Because I write about beer for a living people assume I also like making beer. My response is always: “Fuuuuuck no. Making beer is work.” Sure, I tried it once. Twice even. What I made wasn’t that great, and I had a ton of it, and soon they all turned in 22-oz CO2 grenades. Throwing them all away was the most satisfying part of the whole experience for me. Could I have kept trying and gotten better? Sure. But this also misses a fundamental point: I am a writer! I do this because I have no other skills and/or desire to try and learn any. Those who can’t do, teach? Well, teaching is exhausting. I would never do that. I’m not even sure I could tie a secure enough bindle to be a hobo. All that’s left is typing all day, which, hilariously, I do with two fingers still because in eighth grade typing class I said “Pfff, why do I need to learn this?” and never looked back.
Anyway, why try and fail endlessly when there are a million awesome beers to go buy right now made by people with patience, craft, love and creativity? We can’t all be doers. Some of us need to be sitting around, far from sunlight and people, sifting through emails about what the doers are doing so we can sum it all up for the people too busy doing stuff to find it out on their own. You’re welcome. Here are your five beers to know this week. And if you’re not too busy, don’t forget to send your own beer news to [email protected]. It’s all I have.
Goodwood Brewing sending its Hemp Gose to Texas
Louisville-based production brewery Goodwood Brewing Co., isn’t promoting a new beer per se, just that it’s sending them to new places with distribution expansion into Texas. But this felt like a good opportunity to hype its barrel aged and touched-by-wood beers. Favorite Brands will be bringing in two products from Goodwood’s portfolio – Bourbon Barrel Stout, available in 12-oz cans (for the first time) and draft, and Hemp Gose, also available in 12-oz cans and draft. The Hemp Gose is slightly salty, nice and tart with a dash of dank. The malt body complements the tartness of the brew, and the hemp adds a light herbal aroma and a slight funk on the finish.
Dirty Heads brewing a session ale with Four Sons Brewing
Southern California band Dirty Heads (dig their video starring Mr. Belding) recently collaborated with hometown Huntington Beach, Calif., craft brewery Four Sons Brewing to create a crisp, refreshing pineapple Session Ale dubbed Vacation, slated to hit shelves summer 2018.
During the initial conversations they had a lot of ideas about what style of beer to do. Four Sons pulled some samples of one of their lighter beers (an American Lager) and infused it with four different fruits (passion fruit, mango, watermelon and pineapple). The Dirty Heads guys ventured to the brewery and did a taste test to see which fruit they liked best in the beer. While some of the others were good, pineapple was hands down the winner. Dirty Heads was fully involved in each aspect of this new craft brew collaboration from beginning to end, including the design of the label. Bassist Dave Foral, already known for his graphic designs and tattooing, created the imagery that will be featured on Vacation cans and bottles. The bright, colorful label includes classic Dirty Heads octopus art and palm trees to evoke the feeling of summer.
The band will host a launch party for their new Vacation session ale on July 27. There will be a celebratory keg tap and cheers with the band, followed by an acoustic performance.
Odell Brewing, Roaring Fork collaborate on Cross Pollination
The 47th Annual Carbondale Mountain Fair in Carbondale, Colo., is less than two weeks away, and as the exclusive beer provider for the first time Roaring Fork Beer Co. wanted to do something new. The brewery approached Odell Brewing, one of Owner Chase Engel’s favorite breweries, to collaborate on the official Mt. Fair beer. Cross-Pollination, a Hibiscus and Lime Blonde Ale, is a collaboration with the two breweries and was brewed at Odell’s brewing facility in Fort Collins just several weeks ago, with RFBC brewers and Odell Head Pilot Brewer, Marni Wohlquist. Cross-Pollination can be found in 22-oz bottles throughout the Roaring Fork Valley as well as on tap at RFBC’s tasting room in downtown Carbondale (Batch) and on tap at the Odell Brewing tasting room in Fort Collins Colorado. A something-for-everyone approach is always the main goal for the brewery as the summer heats up and the fair approaches.
Listermann Brewing putting out probably the first craft beer tribute to van Gogh
Undergrowth with Two Figures by Vincent van Gogh returns to the Cincinnati Art Museum in July and to celebrate, Listermann Brewing Co. partnered with the museum to create a beer that will feature the painting on the label. Listermann Brewing Co. is generously donating 10 percent of the beer proceeds to the Cincinnati Art Museum.
This collaboration beer will be a New England IPA with a huge juicy punch of orange, lemon, tropical fruits, mango and lychee. This will be available on draft and in 16-oz four-pack cans. The four-packs will retail at $15.99 plus tax each. There will be around 150 cases sold at the brewery on Saturday, July 21.
“It’s almost unbelievable to me that we get the awesome opportunity to have one of the great masters in art history grace the cans of our beer. As such, it is not an understatement that everyone here at Listermann is preternaturally excited to be involved with this collaboration. I am quite grateful that CAM has allowed us to work with them on this project, and I look forward to future collaborations with them,” said Jared Lewinski, head brewer at Listermann Brewing.
Angry Horse canning its flagship IPA for the first time
Congrats to Angry Horse Brewing for launching its flagship IPA in cans for the first time. East LA IPA is a 7.2 percent ABV traditional American India Pale Ale that has a citrusy backbone. The mixture of malts are slightly sweet and balances out its medium body. The quadruple combination of hops gives it a floral and piney character that pairs well with spicy dishes and carrot cake.
“Los Angeles County is home to over 10 million people and is the most populated county in the country,” the brewery noted. “With so many people and neighborhoods, Los Angeles has many diverse identities. As Montebello’s neighborhood brewery and contributor to the Los Angeles County Independent Beer Movement, we are proud to have our first can pay homage to our community and our new home in East LA on iconic Whittier Blvd. This is our Los Angeles.”
Cans will be sold out of the taproom with future plans to distribute to Los Angeles County.
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