One Giant Leap by Alvarado Street Brewery (Monterey, CA) - hazy TIPA
Very smooth TIPA which hides its 10% ABV very well - tropical flavors (mainly mango but also melon, peach and orange) mixed with some piney and floral notes, malt flavors and some very slight caramel sweetness. Dry, low bitterness finish. dangerously easy to drink with a very soft mouthfeel
Not quite today, but tried to drink two French 75s in LA at two different purported cocktail bars that shall not be named. Both made them incorrectly.
Not “spec is slightly off my personal tastes” incorrectly but “there’s no sparkling in this” incorrectly.
There are French 75 versions with and without sparkling components
Can you give a for instance? I’m not doubting you, but it’s such a well-known drink. If you are gonna leave out the champagne, you should really change the name in my opinion. Otherwise it’s just gin & juice
I have seen it with white wine instead of champagne
Not doubting you, but I’ve never seen a F75 made flat without someone asking for it that way. It’s always sparkling. Likewise I’ve seen gin substitutes (vodka, brandy, whisky) but always upon request or as a menu special.
I’ll forgive sub prosecco or other sparkling etc etc since costs are what they are, but I’ve never seen an F75 being shaken then poured directly into glassware and served. Maybe it’s a regional thing, but also I think the correct way to serve it even if using a dry white is to pour the gin and juice into glassware then top with wine, then served
Epoch by Narrative Fermentation (San Jose, CA) - Imperial Pastry Stout
Dessert in a can - a very good dessert. Reminds me a bit on bounty, the coconut-chocolate bar, but with added vanilla and especially coffee notes and a noticeable bitterness in the finish.
Hazy Future by Narrative Fermentation (San Jose, CA) - Hazy IPA
Very fruit-forward hazy IPA with mango, orange and citrus flavors. Some malt notes in the background and some additional lighter herbaceous tastes in the second half of the sip. Dry, low bitterness finish. Rather “classical” NEIPA with a quite soft mouthfeel.
Making Waves by Original Pattern Brewing Company (Oakland, CA) and Humble Sea Brewing Company (Santa Cruz, CA) - Hazy IPA
Nice grapefruit bomb with a lot of dankness - starts with tons of grapefruit flavors (some orange zest and pineapple in the far background) before a lot of dank tastes take over. Dry, low bitterness finish makes for a typical hazy IPA which is easy to drink
Terra Blanc by The Drowned Lands Brewery (Warwick, NY) - Hazy DIPA
Fruit, fruit, fruit - mango, peach, grapes, oranges which dominate this beer without being overly sweet. Some malts in the background with also some hints of grassiness. Low to medium bitter finish which lingers for a long time. Drowned Lands rarely disappoints
Floating Islands by Fieldwork Brewing Company (Berkeley, CA) - Hazy IPA
First time having an IPA with dolcitra (and citra) hops - very strong flavors of orange and peach upfront which is followed by some herbaceous, slightly dank notes before a dry, low bitterness finish which has quite unusual a relatively strong coconut flavor. Very enjoyable hazy IPA especially with the coconut component
Merry Dankster by Great Notion Brewery (Portland, OR) - Hazy DIPA
The name already describes the main flavor - a lot of cannabis/dank with some resiny notes. But with some sweeter, peach and orange flavors mixed in. Dry, medium bitter finish. Overall, good mix of sweeter and dank flavors
West Kept Secret by Cellarmaker Brewing Company (Oakland, CA) and everywhere (Orange, CA) - IPA
Very crisp IPA with strong tropical flavors (passionfruit, guava, grapefruit, peach, orange) and some grassy, dank notes. Dry, medium bitter finish - very crushable beer
Kids have been giving me various sicknesses consecutively so I have been waiting to crack this open for a month and a half and my god worth the wait
Burstin’ the Cones by Original Pattern Brewing Company (Oakland, CA) and Cellarmaker Brewing Company (Oakland, CA) - IPA
Wonderful hits of dank, pine and resin with a few smaller bursts of grapefruit and berry flavors to counterbalance the dankness. Very dry medium bitter finish. Classical WCIPA
Cocoa Cow by Sunriver Brewing Company (Sunriver, OR) - Milk Stout
Quite (dark) chocolate forward stout (not surprising with that name) but also flavors of toffee, caramel and roasted malts. It has some reasonable sweetness but not overwhelming and a bit of moderate bitterness into the finish. Good dessert in a glass
PB&J Mixtape by Xul Beer Company (Knoxville, TN) - Fruited Sour
Surprisingly good flavor rendition of a PB&J sandwich but it unfortunately suffers from one of the key issues of many fruited sours - not enough tartness from the sour to counterbalance the fruited adjuncts. It drinks like a liquid PB&J sandwich but not like a sour and is overly sweet.
