On to another West Coast interpretation of Hazy IPA, this one from Rob Rubens. Upon initial pour Frank Morelli (weird typing an actual name as beer name) doesn’t seem cloudy. But when finished it does have that grapefruit juice look to it. There is a tropical meets stone fruit aroma but with the first sip, I get a buttery caramel note which means that either got an old beer or an off one. Since this is my second Rubens beer that has underwhelmed, I am teetering toward the latter. This beer is pretty one note with a slight Sprite aftertaste.
Featured Review – One More NE IPA from Indie Brewing
We start the grab bag of random featured reviews with DTLA’s Indie Brewing and their 16oz can of One More NE IPA.
This NE IPA is just a bit muddy orange particulate looking. There is a green hop pellet and apricot aroma to this one. Bitter hit up front comes on strong that is somewhat lessened in strength by the cream like texture. Some floral notes underneath as well as it warms up. Between Mumford and Indie, the NE IPA is being well covered here in Los Angeles.
Review – Party & Bullshit from Garage Project
I have only had a few beers from Garage Project out of New Zealand. So when the offer arose to try their new canned (14oz) Party & Bullshit, I could not say no to the freebie. And I was not disappointed, the first sip gives me a creamy pine needle taste. Pineapple aroma with mango and guava as I take more sniffs of the orange hued and not really hazy IPA. It is quite bitter with some Citrus pith. Pinned down to Ruby red grapefruit. I like the name and the can design especially the close your eyes admonishment. One of the better NE styled beers that I have had. Maybe the pine does it for me.
Featured Review – Paloma-Rita by Toolbox
I have only sampled a couple two or three beers from Toolbox Brewing of San Diego and all have been quite good. Nothing has really wowed me yet. But I feel that the deeper I get into their catalog of sours, that I will soon find one that makes me sit back and ponder. Paloma-Rita pours a deep orange. Fruity almost sour patch kid candy aroma which pulls back into citrus. As I take stock of the flavors I find some wheat in the back just ahead of the smidgen of salt. The stars of the show are the Lime & lemon, which are strong. There is a high acidity and after finishing the bottle while watching some March Madness, I felt that having another beer after would be too much.
Review – Pacific Rain from Ninkasi
Los Angeles has actually gotten rain this month. Nowhere near what the Pacific Northwest endured but it is a lot greener on the ground and grey in the skies which makes the press sample that I received from Ninkasi Brewing all the more appropriate.
Pacific Rain Pale Ale is brewed with Citra, Simcoe, Mosaic and Nugget hops along with exotic lava-filtered water. At first a little hop bite in the aroma but then the grain takes over. Really malty like almost fully cooked bread. For all the hops advertised on the label, this beer is really quite British in the subtle hop notes. Is it the lava water that is making the difference? The more I drink, the more ESB Pacific Rain is to me.
Featured Review – The Cartographer Rye Pale Ale from Lucky Luke
The 2nd featured review of beers bought with a gift card at Craft Beer Cellar – Eagle Rock is from north of me in Palmdale.
Lucky Luke Brewing has recently started sending bottles south and I picked up the Pale Ale with Rye, the Cartographer…
This GPS map maker beer pours a very light orange. Earthy and spicy mix at first with a bit of a lemonade flavor coming through at the end which I quite like. Aroma is kind of bland and missing something. Cartographer falls squarely into the pale ale category which makes it rightly named in a world where IPA’s can get called DIPA or Session. Intrigues me enough to buy more bottles when I see them.
Featured Review – Shower Beer from SoLArc
We start our canned beer reviews with the first ever can release from gypsy brewer SoLArc Brewing.
What’s up with Shower Beer….
This is a seriously creamy beer. My first thought was Naughty Sauce from Noble Ale Works but in a bright decorative can festooned with French Press and teapots. But Shower Beer seems a touch less beer and a bit more on the sweetened coffee side. The aroma is really coffee forward and the fancy Nilgiri tea isn’t really popping to the forefront. Something to balance out the sugar would have helped this drink easier. As it is, Shower Beer gets a little too hard to drink even just a 12oz can.
Review – TuberFest from Lagunitas
This isn’t my first rodeo with a tuber themed Oktoberfest beer. Widmer Brewing did one a year or two ago, but this is one that makes the connection of spuds to Idaho to the new Idaho 7 hop.
Let’s see what Lagunitas has cooked up….
The Tuber pours a clear orange color and right off the bat there is some hops to it on the nose. It tastes to me of a beer with two minds to it. There is a hoppy red half and a Germanic Marzen half. New World meets Old World. The hops add a juicy quality that works against the malt to me. The lingering bitterness is a bit more off putting to me. One of those beers that is working right up until it makes a turn. Maybe more spuds are needed?
Review – Hopzeit Autumn IPA from Deschutes
Instead of going straight to pumpkins let’s first review the new Hopzeit Autumn IPA from Deschutes Brewery. According to the Bend, Oregon brewery they were “inspired by a traditional Märzenbier, German hops add herbal, fruit and spice notes to balance the smooth and elegant malt character.”
This new seasonal is half dank and half Marzen. And neither half quite works for me. Too astringent by far with a weird bitter toast taste that veers into almost burnt toast territory. I love the label and the accompany marketing…
…but the beer doesn’t showcase the highlights of both styles. As a test, to make sure, that it wasn’t just a long day of work that had me off-kilter, I also had an Oktoberfest bier and an IPA to see and came away more convinced that the right hop in the right amount wasn’t added to the autumn beer in this case.
#LABW8 – A Look to 9
So the 2016 edition of L.A. Beer Week is behind us.
Time to reflect on what worked and what else I would like to see happening…
1. I liked the idea of the Gold Line Pub Crawl with different breweries featured at different bars along the route of the train. Next year, it should expand to the new Metro line and the Red Line too. Heck, maybe even the Orange Line busway too.
2. I like the idea of Kick the Keg and Battle of the Guilds and the other competitions but it would be good to have more focused, smaller contests. Select Beer in Redondo Beach had the right idea with four IPA’s going head-to-head. Maybe have mini-contests each day of the week. Monday is Best IPA with one each from San Diego, San Francisco and LA, then the next night, rotate to a new bar for Saisons and so on.
3. The Kick-Off Fest needs to sit in one place for a while. L.A. Center seems to have enough space and the layout was A-OK this year, so I vote for keeping it there if possible. The other idea would be to alternate years. One on the Eastside and the next year Westside but at the same locations .
4. Food and Beer pairings are still out there but I would love to see (again) more focused events that are not so wallet damaging. Beer and cupcakes would be lovely. Special Beer and (insert favorite food here) pairing events in the vein of The Oinkster’s Burger Week.
5. Oregon Night at Beer Belly was a great idea and I would like to see that extended to the Brexiteer’s or German beers.
As usual, the organizers (especially the esteemed Franny) and the breweries are to be commended for all of the hard work and sweat put into this year’s craft beer celebration. The work for one festival is jaw-dropping. But they had to deal with two plus all the events in-between. All so we can have a plethora of choices.