Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
bottle shops, pubs and breweries
The Bay Area will be getting some Down under beer in the form of Little Creatures who are opening a brewery and restaurant in San Francisco this summer. You will have to dodge construction of the new Golden State Warriors Sports and Entertainment Center and Warrior fans to get the Fremantle beer.
Now you can hop from the worldly Mikkeller to Little Creatures for non US beer in San Francisco.
Two interesting news tidbits practically screamed to be combined. The New School Beer Blog noted that a new Portland establishment called the Beer Museum had opened and though it was called out for being more tap room and beer accessory store, than museum, I found it highly interesting that in the closing remarks that this would be a better fit of a store for the Portland Airport.
Secondly, the Boston Globe has reported on the strained relationships between franchisher and franchisee of Craft Beer Cellar (One of which, I frequent in Eagle Rock). Stores are closing. Lawsuits are flying and so are insults.
Even with decreasing craft sales and increasing competition, I see bottle shops as a vital cog whose mission shouldn’t be re-booted but should be tailored to their community. If you are in a mini-mall next to a coffee shop, you should look into collaborating and cross promoting. If you are near a brewery or two, maybe you should have a special section for them in the cooler,
Tweaks not re-invention.
Today marks the opening of the Retro arcade with beer, wine, cocktails, food and Mead too! I saw my favorite Star Wars game from waaaay back in the day in one of the photos of the brick walled space and can’t wait to head over and see what beers are on tap. Will see if Barcade brings an A beer game.
There are many ways to slice the awesome pie that is the Firestone Walker Invitational. I bet that you (yes, you!) have already picked out multiple breweries that you will be mapping out before the doors open to the 2019 version.
I have broken the list down into (4) categories: Untasted, New, Returning Favorites, Just Do NOT Skip and Line is too Long
Untasted – These are the breweries that I, personally, have not had beer from and are new to Paso Robles
Balter Beer – from Australia, lovely and simple can designs and a beer list that looks All American
Austin Pinthouse – not many Texas breweries in attendance.
Casey – Colorado beer returns to the Fest with their open fermentation beers
Great Leap – Chinese beer? Yup, this is great to see.
New – new to FWIBF but I have had in the past and will be visitin’ their booths
pFriem – You could argue they are the high flyers of Oregon
Odell – Old School but rarely seen. Will 90 Shilling be appearing?
Blackberry Farm – Saisons for days. Good combo with Fonta Flora
Returning Favorites – Don’t sleep on these breweries just because the names are familiar
Arizona Wilderness – If they had project in their name, they would be swamped
Sante Adairus – great saisons and experimental beers
Fonta Flora – great indigenous ingredient beers x2
Creature Comforts – there was a reason they had the fest collab beer
Do NOT Miss- They may be old school or overlooked but should NOT be
The Rare Barrel – I have not had a bad beer from them.
Russian River – STS Pils all day.
Barrelworks – special pours and always near the music stage
Lines TOO Long – may have the IT beers but can’t waste time in these lines
WeldWerks, Garage Project, Monkish, Trillium, Side Project
On Sunday, April 28th you can visit (4) New Original Breweries with the brewers via bus around Los Angeles. Broxton Brewery & Public House in Westwood is the port of embarcation at 12:30pm.
Tickets are $40 each and include:
This brewery has been on my list for a while and I feel bad that it has taken me this long to make it down to visit. But finally, I took advantage of a free Sunday and headed south on the 5 to TAPS.
Nice big space when you factor in the large outdoor patio. Medium amount of TV’s and a side games area with a couple games. The digital menu boards are nice and easy to see and you also get the paper option with the food menu on the flip side. You order food from the on-site TAPS truck at digital kiosks. Being the goof that I am, I kept trying to “dip the chip” only to be helped by a staff member who pointed out that the card reader was on the side. The burger that I ordered was OK but had a chile spice that gave off a weird heat.
There were plenty of beers on the list to sample so I picked out a taster tray plus a ½ pour to gauge the quality. Below are my quick (at the bar) tasting notes:
The American Cream – solid. Maybe a touch too sweet. Velvet mouthfeel.
Coffee and Cream – bright yellow in color. Smooth. Again kinda sweet.
Boise Named Sue – light with a bright hoppy hit. Fades into close to DIPA territory
Rind Games – worst of the group. Weird sweet tart taste to it. Not very hoppy at all.
Bjorn in the USA – not bad. cereal-centric. doesn’t look unfiltered.
Except for the Boise, the beers didn’t light a fire. The space is nice. I am sure the patio is a big hit and the fact that this is where you can crowler up is cool.
I have posted a number of times about the Alamo Drafthouse & Cinema because I was excited when it was first announced. Now, if it really does open, I will more shocked than excited.
Yet again, it seems that the movie theater chain is saying that they will open in DTLA in the summer. They didn’t specify 2019 or 2020 though and until they do, I will walk to my local Laemmle which has Brewyard Beer on tap!
A great way to get a look at the 2019 iteration of the beer scene in Orange County would be their annual invitational. Over 50 breweries will kick off OC Beer Week in Garden Grove. Get your admission tickets HERE.
Here are some more taproom and brewery shots from my recent jaunt north.
Now that you have seen some photos, here are my impressions of the beers and the trip north to Ventura from Los Angeles.
The weekend trip was split between Ventura and then breweries on the way back to Los Angeles. After pizza and a beer at the wonderful Fluid State on Main Street it was time to walk the streets.
Topa Topa is at the far edge of the Downtown area near the Patagonia compound and this trip was much like the last. I love the little space and the beers were solid. In fact, my favorite beer of the trip was their dark lager, Dozer Line. It had a snap to it and a mix of malt tastes with a little spice touch that maybe only I noticed. The Tux Nitro Milk Stout was a beauty even in a taster glass. It was good to learn that they are canning now too with distribution to Los Angeles part of the plan.
Second up was Ventura Coast Brewing. On a corner of Santa Clara, this is a lovely space separated out into outdoor patio and indoor spaces. While the servers had a skosh bit of attitude and were a bit free in their banter in front of customers, the space was still welcoming. Dominated by white with a splash of indoor plant greenery and a “barrel room” to reserve for parties. The beers sampled were a little disappointing. Alphabet DIPA was strong but the hops were a bit muddled. The Saazbier was nice and bright but the finish was a little metallic. Their Mexican amber, Cinco de Quatro was fine and probably my overall favorite but it didn’t have the pizazz of the earlier Topa Topa beer.
On the next day, first stop was MadeWest. It was a bit déjà vu with Ventura Coast. White building with big pieces of wall art. There were empty cans aplenty waiting for their Standard beer. A great big image of a can on one wall and a really cool menu board. The taster tray had one dud. A Red IPA that was bland but the Brut IPA, effervescent was bone dry and really champagne like but with a big fruity taste. The Short Lived Hazy IPA with Fieldwork was excellent as well. I was impressed enough that I bought a 4-pack of their Ventura Light to compare with the other beers that I tasted.
Next up was Oxnard and Casa Agria. They had been on my list for years. My high expectations left me a little disappointed here. There was no taster flight which is not good for acid averse people like myself. I ended up with three half pours and though the Tres Casas honey meets sour was my 2nd favorite beer of the trip the Gose was a touch too acidic for me though blessedly free of fruit. The Saison de la Casa was supposed to be a balance but it was way sour for what I expected. The tap room was weirdly mixed with old-school video games and barrels. Conflicting ideas to me.
I would write about the quick stop at Institution Ales in Camarillo but I think I need to do a full regular visit there to get a better handle on the beers they make.