California Lagers (2023)

Bell Road Bohemian pilsner from a new-to-me brewery, CuVer, in the Santa Rosa area. It's excellent, check it out if you see it. Reminiscent of Reality Czeck.

 

Well, file this one under "You Snooze You Lose". At the last moment I decided to just go and pick some Smooth Is Fast up after work today instead of ordering it to be shipped. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to be home during the expected shipping time.

So, I made the hour and a half round trip drive after work today to Green Cheek, only to find out they had just sold out shortly before I got there. After hoping for two years that they'd brew this beer again, and finding out this morning that there it finally was, I came within a couple of hours of being able to once again drink my "beer of the year".

Well, life goes on. Lesson learned. Next time (if they ever brew this beauty again) I'll just order the damn beer come hell or high water and if it has to sit on my porch in 100 degree heat it'll still probably taste better than most other beers out there.

Hey Green Cheek, can I pre-order now for the next batch in 2025?

 

Then I am glad I stopped in yesterday when I did because I grabbed another 4pk of SIF along with Just Two Things. Which GC did you go to?

 

Orange

 

Did you call the other 2 locations?

 

I did not, but I'd already driven far enough after a long day's work it would have added another half hour to my commute and also figured if the main brewery didn't have it the others likely wouldn't have either. At that point I just threw my hat in the ring and decided that maybe my days of chasing beers should be over.

 

I hear ya. I don’t chase em these days either. I live 2+ miles from the SB location. So it’s easy for me to hop in the car and drive over. I figured that one would go quickly

 

I don’t post that often outside of trades.
I know that there are some that respect my opinions tho.
Here’s a lager PSA:
Anything from moonlight is pretty much the GOAT.
My second favorite and local legend is Surge Capacity from Sante Adairius.
Also a big fan of Enegren although I don’t get them regularly.

I recently tried 3 different California lagers that all have the same packaging format and price point. ($11 for a 12oz 6pk)
FW Pivo Pils
Alvarado Monterey Beer
SN Summerfest.

If you see these options let me be brief.
Pivo towers above the rest. Almost up there with my favorites. 4.5/5.
Monterey Beer is pretty good and a solid choice. Not as crispy per se but easy to drink and crushable with a little more malt/cereal character. 4/5
SN Summerfest kind of sucks. Grassy dirt character. Rough. Not drainpour worthy, but would never pay semi-premium craft prices again. 3.5/5.
Hope this helps someone and doesn’t get edited or deleted by some d*čkhead.
Cheers Californians.

 

Completely agree. This summer has reminded me why I always opted for SN Nooner over Summerfest. But both take a back seat to FW Pivo...love that beer and grab it nearly everytime I cross its path.

 

I love the Pivo too but rarely see it anymore. The Summerfest is an interesting novelty, but I don't find it all that drinkable. I bought a 12er weeks ago and the last few have languished in the back of my fridge.

 

Also forgot to mention this was the first time I’d seen Pivo on a local shelf in cans. it’s not a regular in my lineup unfortunately.

 

I'd love to revisit pivo but Firestone has the worst distribution of a brewery their size. These days we basically see whatever they're putting in stove pipes and the occasional brown box

 

I got all excited when I heard Pivo was going to make a comeback. However it's never made it's way anywhere near me. I live in southern California, and yet the closest store where I can find it is one location nearly 80 miles away. I'd buy it regularly if it was available to me at a store within reasonable distance.

I'd also buy Pale Ale/Pale 31 if they'd ever make that one available again (without having to spend hundreds of dollars on a membership). Oh, by the way, I see FW just released yet another IPA "Mind Haze Tropic Rocket". Yipee.

 

Summerfest was a letdown for sure , bit not everyone has access to Lagers and SN Distro is large so i get why people buy it.

Have had Moonlight Death Before Taxes ,but Enegren, at least in my opinion, remains King. If i saw singles on shelves here I'd prolly grab them more often
FW Pivo is great and so are the many Lagers that they stay releasing at the Propagator. I always get some type of lager at the location even choosing it over their Barrel Aged selections sometimes

 

Enegren is unbeatable on value for quality lagers. Moonlight is very good but they are pretty premium priced.

 

Canned 7/18
"“All aboard the hype train! Next stop… Cold IPA!”
Danke, but we’ll pass.
Hype – some people can’t resist it, they’re always looking for the next big thing. Then there are pieces of work like us and Enegren, sticking to what we know and brewing what we love; West Coast IPAs and classic German lagers, respectively. So when we decided to do a zusammenarbeit together, brewing a Hoppy West Coast Lager isn’t hype, it’s combining what we both love into something that is definitely not a Cold IPA. Prost!""

Style- West Coast Lager
ABV- 6.2%
Hops- Chinook, Centennial, Amarillo, Citra

Drank it before theatre