California West Coast IPA Thread (2022)

Feeling nostalgic.

My old beer fridge exactly 8 years ago today. Look at that lineup of westies!

what are the best names for a boy

 

Damn that's a solid lineup

 

Remember when you stood in line for knuckle sandwich? Remember when they moved to there new location?

 

9pm or death!...metal

 

I was thinking of this reply today because I tried that Trader Joe's organic IPA called Farm Island, brewed in Maine (I'm guessing it's brewed by Peak Organic, but not sure). It's really not bad at all, especially for 7.99/sixer. Curious where they found decent organic hops. Or maybe you can get away with non-organic hops since they are such a small fraction by volume? Either way, it's a good deal.

 

There are fairly solid organic supplies of many of the major hops used. It's (according to this one particular employee at a brewery that makes a fair bit of organic beer) mostly the new aroma varieties that don't have organic acreage.

And I'm not sure how they calculate the ratio but I believe processed food is allowed to contain 5% inorganic ingredients and still carry the usda label?

I know that Eel River does have a couple brands of ipa that are not labeled organic but claim "made with organic grain" on the label, so that leads me to believe that - for hoppy styles at least - using organic grain but not hops doesn't suffice for purposes of labeling

 

I have determined that I need to steer away from any ales with Sabro hops. Beach Run (Alesmith/Pizzaport) and Remote Location (Pizzaport) and another one recently that I can't recall, all had Sabro. Something about Sabro tastes like sweaty gym socks dipped in old coconut oil = hard pass.
Anyone else have this opinion of Sabro hops?

 

Yep. I find single hop Sabro to be sunscreen flavored and undrinkable. The recent Remote Location is okay since it's not single hop but Sabro takes away rather than adds anything IMO.

 

I don't know about that exact flavor profile but yeah I've never enjoyed Sabro beers

 

I'm not sure why, but I saw Waldos today and felt compelled to pick it up. In a lot of ways it reminds me of the classic Lagunitas that nursed my young hop addiction. Sweet with a pleasant but generic hoppy bite that could only come from some kind of hop extract, and surprisingly clean on the finish.

I don't know how long it will take me to get to the other 3. Wish I'd just bought a single

 

One of my favorite events:

The LA IPA Fest is back!


The wait is over! At long last, LA's favorite beer festival is returning on May 21st, 2022 - and this year, we're going bigger with even more great California beers in a brand new location.



Join us at Brennan's in Marina del Rey for a full day of hops! Your ticket gets you 5 pours from our selection of over 60 of the best West Coast IPAs in the state, a chance to vote on which one will be the People's Choice winner, and a commemorative glass.



Not enough for you? Go VIP and you'll also get to rub shoulders with our panel of industry-leading brewers for an exclusive Judges' brunch at 10am. Then you'll get to view the first round of tasting with them as they select their choice for Best California IPA.



Will North Park Brewing repeat 2020's 1st place prize? Can Green Cheek Beer reclaim their trophy to score the threepeat? Find out with us at Brennan's!

Get your tickets now!
Psst! Early bird tickets are $9 off - but you've got to act soon! Prices go up after April 30th!

 

Grabbed a 4pk of KRBC Citra from Wine Country the other day. God it's good. I forgot how malty and sticky it is. Classic throwback

 

Got 2 cans left from a half case. So good.

 

Latest batches of Hello LA and Competition from HPb are pretty great.

 

New Karl Strauss/Sierre Nevada collab : "What's cooler than being Cool?" Cold IPA = very good. Also bought new Societe IPA called Billboard Dreams and will report later when I open one.....

 

That’s a good one. Just don’t wait too long.

 

Agreed. A year or so back I posted a thread called “hatred of sabro hop” or something like that.

 

Your wisdom reached me telekenetically. I woke up after posting that with a new outlook on life. I finished the other 3 over the last two days. A nice throwback and gets you tore back

 

I didn’t buy it but it was sad to see Keene idea sitting warm on the total wine floor. Has anyone tried the green flash version of Keene idea? Used to love, love the OG version.

 

all they need to do now is ruin Bad Boy (if they haven't already)