Best Beers of May 2024

May brought a nice mix of new beers and new breweries and that is shown in the Best of for the month…

Santa Monica Brew Works Flecha Azul Margarita Sour – I have had a couple nice sours recently headlined by this SMBW that smartly combined margarita with sour in a Gose-ish way.

Trusted Gut Kristalweizen – clean and crisp but unmistakably weizen. Perfect for a summer day.

Ghost Town + North Park Ghost Park IPA – Cannot go wrong with North Park even if they are just half of the brewing team.

The big winner for the month is…..

Brouwerij West 8x8x Hazy DIPA – now this was a proper hazy. it was like drinking cream and pineapple and it had an impressive layer of murk to it.

1st Visit – Trusted Gut

The old King Harbor space on 182nd Avenue did not stay quiet for long as it was quickly taken by Trusted Gut Beverages.  A Long Beach company that does not only beer but seltzer and kombucha too.  It has taken me too long to visit but I finally made it.

And though the space can louden up real quick and the food truck outside was generating a generator racket, the beer list was a happy surprise. Saison, Kolsch, Amber Ale and a Schwarzbier among many styles to pick from. I went Kristalweizen and followed with a Scottish Ale because, don’t know when I will see either on draft in the near future.

Both were solid examples of their styles with the K-weizen being my favorite. I did not the either of the two kombuchas or the POG seltzer but I would come back when next in the Lawndale / Redondo borderlands to hit up some of the other lesser seen beers.