Tag: Vinepair

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Vinepair’s Best New U.S. Brewery Tour – Blue Jay Brewing.

The beverage website, Vinepair was featured a few months back as the basis for the best breweries currently and now here we are again for the best NEW U.S. breweries as the content for the July brewery tour posts.

The first stop on the itinerary is Blue Jay Brewing in Missouri…..

…and here is my taster tray selection:

Little Birds Jamaican-Style Lager – “Brewed with Pilsner malt, Cassava Starch, and Hops from the Hallertau region. Prominent malt, light in body with a low ester-derived fruitiness from the Cassava with a lasting finish.”

Time Wizard German-Style Edel Hell – “This Helles style lager was brewed with Pilsner and Spitz malt and hopped with 100% Hallertau Hersbrucker whole leaf hops from our friends at Seitz Farm in Wolnzach, Bavaria. Balanced and approachable. Malty, floral, peppery and herbal.”

Queens Gold Session Cold IPA – “Brewed in collaboration with “The ExBeerience” in honor of Queen Latifah and the 90’s ladies of Hip Hop to celebrate Juneteenth. This beer was cereal mashed with long grain rice and pilsner malt, hopped in the kettle with Southern Passion and bounces with Citra and Mosaic in the dryhop.”

Monarchs Munich Style Dark Lager – “Decoction mashed for a rich malt complexity. Dark Munich malts bring hints of chocolate and caramel, without being roasty or overly sweet, balanced by Noble, Spalt, Tettnang and Hallertau hops.”

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In the Tap Lines for July 2025

We are no entering the back half of this Annus Horribilus, aka 2025. And here I want to make a plea to Los Angeles craft beer fans to go out and visit an L.A. brewery. Use a vacation day, head out on a Sunday but please go out and support our breweries. Then post about it, let people know that L.A. (or your city) is not some bad place that must be warred upon by its own Federal governmenr.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from Vinepair’s Best New U.S. breweries

~ special featured reviews of a bevy of beer styles

~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events

~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark

~ A Book & A Beer reads Weep – Slack Jaw by Eion Brady

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Lost Notes – Groupies

~ Sports & A Beer returns with Club World Cup

~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month

~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

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Vinepair Brewery to Watch # 3 – Slow Body Beer Company

We conclude the VinePair breweries to watch tour in Arizon with the Slow Body Beer Company. The Tucson based brewery focuses on lagers and session beers.

Bloom Dry-Hopped Blonde Ale – described as “smooth citrus flowerrs.

Pils German-Style Pilsner – described as “floral and tight”

Green Things West Coast IPA – “dank, dank, dank”

Body Double American Porter – described as “malty and buoyant”

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Vinepair Brewery to Watch # 2 – Pivotal Brewing Company

The second stop recommended by the Vinepair website is in Rhode Island, Bristol specifically and Pivotal Brewing.

Time to order up a taster flight…

PIVO-tal – “Pivo-tal Czech-style Pilsner. An homage to the Czech word for beer–pivo–this pale golden lager was brewed with 100% Czech Pilsner malt, lending nuanced flavors of bread dough and malt sweetness. We used an exceptional lot of Hallertau Blanc hops, and a generous amount of Czech Saaz to create a soft and floral nose that blends beautifully with the subtle sourdough aromas created by our house lager yeast. Pivo-tal was lagered for over 7 weeks to showcase the expression of the Czech yeast strain and naturally carbonated for a silky and smooth mouthfeel.”

Midnight Bryter – “This Czech-style dark lager is a showcase of some of our favorite European malts, brewed with a blend of Munich, Caramunich, Vienna and Pilsner. Midnight Bryter pours a light black hue with ruby at the edges of the glass and a latte-colored head. It’s bright with flavors of mocha, dark chocolate candy bar and has layered aromas of dark caramel, espresso roast, and doughy bread. The finish has the refreshing spiciness of Czech Saaz and subtle floral notes of French Strisselspalt hops. Like most of our lagers, Midnight Bryter was lagered for 6 weeks at near-freezing temperatures and naturally carbonated through our spunding process for a clean and fully-mature lager profile.”

Hello Again, My Name is Pivotal DIPA – “Our latest hazy Double IPA release is a celebration of our favorite hop lots right now. This DIPA was brewed and dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin from family-owned Garston Hops in New Zealand, Citra, Citra Cryo and experimental hop HBC 1019. This DDH DIPA pours a slight neon yellow color with opaque haze and aromas of creamsicle soda, tangy gooseberry and a hint o’ cannabis. The body is smooth and creamy with tropical notes of guava, lychee and cantaloupe. Maybe the coolest thing we’ve noticed with this beer is that the flavors and aromas change and evolve throughout the experience of drinking a glass.”

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Vinepair Brewery to Watch # 1 – Roaring Table Brewing Company

Vinepair came out with an infographic on U.S. breweries to watch in 2025. First off, congratulations to Smog City Brewing right here in Los Angeles for making the cut but let’s head east to Illinois and Lake Zurich specifically to visit Roaring Table Brewing Company.

Here are some fine choices for a first taster flight…

Closer Apart – unfiltered Zwickel Pilsner – Creamy • Floral • Mickey Finn’s Collaboration

Holiday Romance – country lager – Creamy Malts • Passion Fruit • Hayfields

Redbird Bitter – English Pale ale with Simcoe and Krush hops – Shortbread • Strawberries • Sessionable

Vienna – Austrian-Style Lager – Dark Bread • Nutty • Crisp

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Lay off the Hype

Last month, Vinepair posted a piece about overhyped beers. Even though I detected a sarcastic comment and one that did not take introverts into account, on the whole, it got me to thinking about what is a style that give me the cringes.

Non-alcoholic is certainly one that I share and for the most part milkshake IPAs tend to be just a bunch of lactose that steamrolls any hop note, the one style that I wish was pulled back though is the light lager.

If your brewery already has a lager or (hopefully) more, there is really no need to have a second runnings lager. If people are that calorie conscious, they are splitting hairs.