Monrovia’s Hop Secret has a new summertime brew out now, Hop Springs, a West Coast Lager.
Described as “a crisp and clean lager with a burst of West Coast hop flavors at ABV: 5.5%.”
Hop Springs Eternal
SoCal Beer Hall of Fame
Lazily wandering through Facebook, I saw this little nugget, “… Boont Amber Ale has just been elected into SF Chronicle’s NorCal Beer Hall of Fame.” And I was, wait, what? There is a NorCal Beer Hall of Fame?
Granted probably not housed in weird looking building like the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton but still. Started way back in, let’s see, 2019. Inducted that first year were Anchor Steam, Lagunitas IPA, Russian River Pliny the Elder, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Trumer Pils.
This year’s class is currently hidden to me behind a paywall but the aforementioned Anderson Valley is in as is Fort Point KSA.
It got me to thinking what would be on the SoCal version. 1903 from Craftsman, Solidarity from Eagle Rock, 24th Street Pale Ale from Strand, Blue House IPA from El Segundo Brewing off the top of my head.
Maybe the L.A. Times should start up their own version.
Propagatin’ C-Hops
Hard to sometimes keep up with the hops flowing from Paso Robles, and now the Propagator is adding to the (good) bitterness, with C-Hops. Might have to do a set of IPA reviews in January with this in the mix.
L.A. was Rained Upon
It took until September 15th for L.A. to get a good soaking rain. Here are the numbers…
Alhambra, downtown Los Angeles, Santa Monica and the Getty Center also received more than two inches of rain.
The largest total in the area recorded was 2.64 inches of rainfall, according to the National Weather Service with UCLA’s campus a skosh behind, at 2.62 inches.
Why is it important?
The obvious answer is that rain is much needed for nature in a multitude of ways that even the most casual reader of the L.A. Times will have gleaned. Fires, agriculture, General Sherman the Tree all are affected in extreme ways.
My fear is that as much as we need it, if we don’t get sustained rainfall and instead get a little rain here and a little there then the conservation efforts will start to fade. Two months of positive water savings may be undone because people will start to think that everything is back to normal. Sometimes the fact that you have a gun to your head inspires some serious action. And serious water conservation is needed to not only get us past this drought that we are in but to prepare for the next drought that will come. Plus grant us room to add more breweries down the line.
It means that breweries old and new will need to invest in machinery that re-captures as much water as possible. It means becoming an early adopter of technology that taps into new “streams” of water like de-salination. It means becoming partners with the farms that provide the other ingredients that make up beer. Ingredients that need to be grown with the help of, you guessed it, H2O.
To take the conservation theme to an even further place, maybe it means that breweries brew in more water resourceful states, and not here. It seems radical to propose but barring tanker trucks filled with water driving into town, maybe it needs to be talked about.
Let’s hope that the Godzilla El Nino fills the clouds but prepare for future days too.
Absolution Brewing Company
Slowly but surely, I have been visiting the new breweries of SoCal. And now it is Absolution Brewing in the spotlight.
As per craft usual the brewery sits in a big warehous-y space. Nice wooden bar with a dark wood on top and the base made out of barrel staves. Big chalkboard cpvered walkin with large wooden tap handles but only four of the beers on tap when I visited. Lots of kegs sit in a row like soliders. Since their soft opening in the first weekend of March they have had big crowds which makes the pew sitting seem like a bad choice. It forces you to stand at the bar with your taster tray. And that is what I ordered….
Sinner Stout – Which is light with a good roast taste. Their porter has more ABV to it. Could use a little more backbone.
Possessed porter – a little on the root beer-ish tip to me. Too light to me. They use it as a base for other experiments but still needs more oomph.
Fallen Angel – This was a citrusy soapy creamsicle of a beer. Not much hop bite to it. More XPA than IPA to my palate
Cardinal Sin – Another so so offering. Not much to it. Not bad. But nothing jumps out at me.
I will have to visit when more of the line are unveiled to see if the others are better representations of the brewer and also to see how they grow. They are currently behind the other Torrance breweries and I would suggest them before Absolution. (for now)
Canning on the Move in SoCal
Sierra Madre may be known as an “off the 210” town but now Greg Kinne and Mike Nalick, co-owners of Beer Monks Mobile Canning will be driving their truck to breweries in the Southland.
The “company delivers and operates equipment on-site to produce as much as 1,800 gallons of canned beer a day. The canning machine fits on a box truck and can go anywhere a truck can — and the machine is small enough to fit through a standard door.”
This is that helpful “bridge” service for breweries that don’t have the capital to invest into lines (either bottles or cans) and / or don’t have space for said lines in their brewery. Kinne says “Our service allows us to deliver smaller quantities of cans and packaging materials — six packs and case trays — in a just-in-time fashion.”
Maybe Pacific Plate or Federal could do a test drive?
The Goddess of Beer comes to SoCal
Ninkasi Brewing has been showing up in Los Angeles with their Tricerahops Double IPA. I first spotted them at the Blue Palms 5th Anniversary party and then on tap lists for the Food GPS Beer Blast. The craft brewery based in Eugene (Home of lightning yellow football uniforms) signed agreements with independent wholesalers here as well as Orange County and and San Diego County. Flagship and limited release offerings are on the way in 22 oz. bottles and kegs.
Bell’s in SoCal
I don’t think we here in Los Angeles will be getting Hopslam anytime soon. But there are rumblings that Bell’s may follow Boulevard and Goose Island and Clown Shoes and Cambridge into the SoCal area.
But I can easily make do with Oberon…. “An American wheat ale made with European ingredients. Belgium wheat malt and Czech Saaz hops provide a spicy, fruity balance to this seasonal ale.”..
….or Expedition…”The darkest beer we make; this Imperial stout contains double the malt and five times the hops of our Kalamazoo stout and is perfect for cellaring as its complex character will evolve over time. Available October-March.”