Tag: Smog City Brewing

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Review – Mind of a Fruitcake from Smog City & Beer Belly

Thanks to Beer Belly ONS Ambassador Rich, I got the chance to crack open the special Smog City and Beer Belly collaboration, Mind of a Fruitcake.

This is a serious fruitcake beer. I can see that people might be divided like they are with the actual doorstop of a holiday treat.

Cinnamon is really prevalent here along with a sticky sweetness. This cola colored ale was aged in wine barrels (red) but that is completely faded to the deep background as the quad and spice take center stage. On a side note, The first “Mind of…” beer felt under peach-ed. Now this one is bold as all get out.

There are some beers that can be drunk with a multitude of foods but this one screams to be paired with dessert. I keep thinking of gingerbread cookies. Something spicy but sharp to contrast against the viscosity of the beer.

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Traveling to Oregon

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What happens when a Portland native works the beer industry in SoCal and then moves back to Portland?

Well, in the case of Robby Roda, who spent time at both Monkish Brewing and Beachwood BBQ and Brewing, you open up a distribution company in Portland to bring select beers from L.A. to the NW.
And to make the L.A. connection tighter, name it after the El Segundo Brewing special Day One IPA releases. Day One Distribution has scheduled to get El Segundo Brewing onto Portland taps already with Monkish Brewing, Smog City Brewing and Phantom Carriage planned to roll out too.

Day One will begin weighted to California but will add other breweries in a slow and small fashion. In a move that seems counterintuitive to traditional distribution the amount of beer will be kept purposefully small and will make the effort to sell out within thirty days of delivery.

That is a market that could work if kept small and tightly controlled. Might even be a template for what future distribution can be.

You can read more about the new distributor at The New School. I hope to hear how our beers are received up north.

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Kumquat Forward

The seasonal Kumquat Saison that Smog City Brewing has done for a few years now with the fine folk at Food Forward has a new look….
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…that is all about community and I think is one of the better labels from the Torrance brewery. Bright and sunny and makes you feel glad you are tasting the beer and not picking fruit.

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Review – Unity 2015 Tart Saison from Smog City

On LABW8 eve, I am looking back to LABW7 and the tart saison that I stashed from last year’s Unity brew from Smog City.
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The 2015 Unity pours really clear with a little bit of bubbling around the edges of the glass. The tartness is still there but it softens quickly into a bit of a buttery flavor. A bit viscous on the tongue until the next sip washes it away. Little to no aroma at this point. But there is some lemon rind notes going on. I wasn’t expecting a wonderful experience after a year for a beer that is mid 5% in ABV. More an experiment than anything else but it is a great way to get into the LABW mindset.

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Hops in the SteelCraft

While we wait for Smog City to open their second taproom location in Long Beach, they brewery has kindly given us a bit of a preview with the new SteelCraft IPA. This Amarillo, Centennial, Citra and Simcoe hop bomb will debut in Torrance but will end up seeing only limited availability at the SteelCraft facility.
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(In case you have forgotten, Steelcraft will be a grouping of shipping containers with retail establishments inside. Possibly coffee, waffles, ramen and ice cream could be setting up shop alongside Smog City beers).

Tomorrow night is your first chance to try the beer before it moves to the LBC.

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Smogundo

Carve out time in your busy craft beer schedule for this birthday bash in the South Bay….
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May 21st will be a bus day. Will you start at Smog City and then bus over to El Segundo or vice-versa?

Either way, get your tickets because there will be some rare and super special taps to taste when these two celebrate.

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That’s a lot of Wishes

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If your wishes weren’t answered during Year1 of Smog City’s release of Infinite Wishes their bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Stout, well you get another chance tomorrow with the online pre-sale. The brewery calls it “bourbon chocolate pie” and boy does that sound delicious.

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Infinite?

Where are you going to be on Saturday, January 17th at noon?

Smog City of course!  You can get your 2nd vintage of The Nothing so you can taste test the 2014 to the 2015 and then you will want to compare them both to Infinite Wishes (2014 The Nothing which spent 364 days in bourbon barrels).

You will be kicking yourself if you don’t at least taste these two chocolatey stouts.  But you should really plan on buying some bottles.

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Anni

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Smog City will be celebrating their first year in their Torrance brewery on May 17th.

And if the  thought of “delicious beer, crazy experimental beer and exceptionally balanced beer” sounds good then head down to their taproom.

They will also be releasing a special anniversary beer, a Strong Saison brewed with Merlot.

The festivities take place from 12-8pm.

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The Casks are Battlin’ (again)

I missed the first battle of the casks that Smog City threw but the battle rages on!

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Instead of a base porter style, this time around the Torrance brewery used “Amarilla Gorilla IPA Casks, all treated with a wide array of ingredients from fruit purees to tea and wine juice…”

Here is the list along with my quick thoughts…

Cask 1 – Orange Zest, Tangerine Zest, Coriander with Amarillo and Centennial hops
Strong taste of citrus zest. Quite sharp and aromatic. Hop taste is minimal.

Cask 2 – EXPLODED and out of the running with Panca Pepper, Vanilla bean and mango smoothie
My favorite of the day. Big pepper taste balanced equally by the vanilla. Slight citrus in the background.

Cask 3 – Merlot concentrate with Mosaic and Simcoe hops
The wine is there for sure but it was pretty tannic and bitter. First sip better than the last.

Cask 4 – Apricot puree with Amarillo and Sorachi Ace hops
There was trouble with this cask but the taste was fine. Apricot over everything else. Favorite with a few that spoke with.

Cask 5 – EXPLODED and out of the running with Lemon peel, lime peel, coconut extract, Pineapple/orange/banana juice with Amarillo and Simcoe hops
Passed on this one.

Cask 6 – Mango and Muscat Oolong tea, Peach puree and Simcoe hops
Probably the weakest of the group. No discernible tea notes. Mango was muted. More peach than anything.

BACK UP CASK – Juniper, Lemon peel and Sorachi Ace hops
This be the one that I voted for. Strong Juniper notes as well as barrel accents as well. Not nearly as good as the pepper/vanilla combo though.

And the popular vote winner? Chris Walowski won for the 2nd year in a row for his merlot accented IPA.
 

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