Category: Where to go…

bottle shops, pubs and breweries

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Higher Heights

Call me late to the party, but I finally made my first visit to The Heights Deli. And one meatball sub later, I was kicking myself that I had not visited sooner.

It is a small little shop but they have a good array of beers in both the single and four-pack/six-pack formats. I picked up the GABF medal winning Artifexican can as well as Lemon Drip, the collab between Green Cheek and Mikkeller. The coolers are clearly labeled so you can hone in on the IPA’s or sours. They also have 15 taps flowing so you can grab not only to-go but dine in beers to drink on their patio.

Next time, that is what I am going to do. Order up a pizza and sit in the autumnal LA sun.

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Eagle Rock Distilled

Colorado Boulevard has grown into a cool food & bevarage boulevard from Eagle Rock to Figueroa. And perhaps there will be a distilling addition as well.

This is early stages yet and I would expect the City of L.A. might bury the project in paperwork and inertia but the team behind the Four Cafe is planning on a distillery for their new location, code name Relentless.

The future restaurant is basically across the street from where they are now.

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1st Visit – Smog City / SteelCraft

It took me far too long to finally make my first visit to the 2nd location of Smog City Brewing, SteelCraft.

My first thought as I entered the space was that my credit card was probably glad that I didn’t have a space like this too close to me.

Having the four food groups of coffee, bacon, pizza and beer made choosing food and then matching Smog City beer to it hard.

In the end, the pizza was a no brainer with Death by Hops Triple IPA and then followed that up with a lemon and raspberry waffle with a German pils.

The layout and shade and choice of food vendors was perfect. Now what to pair with ramen when I pay my next visit.

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The Empire Center

A new independent craft beer bar is coming to North San Fernando Road in a weird spot near McCambridge Park.

The Empire Tavern
is run by Dave Ochoa, known in beer circles as a member of the Yeastside Brewers, that is good street cred.

The new spot is taking over from a tavern and should have the typical multiple rotating taps, hopefully highlighting the beer from Burbank and parts north in the San Fernando Valley.

The expected opening date is October/November but with all things beer that could change. Look for an interview in an upcoming Food GPS post.

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Ten Mile Brewing- Coming Tomorrow


Dan and Jesse Sundstrom will be bringing local beer to the Signal Hill area starting tomorrow.

Ten Mile Brewing is named after a tributary in the Sierra Nevada’s where the family vacationed for generations and something in the water there must be good because when you look at their beer page of their website you see Blue Ribbon, Silver medal, division winner and gold medals in home brew competitions for….

Segway to Munich – Helles Munich Lager
Citrallenial – American Pale Ale
Rye Whiskey Barrel Aged – Russian Imperial Stout

…just to start.

Review to come…

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The Secret is Out

Looks like another brewery is taking advantage of the Metro Gold Line to land off of Myrtle Street in Monrovia.

Not a huge fan of the name or logo of Hop Secret (Black Market has cornered that look in my opinion) but if founder/brewer Gary Gates has the beer goods than that can be overlooked. The question for the newly opened brewery will be if they can compete with the entrenched Pacific Plate nearby.

A review to follow when I make a first visit.

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1st Visit – Green Cheek Beer Co.

Due to a football game in the City of Orange, I had a great excuse to visit Green Cheek Beer for the 1st time. And I had to make some decisions.

I went for a taster tray to taste the beers I hadn’t seen in Glendale. A wide variety ranging from lager to hops to stout.

Of the group, the Bier lager was my favorite, I also tried the Berried in Berlin! but it was too Sangria for me. All berry and orange peel with not much beer oomph to add to it.

The location is not much changed from the Valiant space except for the Drink While Smiling wall which I found to be way cool design and a great way to chill a crowd despite the heat inside. Nothing quite grabbed me though. Maybe my expectations for Evan’s beers were too high but the place was packed and as I looked around no one seemed unhappy.

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Stalking Horse

The Stalking Horse is kind of an ominous name for a new British pub themed venture but with the history of Tony Yanow in L.A. beer and with a brewer with Pizza Port experience on the resume, the former Steingarten spot could make West Pico a destination.

The brewer in question is Brandon Edwards who has returned to California after working at Columbus Brewing Co.

No specific beers have been talked about but the general starting place is “inspired by English traditions”. There will be multiple taps that will feature English style beer,and the 7-barrel system will be right behind glass for you to drink by. Brewing should be starting soon.

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1st Visit – Brewport


It is hard to head to El Segundo without visiting multiple places. (Just on one corner in fact.)

I finally made my way to the newest addition, Brewport Tap House. A wall of taps with iPhone shaped screens line one wall and curve onto the back wall as well. I went to the counter, handed over my ID and then was handed a little device to put around the wrist that would be my monitor for beer or food purchases.

The selection was good. Though I did see 10 Barrel and Elysian represented. A good smattering of styles with the usual tilt to IPA. It took me a bit of trial and error and help from a customer behind me to get the tap to flow.

Pro Tip: put the two Brewport logos together, one from your wrist-let and the other framing the screen, and a green light will flare. That is your go sign.

There are various glassware options (though the shelving is a bit too low to comfortably see and grab). There are also wines on tap and food as well. I stuck with beer for visit 1.

You can pour as little or as much as you want which is great for the experimenters or those (like me) who like the 1/2 pint option. You can also check the tap list in advance to maximize your visit.

I am still wary of the letting the public pour for themselves idea but this seems well-executed.