![]() When tasting submissions for the issue, we don’t go through the typical blind-panel scoring process. Finally, we consider the beers we’ve tasted all year, outside of the review process. Next, we solicit new submissions from breweries, and we taste through them just for this issue. First, we consider the top scorers in each of our issues throughout the year. We choose beers for this annual list in a few different ways. Despite that precision, it hasn’t lost the “soul and spark” that take a beer from something we respect to something we love. It does exactly what it intends to do, and nothing more or less. Taken together, there’s a feeling of precision on display. Glimpses of grassy grapefruit and pine are there, but flash through without dominating the conversation. It doesn’t shy away from bitterness, but it’s sculpted just-so with a tropical tinge that draws it together with the prominent tropical fruit aromas and flavors. One of just a few 100-point beers this year, It Just Works is a master class in subtlety and expression. Yet those tools, in the hand of a visionary brewer such as Green Cheek’s Evan Price, can make real art. But there’s no denying how compelling these beers are to those of us who love a crisp yet expressively hop-forward beer.Ĭonceptually, it makes sense-today’s hops are pretty incredible, and pushing those to the forefront while minimizing other impacts from fermentation or malt is an elegant way to tell those hops’ stories. Does this portend some alternate future for West Coast IPA? Maybe. Green Cheek It Just Worksįor the second year in a row, a cold IPA has made our top 20. To hear more about all 20 beers and your Readers’ Choice picks too, be sure to check out this special episode of the Craft Beer & Brewing Podcast. Amid the ups and down and variants and gradual, stutter-step return to social life, we experienced some transcendent beers-beers that shone, beers that enlightened, beers that made us stop and remember what it’s all about. Maybe it did-we’re not sure what normal means anymore. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.This was going to be the year that life got back to normal. Your email address will not be published. Their lager program is where the beers really stand out Clutch, their German style Helles, and Upshift, their hoppy Pilsner are both standouts and go great with a Toppers slice. Since opening, Transmission has weathered the COVID storm and continued to put out a really strong lineup of beers in a gorgeous space – connected to a Toppers – with indoor seating alongside the brewery and outdoor patio seating where you can catch a whiff of sea air. Well, Transmission Brewing opened in January 2020 with a shiny new 30-barrel automated brewhouse capable of scaling to production levels that smaller breweries only dream of, a somewhat green brewer in Carey Jonker leading his first commercial project, and, most importantly, a lineup of really solid beers out of the gate. When news broke in 2018 that the Jonker family – behind local favorite pizza chain Toppers Pizza – was opening a brewery in a former auto shop, it was anyone’s guess how it would turn out. These are the 25 best places to drink beer in Los Angeles, Ventura, and Orange County. So without further ado, it’s time to begin your Southern California craft beer journey. But when we’re talking about the best, we have to make some tough decisions. There are way, way more spots worth your time than just these 25. Which is all to say – narrowing this list down wasn’t easy. Once everyone got past the jokes about gluten, the world discovered LA and the surrounding counties have some pretty damn good beer. Or maybe you’ve been drinking beer in Southern California since before anyone had ever said the words “hazy IPA” or “pastry stout” – that doesn’t mean you don’t still have some things you can learn.Īlthough Southern California’s craft beer culture really got off the ground in the 2010s – a decade or so later than other beer hubs in the U.S. Or, maybe it’s your first time drinking beer in Southern California. It’s your first time visiting Southern California.
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