode to Black cinema, music, and the 80’s.”

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In the Tap Lines for May 2021

header_attractionsIt’s my go.  This month is when my shot is scheduled to happen.  Let’s hope it goes well and well for all of you as well.  And this month, there will be plenty of fun beer info for vaccinated beer fans.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries to plan a brewery and distillery visit to
~ special featured reviews of beers from Three Weavers in Inglewood and Athletic Brewing in San Diego
~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events (not as far in the future now, events)
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark
~ A Book & A Beer reads The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to God Awful Movies
~ 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.

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Sean Suggests for May 2020

This month, let’s take a stroll through Facebook posts from the excellent Select Beer Store in Redondo Beach and pass on some possible shopping ideas…..

Brewery X – Panda Pool Party

Black Project – Thunderbolt

Smog City – To L.A. Wit Love

Societe – Agreeable Folk

Sound good?

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In the Tap Lines for May 2020

header_attractionsWell April was not a fun month either  maybe May will break this bad streak that we are on.  Remember, do not drink bleach or Tide Pods, drink local

~ e-visits to (3)  breweries that have done Quarantine themed beers
~ special featured reviews of beers from Cerveceria del Pueblo and others
~ Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events (Far in the future events)
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark
~ A Book & A Beer reads We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Deciding Westworld
~ 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.

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In the Tap Lines for May 2019

header_attractionsYesterday, I re-capped the 3rd Anniversary of the Propagator branch of Firestone Walker and that was just a small taste of the FWIBF coverage that will appear in the run up to the 2019 festival as well as my coverage of the actual fest itself.

~ e-visits to three breweries that will be pouring at FWIBF 2019
~ special featured reviews of from Four Corners 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 Best Mystery Stories of 2018
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

Here are two events to get your May started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) May 4th – Yorkshire Square 2nd Anniversary
2) May 15th – May 22nd – Naja’s Place IPA Festival