As the DC Beer photographer and events coordinator, I’m definitely not the writing type, unless of course someone makes me angry and I give them ALL of the words. But in this case, anger is far from my mind, only joy inspired by one of my favorite locally made IPAs, Figures at Seaside. Lost Generation Brewing Co., located in the Eckington neighborhood of D.C. never ceases to amaze me with the quality and styles of beer they produce. For this we can thank Jared Pulliam and Cody Sanders, the brewers who create the beers flowing from the former Nabisco factory turned brewery.
As a frequent patron of Lost Gen, the first thing I scan the menu boards for are the new releases and the beers with Mosaic hops. There are always new beers being released, and luckily for me, Head Brewer and Co-Owner Jared also declares Mosaic as his favorite hop. Yay, twinsies! There is at least one beer available at all times with this somewhat polarizing hop. Some people love it and some–thankfully fewer–hate it. For me it’s what helped me fall in love with beer and specifically the IPA style. Mosaic showers my tastebuds with notes of blueberry, a touch of citrus, and rounds out with an herbal and sometimes piney finish, which also reminds me of some of my favorite qualities of a floral-forward gin. To be honest, who knows why I love this hop so much, but I’m just thankful that I’m not the only one.
Figures at Seaside is a must have for a crisp and bright West Coast IPA, but don’t let the taste fool you, the ABV is actually 7% making it slightly less “crushable” than I would like. But oh boy, can you imagine if this gorgeous beer was 5%? I’d be swimming in it.
I asked Jared what inspired this beer, he responded “Like you, I love Mosaic. I really like Strata as a pair with Mosaic when you want a nice dank note. Idaho 7 just kind of rounds it out. I wanted the beer as new-school West Coast as possible, so the profile is super light and crisp with only a little more malt note than you’d find in one of our lagers. Drinks crisp and bright with a sticky resin and pleasant notes of black currant, lime leaf and pine.”
The can art evokes strong summer feelings with surf boards atop a cool teal colored van, with beach vibes and palm trees in the background. Jared says “the name comes from a famous piece of art from Pablo Picasso,” though he didn’t elaborate on why that particular name and art called to him. According to Co-Owner and wife, Anne Choe, everything beautiful in the taproom and on the cans is courtesy of Jared. Responsible for the can art as well as the beer inside, he’s an impressive person.
This is not the first release of this beer. I remember drinking and falling in love with it the summer of 2024, and has since been one of my most anticipated beer releases, causing me to sprint over to the brewery to snag a couple of 4-packs of this as soon as it drops. In all seriousness, go grab you some, because it does sell out quickly, and perhaps that’s mostly my fault, sorry not sorry. Until the day when it’s on year round (fingers crossed), like their flagship Shift and Grave Shift beers, enjoy Figures at Seaside while you can. Bonus points if you actually enjoy them by the water.
DC Beer Patreon members get 10% off this beer at The Brew Shop in Arlington all June long, and the beer is also available at the brewery.
