Tag: review

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Review – Hibiscus Tripel from Hardywood Park

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.

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Featured Review – Resonance Blended Saison from Fort Point


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.

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Featured Review – Sunbather from Angel City

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.

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Review – Frank Morelli from Rob Ruben’s


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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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….
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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.