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I was lucky enough to get a media sample of the new Saison Ardennes from The Bruery Terreux.
I opened up the 12.7oz bottle with the equine label to see what the second brewery is up to….
…and Ardennes pours a lovely bright orange color. Initial aroma is on the sour side. Much more than the actual taste. Sharp initial sour bite that drops back down to a medium woody taste. A little bit vinous too. Getting a little grape character. More rustic than barnyard.
Up there with the great beer names that I have run across is the new session IPA collaboration from DTLAs Mumford Brewing and Cerebral Brewing.
Definite hazy aroma, almost like lupulin powder (if that was used). Has that hazy scrape on the tongue. Finishes a bit watery though so that scrape isn’t full. The can art and design s really cool. The beer itself looks like grapefruit juice. Dank bitterness taste lingers for awhile. First time I have seen Enigma hop broadcast as a selling point. Grassy more than citrus.
This is the 4th vintage of the Funky Wit from Angel City. I also received the Mattole River Tripel around the same time so, which will be my favorite?
Let’s dive in….
I got through the purple wax without too much trouble and was greeted by what I would quantify as medium funk in the aroma. The taste starts out with a little zip of sour before a mixture of wood and toast notes take over for a duet. Not much of a head and I am not getting much coriander and the orange peel is pretty darn minimal too. Both would have added layers if amplified a bit. A bit of a white wine taste does sneak in as well.
I received a lovely package of aluminum cans from North DTLA Boomtown Brewing recently which included a can of their mural style art emblazoned, Ignorant DIPA.
Here is the review:
Big flavor somewhere between navel orange and Satsuma tangerine. Bitterness is really soft. Sticks to the roof of the mouth. Appropriately hazy appearance. Bright tropical fruit (pineapple) aroma. Bit of hop sharpness upfront that fades really fast.
Sierra Nevada does not stop when it comes to hops. And thanks to Sunset Beer Co. selling singles, it is easy to cheaply taste test among their offerings which I did in November as well. Let’s check the two out…
Hazy Little Thing
Seems pretty clear to me. The aroma just popped out when the can was opened. Lots of orange soda taste here. Soft pillowy texture. Candy-esque
Hop Bullet DIPA
“Spring Seasonal” in shelves in December? Pours a clear orange color. Sharp and medium bitter. Grassy and a skosh dank. Some orange notes.
This is a hard call. Both beers are as advertised. The way-too-early “Spring” moniker is minus points but the HLT is just too tilted to a candy flavor that is a bit much for me. I say go old school and bite the bullet.
Though I did not make it to Bend in time to visit the Ale Apothecary taproom, I did purchase a bottle of what is probably their least expensive beer to buy. Brett Lager, a collaboration with GoodLife Brewing, their next door neighbor (literally).
I cracked through the wax top to review this exotic beer.
This mixed Fermentation collab from Bend neighbors GoodLife and Ale Apothecary was one of my target purchases on a recent trip to Bend and it lived up to my own made hype.
Brett Lager pours a lustrous and deep orange. There is a bit of leathery, tart aroma. That first taste was quite zippy. I could feel the acidity and bubbles working their magic. There is orange and tropical notes swirling here. If someone had told me lager was in the name, I would have said, “OK, if you say so”. This is mostly a medium Brett beer that just tastes wonderful. There is a satiny and tart mix that works wonders.
There are some fruits that get all the beer love, melon is not one of them. But I have seen a recent uptick in their use and now I have two to compare.
First up is from Lucky Luke, Billie a cantaloupe Gose…
… which has a light cantaloupe sweetness. That first sip is quite zippy. Good balance of salt to tart. Has a bit of melon rind smell tucked in as well. Finishes a bit velvety and a touch sugary.
Second is the Melon Saison from Cellador Ales…
… which pours a fizzy yellow. The Saison overflowed once the cap came off. Light honeydew taste is there at the back. Layer of acid and some farmhouse textures. Some barn leather notes. Melon sugar/water can’t balance the tart though.
Of the two, the Billie from Lucky Luke struck the right balance of tart to sweet. The Cellador Saison was good but was too puckery tart for me.
It’s not often that you find Hardywood Park beer in a Trader Joe’s in California.
Gotta say that I like the new direction from the grocery retailer though. They still have Uinta doing the Mission beers and Anheuser Golden Busch Road supplying the Tap 79 beers with little to no transparency but they are starting to do beers that are co-branded. Possibly realizing that the combined strength of two breweries is better than some store brand.
That is all prelude to the review pledged in the title. This Tripel is the rare Hibiscus beer that isn’t bright pink. The hibiscus is there and not meekly either, but the beer is orange and showcases the tripel just as evenly. This is quite a silky beer. Almost vanilla notes under the spice note. If someone picks this bottle out just seeing the Trader Joe’s flowers and name, they will be surprised by the full flavor that Hardywood has provided.
I usually see Fort Point beers in their distinctively designed cans that look like architectural drawings. This time though, I get a distinctive 22oz bomber. Resonance pours a lovely yellow-orange color. It is light and effervescent. The word that I keep coming back to is, Simple. I am getting light wood notes and a little grapefruit with a bit of funk in the back too. Reminds me of Saison Dupont.
Angel City hasn’t done canning that I know of so it is interesting that they are starting with a Sour IPA, Sunbather. A beer canned right here in L.A.
I tried the kettle soured beer (from the tap) and was pleasantly surprised. It is not Sour but has a tang of tartness that allows for the Citra hops and particularly, the toast-centric malts to shine on through. This is the first of the series which will use a single, different hop each time.
It will be interesting to see which hop comes next. My bet is on Mosaic.