Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
File this under 2016 – February. Cross referenced with shipping container, ramen and Long Beach. Oh, and Smog City.
Steelcraft will be planting shipping containers at Long Beach and that is where a ramen shop and a Smog City Brewing satellite tasting room will land. Along with a farm stand, flower shop, coffee and other restaurants.
Beer Camp Across America, the wide-ranging collaboration series from Sierra Nevada will return in 2016 with a jaw-dropping “30 (!) collaboration partners for a new mixed 12-pack…”
Then in the summer of 2016 those beers and more will be sent on a 6 city tour of beer festivals.
What is most exciting is that both Beachwood Brewing and Smog City are on the initial list (see below). Maybe they will both end up in the final 12-pack!
File under, wait until later….
I am most excited to see and taste their Triple IPA! 1.21 Gigawatt IIIPA (oh, and see all three movies, OK the first movie and that’s it)
I first sipped this beer near the end of the Kick-Off festival but after so many beers on the day, it was hard to get a true look at it. So, once bottles started showing up around town, I grabbed a few to re-test.
It is a very simple beer. The initial sip has a spark of tart and that tartness is there the rest of the way but not puckeringly so. The aroma would lead you to think it is more sour than it is. There is a good amount of farmhouse yeast aroma as you swirl the beer in the glass. There is some notes of grapefruit and a bit of the sweet tart intermingled.
I have had various saisons from Smog City with the kumquat being excellent and the plum, not so much. I would like to see fruited variations on this beer in the future. It is good with a nice low ABV but it is missing a little something like a spice or fruit note to add another layer to the beer.
First and foremost, get your hands on a bottle of Unity 2015. The official tart saison of #LABW7. Then look for the rest to supplement your beer buying adventures.
~LIGHT
Left Hand/ Polestar Pilsner 5.5% ABV
“Once you have tasted a true Pilsner, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have seen the light, and there you will always long to return. Let Polestar guide you out of the wilderness, just as the North Star has guided explorers to their destinations and back home again. Light, crisp and elegant, pilsner is the true test of brewing prowess. Less is more.”
~MEDIUM
Port Brewing/ Summer Pale 6.0% ABV
“Our massively hoppy West Coast-style pale ale, we use Chinook, Cascade, Amarillo, and Simcoe hops to really put our mark on the beer. An initial nose of dankness with some subtle pine, Summer Pale Ale starts with a bite from the hops and finishes with a refreshing tangerine bitterness. Our Summer Pale Ale is the perfect accompaniment to any summer night! ”
~DARK
Saint Archer/ Scottish Export 7.0% ABV
“Cleanly malty with a drying finish, perhaps a few esters, and on occasion a faint bit of peaty earthiness (smoke). Most beers finish fairly dry considering their relatively sweet palate, and as such have a different balance than strong Scotch ales.”
Personally, a Cuddlebug sounds more dangerous than a Sabre Toothed Squirrel.
But a sour blonde with both peaches and apricots sounds too delicious to pass up. And at $12 a bottle, it is on the easier to purchase side than others on the market.
If you are a stonefruit fan then head to Smog City tomorrow and pick up a bottle or two. And if they have any other sours on, give them a try too.
VIP Tickets to the Smog City Anniversary Party on May 9th slyly went on sale last week and may be gone by now. (check HERE to see)
But you will want to get any remaining ones that you can because it is a steal of a deal with “early and exclusive access, rare beers (including one very special collaboration we did), limited edition bottle tote, bottles of Steam Funk Brett IPA (2015 Anniversary Beer), and more!”
And if you miss the VIP, don’t fret, your beer choices are sure to be mind bottling.
First was the Nothing and Coffee Porter, then Goldie from the special barrel-aged series. Now the next bottle from Smog City is label approved.
STS has to be in the discussion for great beer name and I love that an amber is next in line from the Torrance brewery. Design wise, I like it because of the plant life that harkens to their Forager series of beers plus the font for the name is just quirky enough while retaining readability.
The start of something special is coming on Saturday, Oct 11th, when the first of Smog City’s bourbon barrel-aged beers will released into the world.
Goldie has a longer style category than name. It is “a Belgian Golden Strong Ale aged in bourbon barrels stored in our brewery for over five months.” And each and every bottle has “the bottle #, abv and bottled on date handwritten on it.”
Starting at noon, you can also get the re-release of Smoked Smaug Lager and Atomic 82, the base Belgian ale for Goldie.
These will be L.A. souvenirs so I would pick up a bottle if I were you.
Only three days left! By now you should have had a few memorable beers but if you haven’t, here is an event that just might add a best beer of 2014 to your list…
It will require some math and a trip to the Library Alehouse for Addition by Addition with Smog City beers. Teaser, “4 Core Smog City Beers along with 4 One-Off versions of those beers created through the addition of new ingredients.”