I received an email this morning from Tony Castaneda co-founder of Hand-Brewed Beer, an up and coming nano brewery from the San Fernando Valley.
Already veterans of this years Dreamworks Animation “flight” themed art part, they have recently started a kickstarter campaign to raise funds for will use in part for their cold storage room, tasting room bar-top and the taps, and lets not forget kegs for distribution.
More information on the kickstarter can be found here. Rewards for donations range from Hand-Brewed Beer pints glasses, t-shirts, to even tours from LA Craft Beer Tours.
From their website: “Hand-Brewed Beer creates fine, hand-crafted ales that represent our love of bold choices, the adventurous outdoors, and damn good beer. Located in the west San Fernando Valley in the craft brew haven of Southern California. Our beers have a strong flavor and follow the “west coast” trend of a fully hopped profile. We began brewing almost 8 years ago, creating different brews to share with our friends. The more we loved brewing the more we learned and the better we became. Over the past 3 years we’ve been refining several recipes that cover the full gamut of beer styles and flavors. Now, with our brew equipment, business plan, and our unique and delicious recipes in line, we’re ready for a home!”
I am absolutely loving their beer list, and would love to try them all if I could. You Cali folk are getting all the good stuff again. Everything is just far off the path of safe and normal to make it interesting - ”With 8 solid beers and a diligence for Excellency, Hand-Brewed Beer looks to take our unique spin on beers and create a local staple that can be cherished by many.” Any locals please try some for me! Serrano pepper infused IPA’s, Cascade hopped Wits, Biscuit Malt Browns, they have it all.
Going through the choices, my eyes were instantly drawn to the VRB Porter – a vanilla raspberry bourbon porter. Long time readers know my typical non-preference to all things bourbon but this one is something I need to try. The Chai Stout sounds like it could hold its own against any of the East Coasts crazier concoctions.
All eight brews details are below.
Incident Isotope IPA
Incident Isotope IPA – 7.6% ABV, ~100 IBU
What happens when our brewmaster creates a recipe and hands it off to his assistant? Brilliance apparently! Originally intended to be a strong imperial IPA, but a little extra water and a little miscalculation on boil time made Incident Isotope IPA a refreshing, dry-hopped ale that we have craftly refined and recreated into one of our favorite beers.
El Chubasco IPA
El Chubasco IPA – 7.4% ABV, 76 IBU
Inspired by a trip through the Sonoran desert, this brew gets it inventiveness from the swirling chaos of an offshore storm (Chubasco) that I observed over the Sea of Cortez. El Chubasco is a boldly hopped, serrano pepper infused IPA with spicy fruit aroma and a hot kick.
Deez Nuts Brown Ale
Deez Nuts Brown Ale – 5.8% – 6.0% ABV, 45 IBU
A beer so nutty, it could only have been brewed up by a couple of real squirrels. Brewed with Biscuit and Special Roast malts, Hand-Brewed Beer has crafted an American Brown Ale that balances its hop and malt profile with a burly bite worthy of the often injurious aficionado, common referred to as a nut.
Erudite Wit
Erudite Wit – 5.2% ABV, 25 IBU
This beer is brewed with pilsner malts and flaked wheat. Hopped with Cascade and liberty hops. Spices include coriander seeds, sweet and bitter orange peels, and white pepper
Smoking Coaster Pale
Smoking Coaster Pale - 5.7% ABV, 50 IBU
Smoking, burning and flying by the seat of your pants. The Coaster Break Challenge is as unique as it gets. Where else in the world would anyone fathom the idea of racing vintage cruiser bicycles through the mountains? Wait, you say these bikes only have a Coaster break? Atomic Cycles puts this series on twice a year. We decided to commemorate it with a beer that’s just as unique.
Chai Stout
Chai Stout – 7.5% ABV, 45-50 IBU
Worldly popular, chai tea has become a staple of coffee and tea houses everywhere. Combining our love of both stouts and tea, this full-bodied ale strikes a nice balance between the robustly-roasted and coffee flavors of stouts with the sweet spice of Masala Chai. Our western chai-inspired brew features Rooibos, cinnamon and vanilla lightly sweetened with lactose.
The VRB Porter
The VRB Porter – 10% ABV, 40 IBU
Early on, Hand and I used to have wild ideas, brew um’ and share um’. I do not think either one of us was ready for this. On a Business trip to the East coast I had a layover in Chicago, it just so happens that I was drinking Irish coffee, also it was 6 am and Rod Blagojevich was being sent to prison that day. I had the Idea I wanted to brew a Vanilla raspberry Porter. I shot the idea to Hand…It was 4 am his time. He responded “it should have bourbon too”. Great minds.
Hand-Brewed Beer is planning on being up and running Spring 2014.
