2020 starts off hoppy for Firestone Walker as the 15th Luponic Distortion finds its fruity way to shelves. Then Propagator brings the grapefruit citrus into a single hop Citra Hazy.
#15 plus Citra Haze
Propagator – Motueka
Firestone Walker is amping up the Propagator brand with a new IPA series of single hop Hazy IPA’s. Starting with the Motueka hop which has a prominent lime note and is known to be a good option for single hop pales and IPA’s. (Crossing my fingers for Strata to be next)
The Prop is 3
The southernmost arm of Firestone Walker’s California empire will be 3 years in Venice / Marina Del Rey and are throwing a ticket-LESS party.
Here are the details…. “Enjoy live art & photography from our friends at Venice Arts, as well as outdoor games, amazing beer & food specials! No tickets necessary, just stop by & join us for the fun. Anniversary Special: two beers & one small plate of food for just $15!”
There will be live music and a commemorative logo’d Klean Kanteen re-usable cup for your beer (while supplies last). Plus some really good FW beers.
Review – Lion Claaws from Los Angeles Ale Works and Firestone Walker
This milkshake collab between Los Angeles Ale Works and the Firestone Walker – Propagator pours like a grapefruit juice. The aroma is pineapple mixed with coconut. First taste unveils a lot of lactose. A lot. This is sugary. Only little over a week old and the hops of a DIPA are just not to be found. There is some orange juice but that just creates a creamsicle effect.
As it warms some of the bitterness starts to peek through but by then the battle has been won by the lactose. Strong fun flavors but the balance is off to me.
Love Me Some Pils
There are few beers that I will bypass new or hyped beers for but the Pils from Birrificio Italiano, Tipopils is one of them and now they have teamed up with Firestone Walker at the Propagator for the Pils & Love event on July 28th.
From 11am – 4pm, over 40 breweries from around the world will be pouring Pilsner. Nothing but Pils. Brewery list to come.
Tickets on sale Tuesday, April 24th at 9am and will cost $65 per person with “food plates from Chef Justin Lewis available during the event for additional purchase.”
C & Ex
The Propagator brewery is starting to pay off some dividends as Firestone Walker is creating more hoppy beers outside of their Leo V Ursus and Luponic Distortion lines. If I had to choose, the Ex-1 would be the first to try.
Meet the new Propagator
Firestone Walker has a new R&D brewer in Venice, Evan Partridge. And if you would like to meet him and see the brewhouse, well, your chance is coming soon….
Two for the Weekend
Two special events are going down this weekend to take note of, first is…
Three Weavers meets Firestone Walker – Venice and a new rye lager collaboration named Elevator Music. It will be released on Saturday at the Propagator in Venice.
Second is…
Cloudwater Brew Co. are coming to Mikkeller – DTLA, all the way from Manchester, England. This will be a beer geek bonanza (probably some beer snobs to avoid too) because of this tap list:
NW DIPA Citra Amarillo
Session IPA Amarillo Citra
NE DIPA Simcoe Citra
Pilsner Mandarina Bavaria
Fool For You
Belgian Propagation
Beer dinners seem to be making a comeback. I have seen an uptick in e-mails about them in the last two weeks But what has caught my eye out of that recent group is a Belgian Beer Dinner with Sour Jim at Firestone Walker’s Propagator in Venice (adjacent). It is currently scheduled for Thursday, August 24th but no other details have leaked yet. Keep it in mind though. Seems off the beaten Firestone path.
Propagator is Open – Tomorrow
The wait was worse than those last couple hours before Christmas. Now, (well, tomorrow night) the Propagator – the latest location from Firestone Walker will be open for limited dinner hours.
Let’s touch on the beer first “Firestone Walker favorites, including taps dedicated to Barrelworks wild ales, guest taps and beer engines for select cask favorites” will be offered to begin with. When the final paperwork comes through and the government finally lets FW loose, there will also be an intriguing, new set of beers to try.
As described by Brewmaster Matt Brynildson “rustic ales—a loose category of unfiltered, largely barrel-conditioned, often farmhouse-style beers—have not had a fitting home at Firestone Walker until now, as they are too unstable to make at the clean production brewery but also too susceptible to souring influences at Barrelworks.” There is also a chance that they will collaborate with LA breweries but not in the typical way. They are pondering bringing another breweries wort into their aging and staging area for conditioning.
That dream and the beautiful (and expensive brewing system) will have to wait as for now the focus will be on what is created in Buellton and Paso Robles as well as the food. Speaking of, “The menu will offer a mix of small dishes, sharables, tacos, pizzas and large plates. Initial menu items include Smoked Brisket (16-hour brisket, grilled asparagus, smashed potatoes); Tempeh Banh Mi (marinated tempeh, pickled veggies, spicy soy may, crispy shallots); and Pork Belly Tacos (handmade corn tortillas, beer-braised pork belly, pineapple pico, chicharrones).”