Beer in the new era

I think it's pretty new - Widmer is almost at like a Henry Weinhard level of "meh" mass production (are they owned by a major?, but it's nice to hear a positive report. See also Pyramid's IPA.

I'm heading to Los Angeles for the weekend. Is stuff like Pliny easy to find there, or just easier? Or am I out of luck on that front? Any other must-seeks?

was just there a week or two ago and picked up a bottle of Sucaba, in case that's hard to find where you are

That wasn't that hard, actually. Weirdly, Sucaba lingers where I live. (Parabola, less so.)

I saw Lagunitas Sucks in quart bottles just last week at the Santa Monica and La Brea Bevmo ($7). Was surprised to see them in that form, and around this late.

got to try some cool stuff tonight--

funky buddha last snow - coffee/coconut/white chocolate porter. surprisingly dry, outstanding flavor integration, quite drinkable. someone i was with thought it added up to french toast, to me it was like an almond joy made with unsweetened chocolate.

revolution straightjacket - barrel-aged barelywine. absolutely huge flavors, vanilla, oak, booze. all you could want from the style.

Yeah, Straightjacket! Sits on shelves here, as do a lot of the rev seasonal
releases.

that's insane, it's as good a barleywine as i've ever had

It's a little too pricy IMO. I bought it once and would again if it were 5 bucks or so cheaper.

(It's $17ish for a bomber everywhere I've seen it.)

that's sucaba pricing more or less and it's better than sucaba

You think so? I think they're close, maybe I was giving Sucaba the edge because of distance/relative scarcity here.

yeah sucaba has a lot of cache and deservedly so but the beer i drank tonight had more going on

Yeah, Straightjacket is everywhere. They even have it at Trader Joe's, where it also sits around.

I've seen the big bottles of Sucks around lately, too. Must be a new thing.

The big bottles of sucks are interesting. Not sure they fit my drinking habits though. I'd probably try and polish a whole one off.

Two Hearted is now available in 16oz cans. Ho boy.

(Oberon too)

woo! won the upland lottery. 2 peaches and a persimmon!

OK, so what should I be drinking out here in Los Angeles?

ithaca brewing company's flower power is a good ipa but wtf is with the graphic design on the packaging? comic sans is even involved!

russian river is one of the 10 best breweries in america and they use fucktons of comic sans

ithaca's graphic design is not great but i've come to love it.
green trail looks like 1998 to me, but it's s delicious beer.

Where specifically are you, Josh?

If you're at a bar and Craftsman 1903 is on tap try it, it always reminds me of how good a simple lager can be.

I like Golden Road in Atwater/South Glendale, none of their beers are world beaters, but it's a nice place, with pretty good food.

Likewise but even more so for the Eagle Rock brewery beer-wise, and the facility is about as minimal as you can get (no food, no decor, very small).

The Stone outlet in Pasadena is starting some special offerings next Monday.

Angel City brewery downtown has a whiskey barrel aged dark rye lager I like, and it's in the "Arts District" so it's a fun place to wander around in.

West of downtown you're on your own.

I'm currently in ... Atwater Village? But I've been getting around. Went to a burger place called I think Father's Office and they had good beer. Culver city location?

Yes, I've heard of them.

As for restaurants, Lemon Poppy on Verdugo is supposed to be good and close to where you are now. Don't know their alcohol situation.

Mohawk Bend in Echo Park is good, and they have a good beer menu.

Favorite beers of the last 8 or so months for no reason at all:

+ Victory Prima Pils - Crisp floral beauty.
+ Lagunitas Sucks - First time I've had a (D)IPA where I first thought "this smells exactly like ripe mango" rather than "this smells vaguely citrusy."
+ St. Bernardus Prior 8 - This stuff is just delicious, I want to try their quad, too, but I'm a super lightweight and quads are heavy.
+ Ommegang Glimmerglass - Truly the most refreshing beer I think I've ever had. If it were cheaper, I'd drink it all the time.
+ Sierra Nevada Tumbler (RIP) - It bums me out that SN discontinued this to make more seasonal IPAs, this beer was awesome.

I've heard that the new Yuengling summer seasonal is actually pretty good, which is exciting news for a broke beer fan. Anybody here tried that one?

Golden Road out here perfectly OK. Food crappy but lager and IPA not bad.

You must have ordered wrong (ha ha). I like the pretzel with the reddish dipping sauce (red pepper?) And the burgers aren't bad. Sometimes I think their brown ale (Get Up Offa That Brown) is excellent, sometimes it strikes me as a little off.

Get Up Offa That Brown

This might be the most terrible beer name ever.

Yeah, awkward at best. Supposed to be a James Brown homage, but that just adds to the uncomfortableness.

Better than.... http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26850/76182/

I had a lager with a number for a name and a Save the Bay IPA. Animal for dinner, maybe they have beer.

you all seem to have forgotten
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/voodoo-wynonas-big-brown-ale/78544/

not made better by being a primus gag.

Haven't even had a chance to try it, but unless something goes terribly terribly wrong, I am going to drink SO FUCKING much of this beer before it gets retired:

http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/index.cfm/beers/ourbeers/beer/berliner-weiss

Also since it came up again, seriously, the ommegang glimmerglass is total beer perfection. Buy it on sight.

yeah? i've seen it around but will pick it up on your rec.

Champagne carbonated saison brewed with pink peppercorns. Crazy crazy good.

xps the NG Berliner Weiss is excellent, I picked some up late last year. I liked the Weizenbock that was available at the same time a lot, too.

Some unusual brews I recently enjoyed:

Bell's - Two Hearted Ale
Societe - The Butcher
Midnight Sun - BREWtality Espresso
Lost Abbey - Red Poppy Ale
De Dolle - Oerbier Special Reserva 2012

The De Dolle made me upset that it wasn't on my radar when I was in Belgium and I could have had it often for 1/5th of the price it cost me here. It's one of the greatest Flemish reds I've ever had (and I've done hard time in Flanders). Amazingly smooth and balanced and drinkable for a 13%er. Hunt it down if you like the style.

Anyone try that Anderson Valley gose that they can now? I would love to have a good gose in cans.

Champagne carbonated saison ...

I misread this as champagne carbonated salmon.

I'll tell you what I did not enjoy tasting recently: Sucre by The Bruery. Total boozebomb with cloying sweetness.

westbrook makes a pretty nice gose in cans

Yeah, I've wanted to try it, but no distribution here.

My dad lives some kind of charmed life. He's out in Portland, ME for work and is leading a tour of Allagash brewery tomorrow. NB he is an archaeology professor so I don't really get the connection but shit, sounds like a good gig to me.

got a nice box of oregon stuff from beer thread poster psychgawsple, and normally i would drink a few more and post some quick hit thoughts, but i need to take some time to praise the heater allen pils. i consider myself a czach pils fan, and not only is this the only u.s. pils i have ever had that is worth a damn, it is just an outstanding pils in general. fresh, good malt character, nice hop spice and really dry finish. extremely well-made, quality is evident in the clarity, lacing, mouthfeel, etc.

making a pils is hard. to turn out that product from a tiny brewery (and assuming their batches are consistent) is pretty impressive.

hi CaD while you are in nyc/bklyn this week, trust me and :
drink Singlecut "Dean" Mahogany Ale
and any IPA from Other Half
if you see 'em.

my fave local beers.

aw thanks, i'll keep an eye out!

singlecut has a fun tasting room in queens, but i'm not sure if singlecut does or not.
if you want any other rec's relative to where you're gonna be, let me know. i have drank a lot of beer in a lot of bars tbh.