Variants are still where it’s at though.
Last great bottle I had was a month ago. We’re a much more wine focused fam now.
Had a great time at the Horus Hootenanny in Oceanside yesterday. Great location at the Fine Arts Center with about 60 breweries representing. Half indoors and half outdoors with a good amount of seating and not over crowded.
The best tastes of the day
Brulee from 3 Chiefs which about half the festival was lined up for and almost caused a riot. Smooth dark caramel flavored stout.
Proper Dose from Horus. The best coffee stout I’ve ever had. Hard to believe this was 14%.
A mead from Casa Agria that they brought a very limited amount of and do not bottle. Beautifully balanced sweet and tart mead.
Eraserhead from Foam. Hazy IPA. Juicy. Smooth.
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Yes, you need a bigger refrigerator!
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What are your favorites at Monkish?
Have you tried East Coast/Hazy IPA?
West Coast IPA is very agressively hoppy. Which I think is why so many people do not enjoy it.
They rotate beers often but my favorites are part of the Foggy and Atomically series.
Foggy Window/Foggier Window/Foggiest Window/Enter the Fog Dog
Atomically/Bomb Atomically/ Beyond Atomically/Socrates Philosophies & Hypothesis
If you don’t like hoppy West Coast IPA you may like hazy IPA better. Hazy IPA are much less bitter. Still have some of the hoppiness but much more mellow and subdued. Almost all of the Monkish IPA are hazy IPA. World class and definitely worth driving out for. Lots of great eats within 3-5 mile radius.
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Almost got to go to Monkish before the Arsenal match in Carson on Wednesday but time was running out. Had a very nice IPA at Phantome Carriage. Nice to see them making non sours. They had a bitters as well.
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If anybody on the board is in OC and looking for good hazy IPA stop by Green Cheek in Orange. Evan the head brewer at GC is world class. Used to be at Noble Ale Works by Angel Stadium. They always have a great tap list of hazy IPA.
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Went to Monkish for the first time in a while on Wed.
They had 7 or 8 Hazies on tap. I had two of them.
I don’t know… I don’t get excited for Hazy IPAs anymore.
I guess it is that they are no longer “new” to my palate?
Could also be that it is hard to enjoy a drinking session when the beers are clocking in at 7+ ABV.
I am interested to see if/when/how Monkish will pivot now that Hazy IPAs are widely available and the style seems to be losing its grip on the top of the craft beer scene.
For anyone that is searching out something different, I highly recommend Yorkshire Square, which is also in Torrance. They specialize in cask conditioned ales.
Also, they just started their food program. Excited to see if the pub style menu is any good!
If only they could make the space a little more comfy…
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Almost every single Monkish hazy IPA clocks in at 8%+. For some reason many of the breweries in the hazy IPA genre try amping up the ABV. Looking in my fridge right now and I have more hazy IPA >10% than I do beers that are <8%. The cans are from Monkish, Brouwerij West, Pure Project, Green Cheek, Other Half and others.
I’m with you. I wish they would make more sessionable hazy IPA in the 5% to 6% range. The market seems to like the triples more than singles.
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I was at Highland Park Brewery in Chinatown yesterday.
They had a great range of beers from lagers, to hopped lagers, to pale ales, to hazies.
Lots of options under 6% and a comfortable space great for enjoying a summer evening!
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Green cheek is super fun and beer is getting better!
Still the best all around brewery we have
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Went to Noble before Angels game this week - Citra Showers is still a fantastic West Coast Style IPA. Had a fruit-forward one called Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Brew that was very fruity and fun but a taster was plenty. Did not care for the Aphex Twix - did get some twix flavors on the end but it was kind of acrid/burnt up front. Naughty Sauce remains a favorite.
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I miss the Showers series! Citra is a personal favorite… it’s so favorite it’s my kid’s nickname as we likely made him at a Kern River Citra release 
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The only thing I ever shared at a beer release was other beer!
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Fantastic beer. Always a bit of a mindf-ck drinking this beer because the color deceives my palate. Love when its on nitro.
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love hanging there!
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Have you ever tried Bean Bump (the double coffee version) or the Cinnamon Roast Crunch? Love both of them as well.
