Sean Suggests for January 2024

Time for my first beer shopping list for 2024.  It is doubly toasted and very serious and all California brewed.

Highland Park Brewery Toast Points Czech Style Lager – 5.9% – “brewed with our pals Moonlight Brewing. The crew at Moonlight are one of our favorite American lager producers & we couldn’t be more stoked to create a lager with them. This is also the first time we’ve done a decoction mash on our system in Chinatown. Decoction is a process that involves taking part of the mash, boiling it separately, then mixing it back into the main mash to raise its overall temp. It can darken a beer’s color, impart richer malt flavors, give it a smoother mouthfeel, & even result in more stable foam.”

Paperback Brewing Siri-ous Problems Hazy IPA – 6.8% – “anything but a problem to your taste buds, with an overload of juicy hop aroma snd flavor.  Zamba, Citra, and Azzaca hops lend themselves to creating juicy tropical fruit notes, such as pineapple, mango, stone fruits, candy, and orange tangerine.”

21st Amendment Find Your Fortune – 7.5% – “our newest Imperial Toasted Golden Ale is embellished with a QR code directly on the can so drinkers nationwide can scan the code and open their own virtual fortune cookie! Who needs horoscopes when you have a beer like this?! 

With toasted sesame, vanilla, and lactose, Find Your Fortune is a complex beer that offers a delightful blend of flavors and aromas. The toasted sesame adds a nutty and slightly savory note, balanced perfectly with a sweet aroma and flavor of vanilla, followed by a silky smooth, creamy finish.”

Into the Woods

Screen Shot 2016-01-21 at 9.01.44 PM
There have been single hop beers. single yeast, single malt, this year it’s SMASH beers. But maybe this new trend will take off since The Bruery is doing it…..
“The Arbre series is an exploration of barrel toast. We brewed a rich, malty imperial stout and divided it into three parts, laying each down in brand new American oak barrels from our friends at Kelvin Cooperage in Kentucky. On Friday, bottles of two of these variants – Arbre Light Toast and Arbre Medium Toast – will go on sale to the general public. Arbre Light Toast spent time resting in lightly toasted barrels and reveals notes of oak as well as raisins and just a hint of smoke. Arbre Medium Toast spent time resting in medium toasted barrels and reveals more oak-forward notes in addition to coconut, roasty vanilla beans, bakers chocolate and black cherries.”

That would be quite a tasting.