Wet Hoppin’ in El Segundo

If anyone in L.A. would hold a wet hop fest, it would be El Segundo Brewing.  They are the lupulin pushers of the L.A. craft scene and last Saturday was no different.

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I started with the Simcoe Pale via Wet Hop after seeing that I could buy a bottle of Mayberry Wet Hop to-go.  And after seeing that Citra-Mongous was a big 9.0%.  Seemed like the sensible choice.  This was my first visit to the new taproom at ESBC.  The vibe is so much better due to the elbow room even on a busy event day.  A little breeze through the big door and the large L shaped bar made for a place where you could order up a taster tray and set it down and enjoy it.

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I had to go Citra next and it was worthy of the name.  Just a big hit of Citra and bitterness that lingered on and on (in a good way).  This is more of a sipper than even their Power Plant Triple IPA.  After that I chose to try their small beer IPA, Spark Plug.  Lo and behold, it was my favorite on the afternoon.  Light yellow and beautiful in the glass it still had a hop kick but was so easy drinking.  Since I was a fan of the Mellon Collie fruit IPA from year’s past, I thought about trying the blueberry Mayberry but my palate had been shot through so I took my Mayberry Wet Hop bottle for later and headed home.

But I will be back for a growler fill….

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El Segundo Brewing – Home of Blue House Ales

I got the chance to talk to Rob Croxall from the newly debuted El Segundo Brewing recently and just wanted to tease you in advance about the interview which will be posted on FoodGPS this coming Thursday.

Rob talked about his homebrewing start, his time at UC-Davis as well as the craft beer community in LA while a batch of IPA and Pale Ale were waiting for the perfect time to be kegged.

He is already getting praise for his citra pale and I can imagine that the IPA will be received as warmly as the pale has been already.

You can try the Blue House line at Rock ‘N’ Brews which is literally across the street from the future tap room as well as other fine craft beer bars in Los Angeles. It looks like we have another brewery who will be as in demand as Eagle Rock has become.