Angel City Brewery Debuts Belligerent Bloke

Angel City Brewery has become one of my favorite breweries in Southern California. From its historic headquarters to its deco style labels to its…well…beer it’s right up my alley. Recently I was invited to stop by the public house to try out it’s latest limited edition offering – Belligerent Bloke.

This barleywine is inspired by longtime Angel City brewer Joe Moakley. In fact, Joe himself debuted it at our private tasting and I must say that after meeting him belligerent isn’t the first word that comes to my mind. Enthusiastic. Passionate. Friendly. Those were my impressions as he introduced us to the beverage.

Now, I have to come clean…I’m not a big barleywine fan; it’s a bit too rich for my blood. I wasn’t sure I would like it but I’m such a fan of Angel City that I was willing to give it a chance. You know what? I like it! This particular barleywine is subtly flavored with hints of ginger spice. It’s the perfect drink for a fall day (if that fall day didn’t happen to be 100 degrees like today.Ugh.) and I truly enjoyed it.

But there was something at the tasting I enjoyed even more.

Is that a pale ale? Perhaps Pike’s Pale – the pale that won for Yale? Nope. It’s a Pickle Weiss.

The Pickle Weiss is a combination of the limited edition Berliner Weiss and pickles. Honest to goodness pickles fermented right at the brewery. I LOVED it. Really. It may sound like a novelty but it was refreshingly tart. The only downside was that it gave me a real craving for pickles.

The Pickle Weiss is quite limited and only available at the public house (if you’re lucky). You can find the Belligerent Bloke there too or you can grab a 22oz bottle to take home.  Either way, enjoy!