Best Beers of April 2025

This month coffee infused beers are ascendant. Starting with Long Beach based Trademark Brewing and their Morning Drive Coffee Cream Ale which I tasted at their new outpost in Torrance. This was followed up by Broken Timbers and their Dublin Dawn Oatmeal Coffee Stout, which had a real nice coffee meets whiskey but without going too far.

But my favorite of the month is a collaboration between Faction Brewing in they Bay Area and Riip Beer. It is Bergs of a Feather, a Hoppy Dark Lager. I complain about Black IPAs rarely striking the hop to dark balance, but this hit all the marks for me.

I also want to mention the Meet Me in the Woods cider from Benny Boy here in Los Angeles. It is pricey for sure, but I found a unique strawberry meets spruce combo to really work. But my drinking buddy, Rich sure thought it was too much tree for his liking.

1st Visit – Trademark Brewing at Enclave

I posted earlier about Trademark Brewing opening an outpost in Torrance, further filling that suburb into the craft beer place to be, now here is what I found at The Enclave.

Trademark is tucked into a small corner of this mostly open air food hall that was hopping on a recent sunny Sunday, especially the coffee shop Nook which never has a line less than then people. There is lots of different seating areas and environments at the Enclave but one of the best is a stool at Trademark’s bar counter where you can do some serious people watching.

You can buy four-packs to go from their selection of beers or get a draft from the basic / popular choices that Trademark brews such as the Viking Blonde or A La Playa Mexican lager.

Sean Suggests for February 2025

This month, gonna keep this an all We Love L.A. edition of the beer shopping list.

Crowns & Hops Heritage Amber Lager – 5.6% – “our special release beer brewed for Black History Month to celebrate the history and current contributions of African Americans.”

Trademark Brewing Ocean Thunder West Coast IPA – 7% – a Double Dry-Hopped IPA featuring Nelson, Citra and Strata hops.

Beachwood Brewing Jukebox Jammer IPA – 7.1% – “this West Coast IPA is packed with a bold, dank four-hop blend (Mosaic Dynaboost, Columbus Cryo, Mosaic, Talus) that hits all the right notes!”

And here is a wee bonus option that you might want to track down….

A Few Rodeos In

2024 seems to be the country year, Cowboy Carter and now Trademark Brewing in Long Beach is breaking out the mechanical bull and line dancing for their fifth anniversary in Long Beach.

Screenshot

I will take my chances with the bull as my dancing could cause way more harm.

Sean Suggests for July 2023

Los Angeles Ale Works Leisureland Lager – 4.7% – “Classic, crisp and clean at 4.7% ABV, you could say that this is “beer flavored beer” featuring subtle cracker flavors, floral aromas and minimal (but lingering) bitterness.”

MadeWest TRZ Flip Pale Ale – 6% – “X Games are coming to town and have inspired this brand new West Coast Extra Pale Ale hopped with Mosaic and HBC 586 from @yakimachief! This epic duo delivers bright citrus and ripe tropical fruit with notes of passion fruit and papaya.”

Trademark Brewing Neon Enigma DDH West Coast IPA – ??% – “A bright, flashy can bursts open – popping aromas of raspberry and white wine – while a dazzling trio of Enigma, Simcoe, and Cashmere dance with nuanced flavors of mango, tangerine and a touch of stone fruit.”

As a summer bonus, be on the lookout for this anniversary beer from Beachwood….

Know Yourself

You can’t miss the Frida Kahlo mural at Trademark Brewing but you may not have seen or remember the quote from her that is on it, “I am my own muse, I am the subject I know best.”

Obviously, they needed a Kahlo inspired beer so there now is My Own Muse, a “West Coast Pilsner that features this year’s exciting hop blend of Loral, Ekuanot, and HBC 586.”

Beer Review – two Doodle Pads

Trademark Brewing has three beers out under the Doodle Pad small batch series, I am going to look at the two IPAs and not the bigger brother/sister. And I will keep the focus on the descriptive part of the label since I am not fond of dog in lab coat art on the front.

Bird of Paradise – The label description says tropical fruit, honeydew melon and a “breeze” of resinous pine. I would counter that it was more than a stiff wind. Pours a lovely-bubbly light orange color. A bit of guava flavor comes through but the primary on the case is that pine resin note. Some malt notes are in the back as well.

Hüll Be Back – Just two hops in this hazy, Huell Melon and Cashmere. Quite a flavor profile in the description. Guava, passion fruit, candied fruit and lime peel. Of those, I found a weird hard candy taste that was green melon and lime. This grew on me though and overall, I liked the weirdness here more.