From the Beer Writer: I love my wife. More surprisingly, she somehow finds the wherewithal to love me. She puts up with a lot—me having a full-time job and writing hundreds of articles per year, which requires lots of time spent away from home. Truth be told, if she hadn’t had faith in my writing abilities, I’d never have attempted to do anything with my passion for the written word. I owe her a lot—my entire life, in fact. Hopefully, a beer will suffice at this juncture. My wife’s favorite colors are lavender and lime, and her favorite beer style is the Belgian witbier, a wheat ale traditionally spiced with coriander and orange peel. For a long while, I’ve kicked around the idea of homebrewing a wit brewed with actual lavender and lime peel, but when my Beer to the Rescue lupus campaign took off, with San Diego County brewers crafting specialty ales to raise money for the Lupus Foundation of Southern California, I saw it as an opportunity to have someone much more qualified than me do this beer concept justice. Thanks to the willingness of the brew crew at Amplified Ale Works (4150 Mission Boulevard, #208, Pacific Beach), this liquid love letter has come to life as L3 (lavender, lime, lupus) and is currently on tap at the coastal brewery-slash-kebabery.
From the Brewer: “L3 is a Belgian-inspired wit-based beer using 50% wheat. It has a medium body and subtle Belgian yeast character. Instead of the traditional coriander and orange additions, we added lavender extract we discovered at Specialty Produce as well as copious amounts of Mexican lime juice to accentuate the beer’s flavor profile. I think the floral element balances well with the highly drinkable base beer. The lime gives a great tart kick that hits the back of the palate. All in all, I would say it’s a great sunny day beach beer. The aroma from this beer keeps your imagination jumping to conclusions while you figure out what it is you’re trying to identify.” —Cy Henley, Brewmaster, Amplified Ale Works