Review: Angel City Brewery IPA, Double IPA, and Avocado Ale 2018
Angel City Brewery is based, where else, in Los Angeles, where its been cranking out brews for over 20 years. Based in the Arts District, Angel City produces nearly 50 varieties, including standards, seasonals, and special releases. Today we look at a mere three of them — and we hope to get a few more in the hopper.
Angel City Brewery IPA – As “standard” IPAs go, Angel City’s rendition is bold and beautiful. Big on the palate with an incredibly rounded, almost aggressive body, at leads with a light roasted mushroom note before diving headlong into some more traditional elements of pine resin, orange oil, and chewy tree bark. A long and smoldering finish showcases the earth, which lingers and rolls along an intensely bitter edge. 6.1% abv. A- / $9 per six-pack (16 oz cans)
Angel City Brewery Double IPA – Angel City’s DIPA doubles down on the funk, here pushing all of its elements with an even more powerful attack. Some tropical notes are just hinted at here, but that dense mushroom, chewy wood, and intense resin note continue to do the heavy lifting. The finish is unctuous, almost gooey, with more sweetness than the standard IPA, but plenty of bitterness to even things out. 8.6% abv. B+ / $9 per six-pack (12 oz cans)
Angel City Brewery Avocado Ale 2018 – A seasonal kolsch in its sixth edition, designed “to extract the freshest avocados in its beer for the optimal flavor profile. Avocado Ale’s creamy mouthfeel and refreshingly crisp taste are developed through the brewery’s signature “Dry-Guac” method. The “Dry-Guac” is flavored by 70 lbs of local avocados from the family-owned, Fillmore-based King & King Ranch, which raises and hand-selects avocados for the beer. Then the avocados are combined with a pureed mixture of honey, fresh lime juice and herbaceous cilantro. A twist on the traditional dry-hopping technique, the brewery’s “Dry-Guac” holds to the traditional method of adding hops to a beer yet keeps the flavors balanced providing a bright ale with a unique texture.” Imagine a Mexican lager, with a rounder, maltier body, and a subtle earthiness running through it. Bright with lime notes, there’s a bold chewiness to the body that I can only attribute to the avocado influence — it really does come across, however bizarrely this sounds — like guacamole in a glass. Its finish of almonds and toasted bread — perhaps tortilla chips, if you like — is a solid complement to a unique yet impressively enjoyable little beer. Grab it if you see it. 4.5% abv. A / $NA (16 oz cans)
Angel City Brewery Avocado Ale 2018
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