Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
bottle shops, pubs and breweries
Yes, your favorite team getting W’s is important but if you follow this link to Give Me Sport HERE, you will see what is even more important.
How many pubs are in walking distance from the stadium.
Chelsea FC land in 6th way behind league leaders Newcastle with a tremendous 131!
Stanley’s Wet Goods is part of the Los Angeles trend towards fancy grocery shops that every cool neighborhood has to have. SWG is on Venice a few short blocks off the confusing road patterns of downtown Culver City.
Big high ceilings houses what, to me, is a goodly sized wine selection. There are tinned fish cans because this is also de rigeur in L.A. now. A liquor selection that is better gin wise than bourbon and a smallish, kinda old look can collection for craft beer fans.
There is a nice sized bar area, inside and out and predominantly wine by the glass along with a food menu that is a little bigger than what I have seen at other shop and stop spots.
If you need a beer, draft is a better choice. Only five options but two are Radiant Beer Co. which are always solid.
The best option is the RTD cooler. Lots of great options from Ventura Spirits and Death & Co. and you could get a canned French 75 too.
The City of Glendale loves a shopping block that hides. There are two on successive blocks on the main drag, Brand Boulevard. The Exchange is the older and the city has been trying to revitalize for a long time. The dark side of the building is partially pedestrian only and except for a stalwart coffee shop has had a flux of shops.
But now Paperback Brewing has arrived alongside a British Tea Shop and a live comedy venue. Maybe? a corner has been turned.
The question is how to get people to the space because the space is cool. Nothing extraordinary, just a typical retail rectangle but it has been decorated artfully well and there is plenty of seating. It is a cool spot with a summarized selection of their overall portfolio that I encourage people to visit.
Get a King Taco or In n Out and have a beer a food on a weeknight for date night.
I have given shout outs to San Diego Beer News and Brandon Hernandez a few times on this blog and have used his brewery travel guides to help when visiting a beer inundated part of the country and now he has a new guide up appropriate for hop season, Walla Walla.
One of my beer bucket list items, climate change permitting, is to visit that major hop growing area during harvest, and I will book mark the Walla Walla via San Diego page for sure.
Pocock Brewing up in the Santa Clarita Valley social media’d a rather big announcement. They are opening a second location. Since I do not get out that way much, I will rely on the comments that the new location is Newhall but I will course correct if I learn that is not the case. Whatever the location or the opening date is, congratulations to the Pocock team.
I don’t generally plan too far out in the future. When I hear a movie or TV show will premiere in 2024, my first thought is tell me a couple months out.
But, I fully understand that mega planners operate differently from me, so here is your first California Craft Brewers Summit heads-up…..
AleSmith keeps trucking to the goal of 30 years down in San Diego. This year thet are leveling up to 28.
Hope we see any anniversary beers up here in L.A.
Fans of South Park know of the famous Casa Bonita. Heaven to one Eric Cartman. Now comes Casa Beer, created by Denver’s Ratio Beerworks, a Mexican-style lager with lime. The very sessiony 4.8% ABV beer is available on draft at bars (yes, plural) throughout the restaurant.
Brew at the Zoo is back to mix wild animals with (mostly) L.A. beer. Get your tickets for one of the more unique beer festivals that Los Angeles has to offer.
See below for the participating breweries…
When I travel and beer is on the agenda, I research new places, places getting buzz, beers that do not come to my neck of the woods. Usually that means driving all over to hit the spots that most interest me.
Or, both breweries could be within 4 blocks of each other on one street.
Both Grand Fir Brewing and Fracture Brewing sit on the north side of East Stark Street and I popped into both and came away impressed by both the beer and the atmosphere.
Grand Fir is two floors with a small amount of outdoor and first floor seating. Upstairs is the bar along with the kitchen so you can get beer and lunch / dinner. Touches of green and wood are everywhere.
I tasted four beers from their line-up and bar one that was fine, the others from brewer Whitney Burnside were great including the Lichen West Coast IPA and the Ember Schwarzbier.
Next door to a small food cart pod is Fracture where the vibe is cocktail bar (which it is) but with great beer.
I tasted two beers both IPA, both oat cream hazy and both simply fantastic. Their Anniversary IPA had a little sharp edge to it but was fruity and soft on the palate. Hype Machine V1 was somehow even more pillowy and more tropical fruity. I didn’t sample the lighter or darker stuff but based on the first two, my expectations are high.
