Frogtown Brewery, Nugget Single Hop + Trading Beer Electronically

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Brewery Los Angeles

Frogtown Brewery joins an emerging culinary scene by the L.A. River.

Frogtown Brewery recently opened up at the end of September (just in time for Oktoberfest) making Fletcher Drive a two brewery corridor and connecting one of L.A.’s oldest breweries, Eagle Rock Brewery, with its newest.

Homebrewers Mike Voss and Adam Kestel have been operating a home brew shop on the site while going through the process of opening the brewery which will start with weekend hours only at their Gilroy Street location.

For any new brewery, you need to review beers differently. Very few will blow you away right out of the gate, some will disappoint. Happily for FrogTown, the beers are all solidly made. I was particularly impressed by their Broken Vessel Pumpking/Yam beer which was a nice balance of pie spice and actual pumpkin, but be forewarned this autumnal brew clocks in at 9% ABV. My other favorite was their very aromatic Feather it In Session IPA which was bursting with citrus notes and was not watery like some Session IPAs can be.

On the flip side, the Man Da Rin IPA had only the mandarin orange flavor going for it. The IPA part seems to have missed the beer. The other orange named beer Marmalade was a little too heavy on anise for my taste and I don’t get why they would name a stout after jam.

It was heartening to see a variety of styles on offer from blonde, to wit to saison. The taproom itself doglegs to the left and is much bigger than initially thought upon entering with plenty of areas to sit (or stand) and enjoy your beers. The electronic tap list (which also tracks Untappd check-ins) could be a little bigger font wise but contains all the information you need to help you place your order. It was a little dark on the inside and the room could use some decorating, but if you want sunshine, you can take a walk to the nearby hip taco spot, Salazar.

A Single Hop is the Beer of the Week. But Green Flash Brewing is not using one of the “hip” hops like Mosaic or Mandarina, but instead are using the workhorse Nugget hop. A hop that has been around since the early ’80s. Further eschewing current trends, they made a pale ale instead of an IPA. Both choices really work though. This is a lovely beer with herbal notes and a touch of spice to it. Now I want to find the other Single Hop beer, Styrian Golding.

Your Homework for the week is to check out a new beer app. BeerSwap is a dating app married to beer trading. Complete with swiping left and right until you come across a beer (and a reputable trader) you like. This app may bring trading out of the shadow of those who deign to only trade the most exotic beers and become a more democratic activity.

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

Address: 2931 Gilroy Street, Los Angeles, CA 90039
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Sean Inman

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

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