Verdugo West threw open their doors on the 11th for a soft opening and I was there to check out the new Burbank brewery tucked up against the 5 freeway.
My favorite beer from brewer Chris Walowski was the Jack Roller pale ale. Nice and crisp without being a heavy-handed hop bomb that some so-called pales can be.
The Wax Wing blonde was my second choice. Solid and clean with good carbonation. What Plane? was the third of the core beers on tap and it was a solid entry in the porter/stout category.
They also were pouring variants of those three. Dry Hopped pale, ginger Wax Wing and a coffee What Plane? None of which were markedly improved by the additions. All seemed a little out of balance. Sometimes adding to an existing beer without allowing for room for both to breath can be hard.
The thin space was crowded with people from Burbank who had been coming in a stream since the opening at 4pm. There are still some kinks to work out which is what a soft open is supposed to reveal. The menu board needs work. Only the core beers were up and could use more description in the manner that say, Chapman Crafted has done. Payment was a little slow and the limited space combined with that to make the bar area a bit traffic jammy. Again, once people learn the system, the people will be served quicker and be out of the way.
You can also order food from sister company Market City, which is a plus.
A solid start for the newest brewery in Burbank.
