Tag: November

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The Firkin for November 2019

The only constant is change. Nothing stays the same. Your favorite beer or local brewery may not be the same next year.

And we as beer consumers need to lean into that. We need to be pro-active and not get stuck in ruts just because they are easy and safe. If you stay in the rut, you will soon not be impressed by anything and you will miss out on beers that you really should be trying.

The rut might be of chasing hazy IPA or eschewing new beers for classics or just being loyal minus critical attention. Whatever path you are on, you need to add more paths to your repertoire. Hike them all and store that knowledge for later.

If you are the same beer drinker in a year as you are today, then all of this beer plenty we have will have been for naught.

I am thankful for all the choice and all the beers that I have had (even the bad ones) and I hope that #independent keeps on changing and evolving with me.

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Sean Suggests for November 2019

This month, the focus is on chocolate, vanilla and coffee and if you drill down a level, big ABV beers.  Maybe I am trying to will winter weather into existence with these three choices.

~LIGHT
Almanac / Boost Coffee Stout 9% ABV
“BOOST is a bold and decadent stout turbocharged with coffee and vanilla beans. We partner with a new coffee roaster for each batch. You can check the canning date on your can to learn more about our awesome coffee partners!”

~MEDIUM
Beachwood / Mocha Machine 9.2% ABV
“Mocha Machine is a well-engineered endeavor in massive aromatics and rich flavors. Brewed with an array British and German malts, this burly brew is infused with masterfully roasted coffee from Portola Coffee Lab in Costa Mesa, CA. It is then aged on cacao nibs from Equador, adding an awesomely deep dimension of fudge.”

~BIG
Dogfish Head / Vanilla Worldwide Stout 16% ABV
“Rare and often rumored about in the darkest corners of the beer community, World Wide Stout is dark, rich, roasty and complex, and lingers somewhere beyond the limits of the average beer. Brewed with a ridiculous amount of barley, we’ve now taken this Dogfish Head classic and aged it on oak with real vanilla beans! With a little tender love and care we foster this beer from smooth, sweet wort into the big, bad blackend stout it always longed to be. Its bold, port-like complexity goes great with (or as) dessert.”

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

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In the Tap Lines for November 2019

header_attractionsWe are close to the end of the decade but we have two big holidays left on the calendar.  So some holiday beers will be seen popping up plus a bunch of other fun stuff.

~ e-visits to three breweries from Portland, Oregon to honor the start of the Portland Trailblazers 50th season in the NBA
~ special featured reviews of Saison Dupont matched against other Saisons
~ 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 Full Throttle by Joe Hill
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Startup to Storefront
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

Here are two events to get your November started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) November 2nd – Field of Drafts Festival in Lancaster
2) November 16th – Highpoint Brewing 1st Anniversary

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The Firkin for November 2018


It is too late for this year but I would like to make a suggestion to breweries that they incorporate the spirit of the Thanksgiving and Christmas into their 2019 holiday beers.

Yes, it can be fruitcake or cranberry or chocolate yule log inspired but I am thinking more about having collaborative ales where the proceeds go to gifts for kids, or for food or for those dedicated to helping the homeless.

I know that the brewing community has been a big giver in the past and present. Just look at the recent efforts from Sierra Nevada and Ladyface Ale Companie this month alone. CANarchy has been canning water for disaster relief as well.

My suggestion would be for a Guild effort beer, for Los Angeles I would call it Holiday Unity like the L.A. Beer Week beer and rotate the main brewery each year as that beer now is. Spread the cost and spread the holiday spirit.

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Sean Suggests for November 2018


This month, I went really random with the beer choices. I just picked the bottom three choices from the latest releases and added them to my pretend virtual shopping cart. Sometimes you need to take chances.

~LIGHT
Smog City / Snugglebug 4.50% ABV
“American Style Sour blonde ale with Raspberries and Boysenberries. Bottle conditioned with wild yeast and bacteria. Snugglebug will continue to develop if cellared properly.”

~MEDIUM
Tennent’s / Original Export Lager 4.70% ABV
“Bottled, regular Tennent’s has been making lager for export markets since the nineteenth century, a time when Tennent’s was the world’s greatest exporter of bottled beer. Our premium export lager is now being introduced in Scotland with the launch of Tennent’s Original Export, available now in supermarkets and local stores across the country.”

~BIG
Yazoo / Preservation Ale 6.00% ABV
“This Fresh Hop ale bursts with spicy citrus flavors from hops grown locally and picked fresh at Sulphur Creek Farm, with the proceeds benefitting the ‘Beaman Park to Bell’s Bend Conservation Corridor’.”

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

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In the Tap Lines for November 2018

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As Los Angeles makes the slow transition from summer to late summer before heading to early summer, we can start to look at the bigger beers, the snifter beers. While also searching for the perfect beer to go with the fall sports season. Stay tuned for both this month.

~ e-visits to three breweries in NBA cities.
~ special featured reviews of beers over 10% ABV
~ 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 Big Game by Mark Leibovich
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

Here are two events to get your November started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) November 10 – Three Weavers 4th Anniversary
2) November 16 to 18 – Brewery Draconum 1st Anniversary

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The Firkin for November 2017


By now, all #independent beer fans can probably recite the letter or Facebook post that is copy/pasted whenever a beer company sells a little or a lot of itself.

Nothing will change. We found a compatible partner. Competition. We haven’t sold out. Bland vanilla boilerplate meant to boringly quell the revolt.

What I am also tired of is the knee jerk response from beer fans. The lazy “not going to buy your beer anymore”, the even lazier meme generated diss.

Can we just take a deep breath and then analyze the situation first before tapping the app and venting? Here is what I would like every prospective tweeter and facebooker to do first. Check the last time you had a beer from the brewery that sold. If you haven’t had a beer from them in months, well, you don’t get to sound off. If you haven’t had a beer from them this year, and you still feel the need to say something, then write it on a piece of paper and then ball it up and throw it over your shoulder.

Grow a thicker skin people and act like we have been her before. Because we have.

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Sean Suggests for November 2017

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Christmas beers are coming but let’s sample some of the diversity of beer styles this month, Sour-Spicy and Fiery.

~LIGHT
Ska Brewing/ Sour Apple Gose5.1% ABV
“The scent of sweet apple blossoms give way to honey and a lemony tartness from the Citra hops and souring. Tastes like you’re sipping on a crisp apple juice with a bright tartness that’s refreshing, not drying.”

~MEDIUM
SoLArc/ Sunset Cleanse6.4% ABV
“Hoppy Pale ale with lemon, Cayenne pepper, and ginger. Brewed in celebration of 6 years of Sunset Beer Co.”

~DARK
Firestone Walker/ Leo vs Ursus Inferos8.2% ABV
“Inferos is a rye imperial IPA that is fiery in color, hellacious in hoppiness and bursting with spicy rye goodness. Forged with 25 percent rye grain and loaded with more than four pounds of hops per barrel, Inferos is ultimately a big, lively beer that will keep the soul warm as summer transitions to fall.”

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

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In the Tap Lines for November 2017

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We are finally sliding into Fall, dammit Global Warming!, and now we can start checking out the holiday offerings without any remorse or looking over the shoulder. Instead we can look forward to more independent beer coverage….

~ e-visits to three breweries that won medals at GABF last month.
~ special featured reviews of some Oregon 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 Hook’s Tale.
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

Here are two events to get your November started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) November 4th – Lagunitas Beer Circus
2) November 11th – Three Weavers 3rd Anniversary

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Sean Suggests for November 2016

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For my November suggestions, let’s make some pointed jabs at the Tangerine Terror and his deplorables with names of beers on shelves now.

~LIGHT
Beachwood/ Independent IPA 7.10% ABV
“Without independence, there can be no invention. Cheers to unrestrained creative forces that move us upward and onward! Dry Hopped with El Dorado, Comet, and HBC 344. “

~MEDIUM
Black Market/ Charlatan IPA 9.5% ABV
“When you think of a lager, do light, malty, non-adventurous beer thoughts come to mind? That’s where the subterfuge begins and perception ends, with Charlatan. Charlatan is not your standard malty, or light, lager. It packs a wallop of serious hop punch and a treacherous 9.5% ABV to boot. This Double India Pale Lager combines the clean, refreshing base of pilsner malt and lager yeast, with some seriously piney, spicy, and resinous hops. Massive quantities of Eureka, and experimental hops give Charlatan everything you would want in an IPA, but in a lager.”

~DARK
Sierra Nevada/ Ginger Bigfoot 12.6% ABV
“This is a special version of our barrel-aged Bigfoot Barleywine Ale with fresh ginger added into the barrels. The resulting kick of ginger mellows Bigfoot’s ferocious hop bite and adds a new level of brightness of complexity. this beer gestures notes burnt sugar, orange zest, vanilla, and candied ginger. “