Tag: The Bruery

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LA Beer Week – The Bruery & Matt Denny's

A glass of Snickelfritz
A glass of Snickelfritz

Yesterday’s installment of LA Beer Week was a chance to introduce the Bruery and their Belgian concoctions to another friend.

First up was the Rugbrod. A Danish winter warmer. Pours dark brown. Gets sweeter the more you drink. Taste wise this is a departure from the normal Bruery line-up. It doesn’t use the funky yeasts that I associate with the Bruery. Next was this years holiday seasonal, Two Turtle Doves. It has a really strong taste at first. Just hits the tongue. But then the flavors sort of melt away. Slight bourbon taste to it.
Autumn Maple was next and it was the winner of the day. Had a nice little fizz to it after a mellow sweet taste. This time around I think I noticed a certain starchiness from the yams. We also had the Orchard White and the Cuvee Jeune to contrast against the heavy malty beers. The Cuvee Jeune is one of my favorites. Lovely sour tang to it but it also has a lovely wine flavor to balance it out. The gang also took the short tour of the operations lead by Head Brewer Tyler. We got to hear about their current and future expansion plans. This place is growing by leaps and bounds.

Then we headed up the 57 to Arcadia for our first ever visit to Matt Denny’s. The German band was playing loud. The crowd was large but not packed and their was a selection of six or so German Oktoberfest beers. I had the Spaten version. It had all the hallmarks of the Okto style but it could have been a shade or two drier. A little to sweet for my taste. And sorry to say but the sausage platter that I ordered with it was pretty sorry for a sit down meal. I have had better Dodger dogs.

More reports to come!

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Happy Anniversary

Today is my 10th Wedding Anniversary!! In honor of that momentous occasion, here is a list of 10 beers and breweries to mark each passing milestone.

1st – Papier from The Bruery
2nd – 2 Degrees Below from New Belgium
3rd – 3 Floyds Brewing
4th – #4 from Upright Brewing
5th – 5 Apostles Saison from Devil’s Backbone Brewing
6th – Six Points Brewing
7th – 7 Seas Brewing
8th – Vertical Epic 8-8-07 from Stone Brewing
9th – # 9 from Magic Hat Brewing
10th – Tenth Anniversary Ale from Allagash

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Woodruff + Berliner Weiss =

…one of the weirdest beer tastes that I have ever had and I have had a few. The Bruery in Orange County has their Hottenroth Berliner Weiss on tap and they offer a traditional style serving with Woodruff syrup.

I asked the bartender what he thought of it and he said “Lucky Charms”. I was unbelieving. That is not a beer flavor to me but he was spot on. It tasted like freeze dried cereal marshmallows.

woodruff

I am still on the fence about how to review it. It was a light absinthe green. The aroma was faint but that Lucky Charm taste was pronounced without completely overpowering the beer. The tartness of the Berliner Weiss was very muted.

I may have to get it again to really come to a sound decision either for or against.

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Beer Float Showdown

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All I had to do was sample (4) Beer floats for charity. The most interesting was the Bruery Berliner Weiss with Raspberry Yuzu sorbet. The best overall was the Old Rasputin with Brown Bread ice cream.

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1st Anniversary of The Bruery

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First things first. Kudos to all at the Bruery for throwing a great party. There wasn’t even any sour faces at the sour bar.

I will begin with the beer reviews. My goal was to sample new offerings first. I started at the aforementioned Sour Bar and I was glad I did. The Gypsy Tart was an excellent Flanders red. Easy drinking, full of flavor. Tart without being puckery. On par with the Ommegang Flanders Red.

The next beer truly surprised me. I selected it mostly out of curiosity. Melange # 1 is a mix of Russian Imperial Stout and Flemish Red. I truly loved this beer. They got the mix just right for my palate. Dark and fruity. Like having chocolate and raspberries. I recommended it to all that I talked to yesterday. Anytime I see it, I will order it up.

I followed that with their anniversary beer, Papier. To me it was a little too much. It is close in flavor to the Melange # 3. Both are dark and bourbon-esque. Good to sip by the fireplace in the cabin by the woods.

Next was the Hottenroth Berliner Weisse. The sourest of them all wasn’t at the Sour Bar. I really enjoyed it. 3.1% alcohol. So easy to drink. I could see adding some fruit syrup to balance out the sour but it was great on it’s own.

100% Brett Saison de Lente was very good as well. Full bodied almost amber. A very balanced beer. A complex beer.

That was the end of the beers I had not tasted before. To finish, I had the Humulus Blonde and the White Zin. The blonde is nice but tasted differently from one I had previously at Blue Palms. Not as hoppy as I remembered. The White Zin was good as usual. Zippy with a nice sharp wine taste to it.

Food wise the BBQ from Beachwood BBQ was great. Even tried a fried pickle. The dessert plate was awesome. Belgian waffle, three types of cheese and bacon wrapped in chocolate. Heavenly!
dessert

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Craft Beer Fest LA

Yesterday was the 1st of hopefully many more to come of the Craft Beer Fest Los Angeles. I was there as both fan and volunteer from 2pm to 10pm so this will be a longer than usual post so find a comfortable chair. I will break it up into sections to make for easier reading.

Section 1 – The beer!!

Not a bad brewery in the bunch. And most importantly for me, new stuff that I really wanted to try plus new stuff from some of my old favorites. Here is what I had…..
1. Siamese Twin from Uncommon Brewers
Light golden ale, very different fruity taste to it. This beer really grew on me.
2. Automatic # 1 from Blind Lady Ales
Light Belgian ale. Had a bit of a tinny taste to me. A little astringent.
3. Scotch Isle from Craftsman
Very nice. Dark and malty. Not my favorite style of beer but this is well done.
4. Black IPA from Stone
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Very good. I love IPA’s and this is an excellent beer.
5. Golden State from Uncommon Brewers
Hazy color. Light and flavorful. Great on a summer day.
6. Cuvee Jeune from The Bruery
Had this at Blue Palms a week ago and had to get some more. Excellent sour taste.
7. IPA from Hangar 24
Another really solid IPA. Not a hop bomb but citrusy and not too acidic.
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8. Warm Water Wheat from Port Brewing
This was a really good banany hefeweizen. I hope they bottle this it is one I would like to have more of.

What I didn’t get to try and wanted to..
TAPS – Belgian White (which was really popular)
Port Brewing – Pig Dog Pale Ale

Section 2 – The Beer Panel
Moderated by Christina Perozzi with Mark Jilg from Craftsman, Ryan Sweeney from The Verdugo, Larry James from Wine Warehouse, Steve Grossman from Sierra Nevada and Victor Novak from TAPS Brewery.

Quite the interesting cross section of the beer community. They were all quite optimistic and passionate about making craft beer and where we are compared to the past and where we may end up.
It was so heartening to hear what they were saying and I wish they could have gone on longer. One thing that I took away was that there seemed to be a feeling that it was inevitable that craft beer would do to BMC (BudMillerCoors) what Starbucks did to Folgers. To that I say Amen!

Section 3 – Behind the Bar
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All I can say is, I had great fun being behind the bar. I had never done it before and I am sure it showed but it was great to hand beer over to the smiling faces on the other side. It was not long before I was sweating from avoiding fellow volunteers and going all the way from one side of the bar and back with four beers trying hard not to spill. Thanks to Kevin, Alex, Liz, Bob and Ben for allowing a rookie to help out.

Section 4 – Who was there
Jeremy from Eagle Rock Brewery
Tomm from the Celebrator
Tony from Craftsman
Joel from 826LA
Patrick from The Bruery

All in all a really great time. If you weren’t here this year plan on it next year.

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What I am drinking right now

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The label is a little too Easter trippy but this is a nice light Belgian ale with a taste of lavender. This is my favorite from The Bruery. It is a notch above the usual Belgian. This and Urthel’s Hop-It have been the best of the year for me so far.