Drink Read local. BEER PAPER local. beerpaperla.com /beerpaperla #beerpaperla @beerpaperla VOLUME 6 | ISSUE 2 | July 2018 | FREE! David Walker at the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest Photo Credit: Nick Gingold, Craft Media L.A. BEER BEFORE GLORY By Daniel Drennon The American (Craft Beer) Revolution continues to rage like a California wildfire with now over 6000 breweries in the US and over 900 here in California. And while this uniquely American Revolution is inspiring new breweries all over the world, there is an ironic twist in that one of the most visible leaders of the country’s love affair with craft beer is not even a brewer and, well, he’s British. (FULL STORY ON PAGE 12) INSIDE BREWER’S CORNER WISHFUL DRINKING PINTS & QUOTES TOPA TOPA LADYBEER PAGE 6 PAGE 9 PAGE 16 PAGE 18 PAGE 22 The Brewers Association presents 40+ Small and Independent Craft Breweries 20+ Celebrated Chefs craft beer + food October 18-19, 2018 | L.A. Center Studios PairedLA.com PAGE 4 JULY 2018 | Beer Paper #beerpaperla BEER PAPER Beer Paper is dedicated to providing news, commentary, and education for the craft beer communities of Los Angeles, Orange County, Inland Empire and Ventura County. OWNER/PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Daniel Drennon CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Josh Cortez @belmontscraftyneighbors HEAD WRITER: Daniel Drennon @daveziol EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE EDITOR: Renee Imhoff @hashtag_hops SENIOR CONTRIBUTORS: Sarah Bennett, Tomm Carroll, John M. Verive SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS: Harmony Sage Fried, Erin Peters ORANGE COUNTY ACCOUNTS: Brian Navarro SOUTH BAY ACCOUNTS: Paul Brauner @cbc_torrance @smogcitybeer FOUNDED BY: Aaron Carroll & Rob Wallace @craftbeerfreak Beer Paper is 100% funded by our advertisers. Please support them! FEATURED LISTINGS @mittytulips @itsalegood Absolution Brewing Co 2878 Columbia St, Torrance, CA 90503 @brewreviews absolutionbrewingcompany.com Cismontane Brewing 1409 E. Warner Suite C, Santa Ana cismontanebrewing.com @beerzombies Unsung Brewing @javibeerdude 500 S. Anaheim Blvd., Anaheim unsungbrewing.com @ipa_tim Ximix Craft Exploration Company 13723 ½ Harvard Place, Gardena ximixcraft.com Zymurgy Brew Works @nagareshi 22755 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance @simplycravebeer zymurgybrewworks.com @hop_heads SATURDAYSEPT SEPT.. 8, 2018 8 SANOONC to 4 PM OUTSIDE on CAPITOL MALL The largest beer festival on the West Coast, featuring more than 160 California craft breweries! THURSDAY SEPT. 6 and FRIDAY SEPT. 7 SACRAMENTO CONVENTION CENTER Two full days of education, networking and tradeshow for brewers, hospitality, distributors, craft beer lovers and homebrewers. GET TICKETS NOW at cacraftbeersummit.com #cabeersummit @cacraftbrewers PAGE 6 JULY 2018 | Beer Paper BREWER’S CORNER DRINK LOCAL, TASTE GLOBAL A Tale of Carnivale Brettanomyces by Harmony Sage Fried Drink Local is the lifeblood of Craft to converse and have a good time. This to embrace a revolution of sour beer Beer. This statement is proudly is also why so many flock to support makers doing it their way. This was embraced by brewers and patrons their “Local”, and enjoy a small taste a chance to swap stories, share feral alike, printed on t-shirts and coasters, of the makers’ craft. concoctions and share cultures. and dear to our hearts. In a field that prides itself in using local ingredients, These qualities personify the vibe Particularly when referencing sour innovating green practices, and at Carnivale Brettanomyces in beers, most breweries have a house cultivating local community and Amsterdam. Running June 21-24 of culture. These are invited by a coolship cultures, our motto is drink in the 2018 and in its 7th year, this festival (a large open vat of cooling wort), neighborhood and support the local has grown while still maintaining harvested from local fruit, or collected craftsman. Why drink beer that has an intimate feeling. Loners, punks, from bottle dregs of favorite beers. At been shipped across the country when and rebels from all over the world Long Beach Beer Lab, we use a culture we should enjoy a fresh beer made came together to share and taste Wild discovered on the skins of locally around the block? Ales. Without corporate sponsorship, grown grapes collected from Levi’s this festival was not held at a big Mom’s backyard, lending a unique There tends to be a type of an convention hall, but rather spread Long Beach flavor to our experimental individual who decides to open a craft out all over the city at local pubs, Ales. A term often heard at Carnivale brewery. Typically, a hard-working breweries, shops, and historic Brett, “Beerior”, is used to describe the renegade of sorts, a individual who churches. Many cycled from lectures, local ingredients in a beer that allow does not fit into the regular nine to five to events, to beer pairings - ducking us to taste something unique from its desk job, someone who takes risks into small shops on cobblestone paths origin. and thinks outside the box. We have or walking down steep stone stairs to rejected the Macro way of making and discover a room of beer fanatics who The Carnivale embodies much of the man who organized it. Jan Beekaa drinking beer and have created spaces were all there for the same reason; Harmony Sage pitching Long Beach Lemmens is a tall and lanky man sourdough starter in to mega Collab at whose boyish charm, shaggy long hair Oedipus Brewing and relaxed character is reminiscent Photo Credit: Paul Edwards of a favorite mystery solving cartoon character. (I wonder if he has a Great our lunch in a carry-on bag. Our plan Dane at home?) Jan gave the festival a was to bake sourdough bread for our goat mascot because many Brett Beers pairing, which meant we had to feed are described as “Goaty”. As a beer the starter on Wednesday evening, enthusiast who used to beertend at In and make the dough Thursday for the De Wildeman in Amsterdam, Jan came Friday event. Somehow we did this to know all the wild craft beer brewers while also attending the kick off mixer in Europe. Now he is a brewer for De at Brewery Oedipus before returning Kromme Haring which specializes in to bake all night. Friday morning we Belgian and Wild Ales. All year long woke up early with loaves in hand, he works tirelessly to plan Carnivale cycled on to the ferry, and crossed Brett, inviting unique people from all the river to Fromagerie Abraham Kef over who do interesting work with where our beer was waiting patiently. Brettanomyces. After our moment in the lecture We had the honor of lecturing about spotlight, we quickly cycled over to brewing with sourdough as well an old church where more events were as facilitating a beer, cheese, and happening. Arriving late, we rushed sourdough pairing at a charming up the cobblestone steps through cheese shop located off the river Ijt. narrow, dusty stone walls to join a There were many lectures, some on lecture by Jace Marti from August the history of sour beer and brewing Schell brewing company in New Ulm and others on the science of cultures, Minnesota. Jace was presenting about yeasts and bacteria that we all love August Schell’s historic brewery and so much: Brettanomyces! Brett will the revamping of their entire beer eat everything (or not?) - this was the program. August Schell is known for main topic of discussion around town. their lager program, and now produces North Star Berliner-style Weisse. Levi and I arrived Wednesday with This overhaul was nothing less than our house culture smuggled in a spectacular, including the rehydration Tupperware, tucked away amongst Beer Paper | JULY 2018 PAGE 7 woman whose personality outweighed her stature and delicate features, held her own in a mostly male dominated room. When asked many times by passersby if her husband was the brewer she replied in a strong voice “I AM ZE BREWER”. We tasted wild ales from Tommy Sjef at a beer pairing dinner hosted by Elaine at Wilde Chutney. This tasting took place in an old ship hanger Jan Beekaa Lemmens’ 5 minute relax in converted to a body shop, which is sun before festivities begin now a restaurant. The dining area is Photo Credit: Jan Beekaa Lemmens an intimidating massive space with of giant Foeders and removal caked-on old cars placed sporadically. Tommy wax from the wood, both inside and on is a child prodigy who doesn’t look the outside of the vessel - transforming old enough to drink beer by American useless relics into vessels filled with standards, let alone make some of delicious liquid. the best wild ales I sampled during my time at the festival. He started That night we met Ulrike Genz from blending beer in his Mother’s house, Schneeeule brewery in Berlin at our and now has a warehouse full of tap takeover at BeerTemple American barrels. Tommy starts with 50% Beer Bar. She spoke to us about fruit and blends back with old and Harmony Sage riding a bike from tap takeover to beer event shneuuuuuulleee, her small production young lambic, taking characteristics Photo Credit: Levi Fried from different barrels, resulting in a facility and what “true” Berliner was a large turnout for this tasting of Craft Beer will always be Drink sumptuous, funky, vinous, and unique Weisse means to her. She carried small and many of us rushed to get a seat. Local and support our local craftsman; experience in a glass. warm bottles of her berliner weisse in We were surrounded by Wahalla’s but to fully understand our product a backpack and graciously opened one Antidoot Wild Fermenten from Eastern fermentation tanks, walk-in cooler, it is essential to taste styles in their for us to try. It was light, slightly tart and accompanied by white boards of place of origin.