What used to be Ale Arsenal is now Concrete Jungle and before L.A. Beer Week commenced I made a visit and tested out (4) of the beers from their line-up. I started with L.A. Calling which is decent lager. Strange that they call it an unfiltered farmhouse lager though. And the rest of the beer list is just as eclectic as is the temporary outdoor beer garden which has the feel of a former garden center with a few tiki torches and a couple of pallet benches with some hanging plants around.
The next beer was their hazy IPA, Joe Friday It had a little butter to it. It was OK but will have to be better to compete with just the IPA’s in DTLA. They have a pot version too which seems a bit gimmicky to me as well as a beer with the Twit name of Covfefe. Really? I thought that 15 seconds of fame was done. Next was a saison, Urban Camper, it too was decent but Brouwerij West is ahead of them in that game as are other local breweries.
I finished with Bad Actors a rum, coconut and English IPA? More like suntan lotion to me. Would be hard to do whole glass due to the combined sweetness of the rum and coconut. It too has butter to it which means that something was rushed.
Overall, a below par start for this Shelton Brother and his new project. Even the labels seemed as DIY as the beer.
