We return to Huntington Beach after last week’s visit to the latest Beachwood Brewing to check out Riip Beer Co. on the corner of PCH & Warner Avenue.

The beer geek statisticians out there will recognize the name because this coastal brewery won the silver medal in THE largest and highly contested IPA category this year with their Super Cali IPA.

I tasted that and three other hop forward beers on a recent trip to their tap room and you can tell there is a certain bubbly yet dank quality to their IPAs, pales and Imperials. You could load up a taster tray in their surfer/skater vibe taproom with bittering hops and be quite happy.

Riipalicious has a focus tilted towards grain, but still is heavy on dankness. Dan-K (which is also in 22-ounce bottles) has a touch of pepper skin and stone fruit amongst its herbal sharpness. Raider Bob is, well, as well behaved as Raider fan. Grassy and on the edge of harshness. The silver winner is the most tropical of the bunch with a burst of pineapple before it too heads firmly into a dank area.

There are darker beers on the menu board too amongst the rotating offerings on tap. The space is bright thanks to big windows that point to the highway and the ocean beyond. Your usual barrels as decoration are taken up a notch with multi-colored graffiti covering them. There were also skateboards behind the bar near the cold box, but the best decoration is that medal hanging next to the tap handles.

P.S. Before you go, you should acquaint yourself with their historical timeline on their website.

We head to two different parts of Los Angeles for the Beer of the Week. It is a collaboration between the veteran Eagle Rock Brewery and the up and comer, not quite here yet, Los Angeles Ale Works. Le Banquet Biere is an autumnal saison brewed and bottled at ERB. Just in time for your turkey day celebration.

Your Homework is to head to Wilshire Boulevard & Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A to check out the newest location of the Karl Strauss empire. The long-time San Diego brewer who also was awarded GABF hardware for Mid-Size Brewing Company of the Year has been on a recent expansion tear with new facilities in the works around their home base as well as a spot in Anaheim. The space will sport a 7-barrel brewhouse, two 14-barrel fermenters, and three 14-barrel bright beer tanks to serve as an R&D facility.

Find more of Sean Inman’s writing on his blog, Beer Search Party.