From the Beer Writer: Though this week’s featured beer was produced just north of San Diego in San Clemente, it has plenty of ties to our community. It was produced by Left Coast Brewing, the brewery arm of the Oggi’s—a brewpub and restaurant chain that was founded in San Diego County—and is available at all of its local locations. Additionally, it incorporates java from STACHE Coffee Company, a roaster headquartered in Oceanside. But most importantly, to myself and other San Diegans living with lupus, it was crafted to raise money for the Beer to the Rescue campaign established to help victims of this autoimmune disease. While most of Beer to the Rescue’s beers debuted in May, this one came on a little later, but its humanitarian mission is every bit as real as the pleasant notes of roasted beans and cocoa coming off this otherwise traditional American-style cream ale. Those scents segue to an agreeable flavor-profile that is purposefully light, allowing subdued coffee and zingy, lemony acidity to come through. At 4.7% alcohol-by-volume, it’s a session beer, but the impact it’s already had on this charity campaign is imperial.
From the Brewer: “With this beer, we set out to produce a light-bodied ale with a coffee aroma, something your everyday coffee drinkers could appreciate. We teamed up with STACHE Coffee Company to make sure the coffee we used was top-shelf and fresh. We chose Stache’s Guatemala Antigua Kapeu coffee for its unique taste. In total, we used about 60 pounds of coffee in this beer. We ground up the coffee the morning of the brew day, and pumped it into the tank where it sat for one week. The result is a golden-colored beer with a coffee, milk chocolate and hazelnut aroma.”—Tommy Hadjis, Brewing Manager, Left Coast Brewing Company