Temescal West by Temescal Brewing (Oakland, CA) - IPA
The description on the can captures the flavor profile quite accurate - dank tropical west coast IPA. It starts with a surprising boost of tropical flavor (not unlike a hazy IPA) but that turns fast to a lot of piney, resiny dank notes and dry, medium bitter finish. Good mix of west and east coast IPA.
Once in a while I need to catching up with older photos. Some have tasting notes, but most don’t.
Good Vibes - IPA - Beer Hut Brewing - Northern Ireland, UK. 6,6%
Brewed with Ella and Mosaic hops.
Chunks of yeast come out as I pour the whole can into the glass. Smells a bit sour, a bit of Gueuze-like funk. Tastes of both, too. Tart fruits. Fizzy on the palate, very fine fizz like “brut” beer. Medium hoppy and bitter. Sometimes I get a beer that’s not very typical of the style, it’s like a fun surprise.
I visited Northern Ireland about 10 years ago. There weren’t many craft breweries then but I had a good time drinking beer on cask at many pubs. Cask-dispensed beer is my absolute favourite.
An Irish pen pal gave me the leprechaun souvenir.
Spanish Imperial Russian stout. Nómada Brewing is not far from central Barcelona.
You like natural tasting POG (passionfruit, orange, guava) juice really amped up but want to have some tart/sour counterbalance to the sweetness ? And some added buzz from the alcohol for a nice warm evening on the patio - that’s your perfect beer.
This sounds right up my alley, I love tropical fruit sours.
You smell terrific by Alvarado Street Brewery (Monterey, CA) - Hazy IPA
First beer for me which is brewed with the addition of Phantasm powder and it had an interesting juicy, tropical taste but not particularly more than other hazy IPAs. Instead it had a stronger grape flavor with soft malts and a dry, medium bitter finish. Good IPA but nothing special.
Apparently this was formerly their Double Haole Punch. I like it a lot too, tropical fruit and with just about the right amount of sour.
It is similar as with Pliny the Elder - you have to see it in the context of (historic) timing. The beer world is evolving fast in the US and Pliny the Elder and Heady Topper might not stand out today but when they were created they had some unique features which made them special.
Drippy Popsicle (Bomb Pop) by Abomination Brewing Company (North Haven, CT) - Smoothie Sour
Very berry favored with the inclusion of raspberry, blackberry and cherry which also showed their (limited) natural tartness so that it didn’t get too sweet but even there was some tartness from the sour it wasn’t strong enough so that it was too much if a smoothie and not enough of a sour (but still not bad at 30C in the evening on the patio)
Zero Complaints by Cellarmaker Brewing Company (San Francisco, CA) - IPA
Combination of west coast IPA with haziness but overall stronger emphasis on the west coast style with notes of grapefruit and pine and a dry, long bitter finish but also some lighter peach and melon tastes in the background.
Blueberry Muffin by Great Notion Brewing (Portland, OR) - Fruited Sour
It’s impressive how good Great Notion is able to balance the flavor profiles of their many fruited sours. Good blueberry, cinnamon and doughy flavor mimicking nicely the blueberry muffins whereas the tart sour perfectly balances the sweetness.
Bunny with a Chainsaw by Paperback Brewing Company (Glendale, CA) - Double IPA
Good mix of citrus, tropical and floral notes at the beginning but turns over to a lot of piney, dank notes and a very long, quite bitter finish which was lingering for a long time. Hazy IPA but with west coast characteristics
The Audacity by Lamplighter Brewing Company (Cambridge, MA) - Wheat Beer
Rather classical German-style wheat beer with a strong backbone of grassy flavors but also some notes of coriander, clove and banana. Relatively light tasting with low ABV but refreshing and a good pairing on a warm summer night with a burger.
Benjamin - Dry-hopped Helles Bock - Van Moll brewery - Netherlands. 7,5%
Dry-hopped with loads of Citra and Mosaic
Sweet but bearable because of the citra and mosaic dry-hopping. Helles Bock is not my favourite style.
A little harsh on the palate, dry with bitter finish. The 3 classic IPA hops come through. Resinous, just a touch of sweetness. Taste of grain (and oat?) is quite strong. I have had WC DIPA that are super palate wreckers but this one not not quite like that. Very drinkable and I even like it.
Piney and resinous all right. Sweet, grapefruit and orange, fizzy.
I drank a few Oscar Blues beers at international beer festival in Lyon, France a few years back.
Fruity sweet, smells nice, biscuit and pineapple. Hoppy bitter. I like it better than the “Resinous”.
Orange mamerlade, citrus peel and grassy tasting. Soft and bitter, medium bodied. A solid DIPA. There are so many US breweries that are capable of producing good (D)IPAs nowadays. Surely, brewers must be under high pressure to “outdo” each other?
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It only matters that you like what you eat or drink
Rockin’ the Paradise by Alvarado Street Brewery (Monterey, CA) - Imperial Fruited Sour
Very refreshing fruit punch sour with a mixture of grapes, apple, pear, blackberry and peach and a good balance from the tartness. Too easily drinkable for an imperial sour.
Hazy-O! by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (Milton, DE) - Hazy IPA
Middle of the road hazy IPA with notes of citrus and orange and a little bit of juiciness and a smooth mouthfeel from the oats. Followed by some grassy malts and medium bitter finish. Overall decent hazy IPA which tries to be not too offensive.
Dank of the West by Cellarmaking Brewing Company (San Francisco, CA) - IPA
Classical west coast IPA which tries to be more focused on the piney, dank spectrum. Citrus and grapefruit flavors upfront but getting taking over by a lot of piney, resinous, dank flavors and a strong, very bitter, dry finish. Unapologetic west coast IPA.
