California

IPA Festival: 60 California Brewhouses Join

The Mohawk Bend shindig is about new tastes, socializing, and fresh foam discoveries.

Whether you call an IPA that's particularly strong in flavor and tone "hoppy" or "hopsy" is a matter of your own vernacular and approach. But what you're saying, and every IPA aficionado is saying, is this: It's hard to find a foamy libation that's as hops-forward, hops-laden, and wholly hops-tastic as an India pale ale.

If you've longed to hobnob with other happy hopsers, there is a place and time to do so, and it is Mohawk Bend on Saturday, March 12. That's the date when 60, as in five dozen, California makers of fine 'n fancy IPAs join a party that's solely dedicated to this one drink.

Well, this one drink in its many complex and character-large iterations. Golden Road Brewing co-founder Tony Yanow — he owns Mohawk Bend as well as Tony's Darts Away in Burbank — is the host of the daytime to-do, which will include a bevy of judges handing out awards as well as a People's Choice trophy, too.

Ah, yes: If there's a People's Choice, there must be people trying the beers, which you can, if you show up knowing this is a first come, first served deal (and things start early, at 9:30 on a Saturday morning). 

What will the 21-and-over-ers be tasting at the 3rd annual LA IPA Festival? The best of the best from the 60 breweries, all places that have been "invited to submit the IPA that they are most proud of" for festival judging. 

Some have been "brewed exclusively for the festival," so if you're hoping to hops it up later, by buying brews sipped at the soiree at your local store, you may not be able to locate them all. 

You can't make reservations, no, if you're wondering. You should line up your ride or take public transport home. You may learn more about the American hops scene than you dreamed you might, including the Cascade, Columbus, and Centennial varieties, as well as many others.

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And someone may be the final word on whether a libation-loving elocutionist should say "hopsy" or "hoppy" when describing an IPA. Don't both work, though? Beer-makery is an individual, creative pursuit, so perhaps the terminology can be a little creative, too.

For all the details on the sole-focus foam gathering, hop this way.

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