Report from December League Preview Tasting
Assorted Notes:
1) Jacob and Steven both had to miss last night's tasting so Andrew and Luke stepped up to drop knowledge and tasting notes. Lest anyone think it was dry, Andrew delivered jokes AND the smoothest pitch for vegan food we've seen all year. Andrew, if you ever get tired of brewing/aging/blending amazing beer, you could have a bright future in marketing.
2) We'll be seeing a handful of one-offs on tap at the brewery in the next couple weeks, with League crowlers being available. They're getting together some special batches for LA's opening and we'll be reaping the benefits with some special beers.
3) Andrew mentioned some fruited Berliners for early 2018, which I'm stoked about. There's a Star Metal-sized hole in my life right now.
The Beers:
1) Fortunate Sun - 4.0 - Collaboration with Great Notion that was originally brewed up there in April. Designed as a riff on Fortunate Islands but with a Great Notion spin to it. Nose was tropical fruit forward with some citrus and light pine resin. Palate was heavy on fruit notes - melon, papaya, orange, tangerine. A touch more bitter than I'd prefer but it was just packaged a couple days ago and will likely mellow a bit with a week in cans.
2) Finally Open in LA - 4.25 - Designed to showcase Strata hops with Citra and Centennial in the mix, along with orange zest. Aroma was led by orange zest notes followed by tropical fruit and fresh pine. Flavor largely followed the nose but hints of vanilla helped to round it a bit more and create a bit of a creamsicle vibe. Really soft mouthfeel, quite happy with this one overall.
3) Ghost Train - 4.25 - Massive amounts of Denali whole cone hops went into this one, I believe Andrew said 200 pounds? Big stone fruit character on the nose, really came through as apricot to me with less peach, as well as a touch of dankness. Palate is again dominated by apricot and peach with a bit more balancing dankness than the nose indicated, along with a touch of residual sweetness. Nice soft mouthfeel, deceptively drinkable for an 8.5% beer.
4) Celestial City - 4.25 - Pils based grain bill along with spelt and aromatic malt, hopped with Cascade and Saaz, fermented in stainless steel with a mix of saison yeasts, Brett, and Lacto. The goal is to always have bottles of either this or Transit of Venus available in the tasting room for to-go sales. Farmhouse funk jumps out of the glass at first sniff with hay, floral herbs, touches of barnyard, and a backing lactic acidity. A mild to moderate wave of acidity hits the tongue first followed by barnyard and floral funk and some very light stone fruits. Acidity is nicely restrained to complement the farmhouse base, immensely drinkable. Between the two, I prefer Transit of Venus slightly, as I found it to be - for lack of a more specific descriptor - more rustic, but both are the type of versatile, funky saison that I love having around. Pairs well with a variety of foods, drinkable enough to dome but complex enough to split among friends and savor. I'm really excited to see how Modern Times' farmhouse game develops over the next few years once Anaheim comes online and they can really go nuts with more amphoras, foudres, etc.
5) Wizard Blend 2017 - 4.75 - Reviewing this beer is so personally conflicting - on one hand, I want to proselytize it, going door to door asking unsuspecting drinkers if they have a few minutes to discuss our barrel-aged savior, Wizard Blend. On the other hand, I sort of want to just say it's fine and hope that allows me to buy more bottles. I suspect no one would believe me if I did anything other than heap praise upon the beer, though, so no point in such a futile endeavor. Wizard Blend is brimming with complexity and every sniff and sip revealed something different, but not in a disjointed fashion - it's brilliantly integrated but packed with flavors and aromas waiting to be discovered. At various times, the nose revealed marshmallow, vanilla, dark chocolate, port, dark cherries, light oak, rum, and bourbon. Flavors largely followed although I got a rich, dark chocolate note on the tongue that I never quite smelled. The mouthfeel is viscous without being syrupy, yielding a long, decadent finish. This scratches the same itch as Firestone Walker's Anniversary series, but is better than any blend they've done in recent memory. Incredibly well done.
6) BA Monsters' Park w/ BA Maple Syrup - 4.5 - The beer is a cuvee of prime Monsters' Park barrels and the maple syrup was grade A dark amber, sourced from Vermont and aged in bourbon barrels for nine months. Took a few minutes to warm up the taster after getting it but the maple popped nicely once it came up to temperature. The aroma was largely dominated by a lead maple note with dark chocolate and some marshmallow lurking in the background. Maple continued on the palate, carrying through from initial sip to a long finish, but was joined by strong barrel notes of bourbon and vanilla and some light marshmallow. For those who had the Monsters' Park Aged in Knob Creek Barrels w/ BA Maple Syrup that was on tap at the tasting room in July, I found this release to be slightly more balanced - in a positive sense - and less cloying than the July iteration. That said, I still think the maple syrup works best when paired with another adjunct - especially coffee, as in the League keg from the Carnival of Caffeination.
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