Tag: Sean suggests

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Sean Suggests for April 2014

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A very SoCal list for April.  We roam from 10 minutes from my home to Golden Road, then take a looooong drive to Redlands for a new IPA and then pick up one of my favorite beers of the year so far, made with a nut that I wouldn’t touch if you handed one to me.

~LIGHT

Golden Road /  329 Lager 4.8% ABV

“Medium-bodied, crisp and refreshing, 329 Lager is perfectly suited for L.A.’s outdoor culture and a drinkable complement to summer barbecues, beach hangouts, baseball games and everything in between. A balanced combination of Bravo, Tradition, and Opal hops, the merican-style lager emanates a delicate floral finish with notes of honeysuckle and jasmine.”

~MEDIUM

Hangar 24/ Betty IPA 6.5% ABV

“Betty is an American IPA boasting a blend of Mosaic, Citra, Simcoe and Centennial hops. We spent 8 months perfecting this hop blend, and we love the huge range of juicy aromas and flavors we were able to hit: tropical fruit, citrus zest, berries, stone fruit and pine are all packed in… ”

~DARK

Monkish/ Seme Della Vita 9.4% ABV

“Belgian-style tripel brewed with pistachios and vanilla beans”

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Sean Suggests for March 2014

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There are two common threads amongst the choices for this month. Three if you count that they will be perfect for a sunny spring day in Los Angeles. See if you can catch the other two.

~LIGHT

Avery Brewing/ Joe’s Premium American Pilsner 4.7% ABV

“A contemporary rendition of a classic style, Joe’s is hopped with purpose: beautifully bitter and dry with an abundance of floral, Noble German hops.

Über sessionable. Utterly American. This is Premium American Pilsner.”

~MEDIUM

New Belgium/ Snapshot Wheat 5.0% ABV

“Snap! You just captured an unfiltered wheat beer full of refreshment and a flash of tart at the finish. Smile-inducing aromas of citrus hops jump from the nose, accompanied by the sweetness of coriander and grains of paradise. Brewed with wheat and pale malt, Snapshot pours a hazy, lemon-yellow with bright-white lacing. But the real enticement is the snap of tart. New Belgium’s affinity for sour beers led to the in-process blending of lactobacillus to pucker up Snapshot’s base. An extra step to acidify and beautify and get this beer ready for its close up.”

~DARK

Great Divide/ Lasso IPA 5.0% ABV

“LASSO is the new frontier of India Pale Ale. Brewed with a robust roundup of Columbus, Centennial and Cascade hops, its sessionable simplicity proves bigger isn’t always better. But make no mistake – the Wild West hasn’t gone mild. That same untamed IPA spirit thrives, and we reckon this’ll go down mighty fine.”

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Sean suggests for February 2014

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2 out of 3 of these beers were recently seen at the fabulous Sunset Beer here in Los Angeles.  And the El Segundo beer will probably be there soon because they had plenty of others from ESBC.  Check them out and see if you can make it past all the bottles to the draft list.

~LIGHT

Cismontane Brewing/ Malt Series – Vienna 5.1% ABV

“The purpose of the study is to understand the effects of various malts in the brewery, and the resulting beers. We will control all of the variables of the brewing process except the type of grain used. We believe that each grain will affect the following variables that we can measure in our brewery: extraction rate, change in pH, attenuation, and color. This will also affect many variables that only you can measure with your nose and tongue.”

~MEDIUM

Almanac Brewing/ Sourdough Wild Ale 6.5% ABV

“Brewed with a mash of raw and malted barley, oats, rye, spelt and lemon, this beer was fermented in used wine barrels with a blend of Brettanomyces wild yeasts and Marla Bakery’s San Francisco sourdough yeast. The finished beer is dry-hopped with tropical Mosaic hops. This unfiltered ale is alive in the bottle: drink fresh for a bright, passionfruit aroma or age to develop the wild yeast funk.”

~DARK

El Segundo Brewing / Mayberry IPA 7.0% ABV

You want a single hop beer from a hop specialist? Then pick up a 22oz bomber from El Segundo. Their Mayberry IPA is 100% Mosaic hop.

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Sean Suggests for January 2014

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Welcome to 2014 of the craft beer calendar!  Have you had a mind altering, world bending beer in the first two weeks?  I certainly hope so and if not, I will suggest three that might do the trick.  All were recently seen at the large Arroyo Parkway, Whole Foods which has a wonderful selection to choose from.

~LIGHT

San Gabriel/ Hefeweizen 5.0% ABV

An Italian take on the classic German style and at a very affordable price for beer shipped in from the “boot”.

~MEDIUM

New Belgium/ Rewind IPA 7.0% ABV

“An homage to our roots and craft-brewing heyday of the early ’90s, Maris Otter and Special B malts give a big, sweet background to a palate of Horizon, Willamette and Galena hop varieties.”

~DARK

The Bruery / Shegöat 8.7% ABV

“Shegöat is a brand new beer to our lineup, based on one of Patrick’s original, multiple award winning homebrew recipes. Based primarily on the traditional weizenbock style of Germany, brewed with both malted barley and wheat, the beer is rich in the flavors of bananas, cloves and caramel with a notes of cake spice hovering in the background. Just like the banana bread that großmutter used to make.”

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Sean Suggests for December 2013

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Time to break out and strong for Christmas. Get some beers to share with the family and friends around the fire. Here are three excellent and diverse choices for the Christmas.

~LIGHT

Grand Teton / Coming Home Belgian Dubbel 7.5% ABV

“Brewed in the Belgian Dubbel tradition, this year’s Coming Home Holiday Ale is big and bold yet imminently drinkable. Coming Home 2013 features celebratory flavors of dark sugar and raisins and a spicy, dry finish. It was brewed with pale and brown malts plus special dark candi sugar. The sugar addition provides a sweet aroma and dark fruit flavors without the cloying thickness typical of all-malt brews. Coming Home 2013 was fermented with ale yeast from a Belgian Trappist monastery to add hints of nutmeg, clove and other holiday spices. At 7.5% ABV this is an ale to be savored, enjoyed with friends over a holiday meal or paired with flavorful cheeses.”

~MEDIUM

The Bruery / Six Geese A Laying 11.5% ABV

“6 Geese-A-Laying is the 6th beer in our “12 Days of Christmas” series and is a return to the more classic dark and toasty winter ale, following the
appropriately blonde 5 Golden Rings. Brewed with cape gooseberries, this malty ale displays notes of plums, dark cherry and bright, citrus-like flavors from the namesake berries. Delicious right now, but suitable for aging up to 6 years, upon the release of 12 Drummers Drumming”

~DARK

He’Brew / Jewbelation Reborn 17 17.0% ABV

“How could we hope to top last year’s Jewbelation Sweet 16 with its cupcakes, unicorns, & Satan’s Ferrari birthday cake? massive challenge. So for Year 17, we threw in a whole new dimension to our shtick – we built our very own brewery! After 17 years of contract brewing, our first Shmaltz Clifton Park batch emerged 17 months after the first draft of the business plan.”

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Sean suggests for November 2013

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Oh to have seasons in Los Angeles.  Alas, we do not.  It is tough to have to recommend lighter beers all the way through December practically but the thrill of a barrel aged beer is lost a bit when it is 80 degrees out. But here are a few maltier options that still fit the hotter weather.

~LIGHT

Latitude 33 / The Pasha’s Rye Brown 6.0% ABV

“Roasted malts and rich, spicy rye offset with a unique hop character.”

~MEDIUM

Golden Road / Burning Bush IPA 8.0% ABV

“Burning Bush uses the smoked malt characterized by a traditional German style Rauchbier with the hops of an west coast IPA. This deep copper colored ale has a light smoky aroma that sits atop a generous floral and piney hopping.”

~DARK

Ninkasi / Imperiale  9.1% ABV

This High Gravity Stout from Eugene, Oregon.  (Sorry about Stanford) is flat out pretty in the glass.  Tan head that a barista could work a design into.  And the flavor is smooth.  Milk chocolate with a slight roast but cream is the flavor that I get most.

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Sean Suggests for September 2013

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For September, the theme (in addition to light-medium-dark) is that all three beers were found on the Let’s Pour website.  So you can order them up and get a box delivered to your door! All of the descriptions below come from the Let’s Pour site.

~LIGHT

Harpoon  / UFO Raspberry Hefeweizen 4.8% ABV

“Natural raspberry flavors are added to their UFO Hefeweizen to create this beer. Consistent with the Hefeweizen style, this beer is unfiltered and cloudy with a solid foamy head.”

~MEDIUM

Sixpoint Brewery  / Sweet Action 5.2% ABV

“The silky viscosity that gives Cream Ales their name is whispered rather than shouted here, retaining the crispness and zesty finish of a Pale and the light, peppery sweetness of a Witbier.”

~DARK

Yards Brewing Co.  / Thomas Jefferson’s Tavern Ale 8.0% ABV

“a big, strappin’ Golden Ale based closely on the recipe used by America’s first prominent homebrewer – Thomas Jefferson. The President’s recipe featured ingredients like wheat, honey, and rye from his own farm at Monticello and Yards has vowed to faithfully recreate this ale with as little variation as possible.”

 

 

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Sean suggests for July 2013

It being hot and humid in July, here are some lighter beers for you to try ranging from Hawaii to California and then on to Belgium!

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Maui Brewing & Lost Abbey / Lemongrass Saison 5.0% abv

“Maui Brewing Co. (MBC) is happy to announce their collaboration with Lost Abbey, using 100% local Maui raised lemongrass! Lemongrass Saison is a 5% ABV beer utilizing White Wheat, Oats, Pilsner malt, Lemongrass, Citra and Nelson Sauvin hops. ”

Lost Coast  / Tangerine Wheat 5.0% abv

“A refreshing citrus ale, Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat combines our Lost Coast Harvest Wheat with natural tangerine flavors. Brewed with a combination of wheat and crystal malts, and finished with Perle hops.”

Brasserie Dupont / Saison Dupont Cuvée Dry Hopping 6.5%

A dry hopped version of the world famous standard bearer for saisons. As the Vanberg & DeWulf website notes, “featuring the famous Triskel hop varietal from Alsace. Triskel is bred from the French Strissespalt and English Yeoman hops.”

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Sean Suggests for February 2013

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This month’s selections invert my whole light to dark spectrum a bit. Usually, I go by ABV. But this month the medium choice has a higher alcohol than the dark choice. But after tasting all three, the order that I chose works better.

Now get shopping!
February 2013
Just double click and download the PDF to take on your next craft beer run.