we finally did it last thursday.

• muis, a wild blonde I developed based on some homebrew experimentation a while back, appeared for the first time on draft at naja’s place, my favorite socal beer bar.  it was an event that I could have never imagined participating in a few years ago as a simple homebrewer with a penchant for wild brews.  despite an unexpected area-wide power outage during the middle of the event, keg after keg was kicked and the response was overwhelmingly positive (much to my relief).  it was fantastic to see friends, beer geeks, homebrewers, and pro brewers alike converge to check out our project.  check out the great photo set of the event compliments of bernie over at friends of local beer (and thanks to AP for taking the photos below!).  thanks for all your support!

if you are in socal and missed the naja’s event, fret not! we will be having additional release meetups over the course of the next month or so.  the next event will be at city tavern in culver city this sunday 06/30 starting at 6pm.  check out the phantom carriage facebook page for event updates and other info.  see you there!

time for some overdue professional, homebrew, and beer scene updates!

• a couple of weekends ago the phantom carriage’s first release, muis, made an appearance at the tour of long beach’s craft beer garden.  inspired by my all-brett blonde experiment, muis is an all-brett belgian blonde with terrific mouthfeel, a smooth backing bitterness, and a great earthy tropical fruit aroma.  this batch was keg conditioned instead of being force carbonated, which results in a fine effervescence and great fluffy head.  stay tuned for mainstream release information – this beer will be on LA south bay taps soon!
• last weekend I kegged and bottled vizcaino II, the latest iteration of my golden strong wild ale.  while my other pipeline wild beers were inspired by commercial brews, vizcaino’s recipe was formulated from scratch, and my first stab at it left me a little disappointed.  however, after reworking the recipe and mash schedule based on my pipeline experience and racking the batch onto a mess of raspberry puree, I ended up with what I can only describe as an “imperial framboise” – a 10.23% (finished at 1.005) brilliant red brew with an intense yet smooth acidity that transitions seamlessly into some serious raspberry flavors.  I can’t wait until this carbs up.
• on a final note, I want to congratulate beer paper LA on the release of their first physical publication.  I stopped by their release party at beachwood BBQ long beach and was filled with pride for the ever-evolving LA beer scene (kip at bierkast has a great writeup that I completely resonate with).  it’s never been a better time to be a beer drinker in LA!