Smog City Brewing Co.
New beer releases are cycled through breweries so often these days that a favorite one week at the tasting room may never be found again. That isn’t the case for this hoppy amber ale that Smog City has been brewing since opening in 2011. Fourteen years in and there’s no getting rid of a Sabre-Toothed Squirrel.
Smog City Brewing Co.’s Jonathan Porter is lucky — for two decades, he’s been witness to the development of the craft beer industry in California, the state that likely should be considered the industry’s birthplace.
Founded in Torrance, California, Smog City has cemented its place as a vital member of the Southern California beer scene.
“Being in the California craft beer scene for 18 years has been amazing,” says Porter. “The creativity of the brewers here created a fantastic place to ‘grow up’ in and be a part of.”
Smog City Brewing Co. was founded in 2011 by Porter and his wife, Laurie. Porter himself started his brewing career in 2006, working in both production and brewpub environments to learn the ropes while evaluating the feasibility of building out a facility of his own. When Smog City first opened, the couple handled every aspect of the business themselves. Today, while the beer is still brewed in the same original facility, the company has grown dramatically. Smog City has since opened four taproom locations in Southern California, has 40 employees, and will produce more than 10,000 barrels of beer in 2024.
“I like to think we contributed to the vast array of beer styles that consumers now enjoy with our dedicated sour and funky beer production space and ongoing spirit barrel aging program,” Porter says. “Our goal has always been to have something for everyone, and it shows when you visit any of our taprooms or see our eclectic offering of distributed beers.”
Porter believes that the backbone of the brewing industry has always been innovation. Even today, he doesn’t believe that has changed. “Whether pushing styles to the extreme or incorporating unusual ingredients to make something that’s barely recognizable as beer, I still think innovation is important to consumers,” says Porter.
Though he also believes there are other equally important pieces to the puzzle. Education, he says, shouldn’t stop just because the industry has now enjoyed a few decades to catch consumers up on the many available varieties of beer.
“With craft beer being so mainstream now, I feel that there is a little lethargy when it comes to educating people about beer. The older folks forget that younger drinkers don’t have all the backstory and perspective to understand the art and craft of what makes craft beer so special. If we can continue to focus on innovation and education, I think the experience of craft beer for the next generation can be fun, interesting, and rewarding.”
Smog City takes a number of approaches when it comes to developing a new beer, according to Porter, but the brewery’s years of experience are more than enough to be confident in their process, even when experimenting.
“We have so much combined experience brewing that we tend to just go for it on the 15-barrel system,” Porter says.
While many aspects of the beer business remain ever-changing, a good recipe is always worth keeping around for the long haul. Sabre-Toothed Squirrel, a hoppy amber ale, is one such classic.
“Sabre-Toothed Squirrel has been a mainstay at Smog City from the beginning,” says Porter. “I actually created that beer when working at a brewpub and experimenting with hop blends from our supplier. I made an IPA with two blended hop products and when I tasted it, I thought ‘these hops need malt.’”
At the time, Porter says, the IBU wars were still in full swing across the craft brewing scene, and particularly in California. “Brewers in SoCal were hop-blasting almost every style. I had the sense that people were bored of plain old amber and red ales, so we set about creating a beer that both hoppy and malty beer lovers would enjoy. The grain bill had to result in some malty sweet character but couldn’t be too cloying, so a light touch was needed.”
Porter prefers pine, citrus, and herbal notes paired with a maltier beer, as he feels that tropical and berry
hop flavors tend to clash or get lost in the mix.
“Sabre-Toothed Squirrel is a product of its time. Using ‘C-hops’ was all the rage and the now ubiquitous Simcoe® had just been named.” Due to the difficulty of sourcing Simcoe® during those years, Smog City relied on the Falconer’s Flight hop blend for a time as a substitute. But once Simcoe® itself became easier to acquire again, they switched back.
Getting this style of beer to attenuate is crucial for preventing it from becoming cloying, according to Porter, who recommends not loading up too heavily on crystal malts. Smog City prefers Sabre-Toothed Squirrel to finish around 1.011–1.012.
But while Porter believes that balance and drinkability are key — with any style of beer — ensuring a proper pitch of healthy yeast is always one of the best steps a homebrewer can take toward ensuring a great brew.
Smog City Brewing Co.’s Sabre-Toothed Squirrel clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.063 FG = 1.011
IBU = 42 SRM = 16 ABV = 7%
Ingredients
11 lbs. (5 kg) American 2-row pale malt
10 oz. (285 g) Weyermann Munich Type II malt
10 oz. (285 g) Crisp crystal malt (45 °L)
10 oz. (285 g) Simpsons Premium English Caramalt (60 °L)
6 oz. (170 g) Crisp crystal malt (120 °L)
2 oz. (57 g) Weyermann chocolate wheat malt
7.6 AAU PahtoTM hops (60 min.) (0.4 oz./11 g at 19% alpha acids)
4.3 AAU Simcoe® hops (10 min.) (0.33 oz./9.3 g at 13% alpha acids)
4.3 AAU Chinook hops (10 min.) (0.33 oz./9.3 g at 13% alpha acids)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Amarillo® hops (whirlpool)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Chinook hops (whirlpool)
2 oz. (57 g) Simcoe® hops (dry hop)
2 oz. (57 g) Chinook hops (dry hop)
1 oz. (28 g) Centennial hops (dry hop)
1 oz. (28 g) Amarillo® hops (dry hop)
White Labs WLP001 (California Ale), Wyeast 1058 (American Ale), or SafAle US-05 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by step
With the goal of creating a moderately dextrinous wort, mash in with 2.75 gallons (10.4 L) of 164 °F (73 °C) strike water to achieve a rest temperature of 152 °F (67 °C). Hold at this temperature for 60 minutes.
Sparge with water at 170 °F (77 °C) and collect about 6 gallons (23 L) of wort. At the start of boil, add PahtoTM hops and set timer for 60 minutes. Follow hopping schedule for remaining hop additions.
When the boil is complete, turn off heat and add the whirlpool hops. Stir to create a whirlpool and then cover and let stand for 15 minutes. When done, chill wort to slightly below fermentation temperature, around 66 °F (19 °C). Pitch yeast. Ferment around 68 °F (20 °C). Following primary fermentation, dry hop for four to five days before packaging.
Smog City Brewing Co.’s Sabre-Toothed Squirrel clone
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.063 FG = 1.011
IBU = 42 SRM = 16 ABV = 7%
Ingredients
7.3 lbs. (3.3 kg) light liquid malt extract
5 oz. (140 g) Munich dried malt extract
10 oz. (285 g) Crisp crystal malt (45 °L)
10 oz. (285 g) Simpsons Premium English Caramalt (60 °L)
6 oz. (170 g) Crisp crystal malt (120 °L)
2 oz. (57 g) Weyermann chocolate wheat malt
7.6 AAU PahtoTM hops (60 min.) (0.4 oz./11 g at 19% alpha acids)
4.3 AAU Simcoe® hops (10 min.) (0.33 oz./9.3 g at 13% alpha acids)
4.3 AAU Chinook hops (10 min.) (0.33 oz./9.3 g at 13% alpha acids)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Amarillo® hops (whirlpool)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Chinook hops (whirlpool)
2 oz. (57 g) Simcoe® hops (dry hop)
2 oz. (57 g) Chinook hops (dry hop)
1 oz. (28 g) Centennial hops (dry hop)
1 oz. (28 g) Amarillo® hops (dry hop)
White Labs WLP001 (California Ale), Wyeast 1058 (American Ale), or SafAle US-05 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by step
Add the crushed grains in a muslin bag into your brew pot with 6 gallons (23 L) of water as you heat it up to 170 °F (77 °C). Remove the bag, allowing it to drip into the kettle, and then bring your wort up to a boil. Remove the kettle from heat and stir in the malt extract until fully dissolved. Return to heat and boil for 60 minutes, adding your hops at the times indicated.
After the boil, turn off heat and add the whirlpool hops. Stir to create a whirlpool and then cover and let stand for 15 minutes. When done, chill wort to slightly below fermentation temperature, around 66 °F (19 °C). Oxygenate if using liquid yeast and then pitch yeast. Ferment around 68 °F (20 °C). Following primary fermentation, dry hop for four to five days before packaging.
