Tag: October

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In the Tap Lines for October 2016

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We have entered GABF Season. The King of Craft Beer festivals. I will cover the L.A. focused results and any other news that springs forth from the Denver Convention Center along with my regular posts, reviews and events to check out.

~ e-visits to three breweries that took home gold medals at GABF this year.
~ special featured reviews of canned beers from a variety of styles.
~ 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 Doctor Sleep from Stephen King
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

Here are two events to get your October started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) October 2nd – Harvest Festival at Angel City Brewery
2) October 4th – Tuesday at Tony’s Mystery Flight Night

…and here is the beer photo of the month…
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Sean Suggests for October 2015

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This month. Since the L.A. weather still remains stubbornly hot with only a smattering of rain so far, I have to continue to recommend the lighter side of beers new to the market. So we range from Mexico and Insurgente Cerveceria to the East Coast for fruit beer and then to San Diego for a stout without an IPA to be found.

~LIGHT
Insurgente/ Cerveza Brown 5.50% ABV
“This is our interpretation of a classic American style Brown Ale. Various malts lend a caramel flavor, with hints of chocolate. This version includes much more than the English hops, giving citrus aromas and flavors. ”

~MEDIUM
Ommegang/ Rosetta 5.60% ABV
“This Elegant fruit beer, matured on cherries, is brewed exclusively for Brewery Ommegang by Liefmans a sister brewery in Belgium. Lightly sweet with a hint of tart cherry flavor.”

~DARK
Ballast Point/ Commodore 6.50% ABV
“The Commodore came out of our search for a medium-bodied American Stout. The recipe began at our R&D pilot brewery, but quickly became a favorite of our crew. Strong flavors of roast coffee and bittersweet chocolate balance with light citrusy hop aromas, highlighted by a crisp, bitter finish. One sip of this gold medal-winning stout will have you ready to take command of your own fleet.”

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In the Tap Lines for October 2015

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You are now free to roam about the cabin and talk about pumpkin beers. The embargo can be lifted because we are in the actual month of Halloween, also the NBA season kicks-off! So let’s look at what else to come….

~ e-visits to three breweries that you may not have heard of that won Gold at GABF
~ special reviews of beers new to bottles from Ladyface Ale Companie including their new Flanders Red, Flamberge
~ Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark
~ Beer-centric podcast review, Brew Bloods
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world
~ … and Session # 104 will converge bloggers onto a single topic, this month on hiatus.

Here are two events to get your October started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) October 1st – Elysian Pumpkin Beers @ the Federal Bar
2) October 3rd – Sunset Beer 4th Anniversary Party

P.S. – You may have noticed that the Golden Road logo is no longer part of the “My Locals” graphic. I made that decision due to the fact that Tony Yanow is not involved anymore. That departure saddens me because, for me, he was the beer lover/IPA fan in the ownership group. That is gone and been replaced by ABInBev. That crater sized hole, I am afraid, will not be filled by people with that same Tony attitude.

I did not make this decision lightly and I know that it won’t matter a whit in their popularity but I have to draw line for myself and Golden Road crossed it, and crossed it without apology in their awkward video and other interviews that instead of promoting craft beer became salvos against home brewing and playing for the winning team. It’s as if they were sneering at where they came from instead of celebrating it.

Their beer may not suffer in quality and yes, it will be available in more and more places but it has lost the “craft” and become just “beer”.

Now, where can I find a “Craft Beer is the Winning Team” t-shirt?

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Sean Suggests for October 2014

header_beer_shopping_listThe loose theme for the month of October is medals.  As in skateboarding medals at the X Games, two-faced coins from the realm of Westeros and then a multiple GABF medal winner to round the connection out.

~LIGHT

Saint Archer Brewery/ Girl Skateboards 5.10% ABV

“The new beer is modeled after the pilsners brewed in Northern Germany. The beer has a firm bitterness from using European hops and a pale straw color that comes from using all German grain. This combination is then fermented with a German Lager Yeast, and allowed to lager in the tank. The blend of ingredients and time create a crisp, clean, flavorful, yet refreshing beer. “

~MEDIUM

Brewery Ommegang/ Valar Morghulis 8.00% ABV

“Valar Morghulis possesses a deep chestnut brown color with a persistent and creamy tan head. Rich aromas of caramel, toffee, ripe fruits and burnt sugar, with a hint of cloves. The taste is delicately balanced with rich malty sweetness, caramel and just enough bitterness to balance out its malty backbone. A surprisingly dry finish is light on the tongue, which belies the initial aroma.”

~DARK

Port Brewing/ Hop-15 10.00% ABV

“First brewed in 2002 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the original Pizza Port location in Solana Beach, we searched high and low and combined 15 of our favorite hops which were added every 15 minutes to the boil. Somewhat darker than other Double IPA style beers, our beer oozes the hop goodness of pine needles, freshly squeezed citrus and ground spices which are only moderately tempered by a sweet malt finish.”

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In the Tap Lines for October 2014

header_attractionsOktober is a busy beer month nationally and internationally and though you will not see me in Denver for the Great American Beer Festival or in Munich for their small festival, I will still be on the lookout for great events in L.A. and beyond as well as reviewing the crop of autumn beers.  Plus I have updated the beer book tab & the L.A. Beer resource tab with expanded information.

~ e-visits to three breweries from GABF home, Denver starting with Former Future Brewing, TRVE and Our Mutual Friend
~ video reviews from two pumpkin beers.  Now that it is Oktober, I can officially drink them.
~ two more beers will come up from the BSP cellar to be reviewed.
~ Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world
~ … and Session # 92 will converge bloggers onto a single topic, Home Brewing

Here are two events to get your October started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) October 2nd – Game of Thrones Valar Morghulis release at Plan Check
2) October 18th – Opening Day for Three Weavers Brewing
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Sean suggests for October

Been back from the Great American Beer Festival for a couple days and getting back into the swing of the blog again with the monthly beer shopping list….

October 2012

Click the link (once or twice depending on the type of computer) then print out the list or memorize (depending on the type of brain) and then shop for beer. It’s my favorite pastime.

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In the Tap Lines for October 2012

L.A. Beer Week literally finished yesterday but the craft beer bandwagon rolls on. First up is BAM Fest and then followed by my 2nd trip to the Great American Beer Festival. Then lots of sleep.

~ e-visits to three breweries that I will taste at the GABF
~ video reviews tackles the Berliner Weisse style
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my opinion on the craft beer world
~ … and Session # 68 will converge bloggers onto a single topic
~ plus many more posts about new beers, beer products and breweries

Here are two events to get your June started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) October 6th – BAM Fest in Santa Monica
2) October 7th – Stone Brewing’s Pour it Black festival

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The Firkin for October 2011


I was inspired by the home brew column of Beer Advocate (the magazine) written by Drew Beechum about keeping it simple in beer recipes and I have taken it a step further to the professional side of things.

(I apologize in advance if I sound like Andy Rooney in this post but the topic this month lends itself to that tone of voice.)

So what’s the deal with all these strange ingredients in craft beer? What happened to plain old malt, hops, yeast and water?

Hear me out. I am all for experimentation. Add lemongrass, put it into a wine barrel and use an heirloom hop. Cool. Let me have a glass. I certainly do not want to return to the days of monoculture beer. But recent Bruery beers have pushed past my level of disbelief. (Sorry to pick on you Bruery, if it is any consolation, Humulus Wet is one of the top three beers I have had this year)

I mentioned in an earlier post this month that Dogfish and The Bruery got together and added all level of new Japanese ingredients to their earthquake relief beer. Then the Bruery creates Birra Basta with roasted zucchini used in the mash, and fennel seeds, lemon peel, and Spanish cedar in the fermentor. This is on top of their Salt of the Earth gose(?) that had truffle oil in it.

I know that I don’t have to buy it if I don’t want to. And I know that by posting about it, I am bringing more attention to them. But…

There are three issues that arise for me when yet another oddball beer comes down the pike. And I will repeat, I do not want to discourage “goin’ crazy” but rather taking a deep breath before deciding to “go crazy” because which beer that I enjoy got pushed out of the schedule to make room for fenugreek or hatch peppers? Many craft breweries are running at maximum capacity so to produce these beers means another beer gets a smaller batch or brewed later.

Secondly, it stokes the obsessive collector disease that causes people to temporarily lose their sanity in pursuit of a rare beer. Need I say Founders and a certain stout?

Third, the unwashed heathens who still don’t drink craft beer are not gonna jump in at the deepest end. I appreciate that I am in a consumer minority and that I am reaping the benefit of some of these experimental beers but if we want to get more and more people excited about what we are excited about then we need more beers that allow entrance to our club and not scare them away.

Leave the running and screaming for Halloween movies.