Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
bottle shops, pubs and breweries
I have been a little light in Portland news. Maybe it’s the snow or the Blazers poor play that have me disconnected but I can recommend a place in my college town of McMinnville….
On the main drag of 3rd Street in the small town style historic core, The Bitter Monk is craft beer tap room and bottle shop has 16 rotating taps of craft beer & cider and to-go options numbering past 100.
It may be wine country but beer folks can find good stuff rather easily.
Rolling out this month, the Artisanal Brewers Collective, a group which includes the very busy Tony Yanow (Mohawk Bend, Tony’s Darts Away), will take the reins at four DTLA bars (Library Bar, Spring Street Bar, Sixth Street Tavern, and Beelman’s Pub) under the ABC Bars division.
All had been under the control of the hospitality group that notably runs Laurel Tavern but that concept is being set to grow and the group wanted to focus on that.
This is the opening salvo for the group that has other DTLA plans as well as Westwood.
You would be forgiven if you thought that Boomtown Brewery in DTLA was already open.
But now they have actually opened their brand new and quite luxe tap room.
You look for the big mural and head down Jackson to the alley and go back past where the temp tap room was and head to the left and down the ramp to the large space where you will see a large space with dark wood accents on the far wall.
You make your turn to the right and find the bar and taps and the order board that is a bit hard to make out, so grab one of the menus on the bar to get the beer info to help you make your choice.
There are plenty of tables to choose from as well as couches to lounge in as you enjoy your beer.
DTLA tap rooms are a varied bunch and this one just screams classy night out.
Looks like yet another brewery is popping up in the outer boroughs, as it were, of Los Angeles.
Valley Riot is based in San Fernando per their Facebook page but no tasting room is open to the public as of yet and not beer list posted on the main website.
So this can be filed under Stay Tuned. (as in wait for the interview on Food GPS)
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.
Looks like the greater L.A. craft beer map is filling in a little more.
Out in Covina, Arrow Lodge Brewing (formerly Barley Lodge) is up and going….
Beers that seem to be getting name checked most are the Pale To the King, Happy Cal Milk Stout Stout and the intriguing Lavender Vanilla Cream Ale
Next up is Sour Cellars, way out in Rancho Cucamonga. Still not as far as Hangar 24 though.
The all sour brewery opened up just as 2016 ticked away for good. They are “specializing in newly isolated wild yeast strains.” Maybe a Cucamonga Quake Coolship is in the future.
There is a plethora of liquor stores in the Southland. Some nowadays even posterize their windows with the well-funded craft brands in an attempt to lure unsuspecting craft beer fans.
But a new store coming to Culver City with the old fashioned name of Hi-Lo wants to reinvent that model.
“Hi-Lo offers a spectrum of modest as well as boutique liquors, from affordable, quality Kentucky whiskeys, to small-batch wines and seasonal cult beers. Plus, a revolving selection of uniquely curated, heritage sundries.”
Their initial beer list includes locals like Dogtown, Homage and Eagle Rock with out of town favorites like 21st amendment and Founders. You can build your own 6-pack or peruse the cocktail accessories and stock your bar at home. Then pick up some bites to go along with your beverages.
I finally made the trek to Old Towne Orange and Chapman Crafted Beer to check out their taproom.
I have had five to six beers from the brewery, but I wanted to hit up a taster tray before 2017 concluded.
The brewery stands quite close to the train station and a few blocks away from the main drag of Glassel Street.
On the night that I was there, it was barely lit by a TV with a Clipper game and a holiday keg tree with lights. I hit up a taster tray that was heavy and really hugged the glasses with Hello Again, Guilty of Haze, Liquid Chords and DIPL(omacy). I then followed that with a pint of the latest Personal Agenda Pale Ale.
As has been the case with my recent drinking, the hoppy offerings have been fine but the standout has been from the other part of the menu. Liquid Chords was the best with a swirl of milk chocolate and vanilla that lingered on the palate pleasantly.
What I like about Chapman Crafted is that the beer menu board includes the hop varietals used as well as a simple set of three words used to describe the beer to those new to the brewery.
I only wish they were not so many freeway miles away.
A little Karl Strauss backstory before launching into a 1st Visit recap. I have been to the Universal location a few times during my time working in and around what is now the Wizarding World of ComcastLand. I never left thinking the beer was anything but slightly above average, angled more to tourists. Not a lot of one-off taps for sure. I have also been to a couple of the different San Diego County outposts and found it fine as well with a skosh more out there tap offerings.
None of that prepared me for the vast list that was available at the new DTLA spot just up the street from the huge Whole Foods on Grand Avenue. There was a long list of beers that I had not heard of before in addition to their core line-up.
I ordered up a sampler tray (then had a plus one). My favorite of the beers tried was the Crabgrass Kolsch which was crisp and clean and simple. The rest of the beers were in the medium-OK realm. The new holiday seasonal 7 Sharks Circling was supposed to have a “bonfire” of smoked notes that I found to be underwhelming. Canadian Necktie Maibock was fine but lacked a certain heft to it. The Golden State of Mind Saison was also just fine. My notes for the last two beers show that things are kept pretty simple. Even the Krema Coffee Stout didn’t have a kick to it. I guess, in general, the beers just needed to be amped up more. Add more coffee and smoke and let it take a place at the big table.
The clear loser was the Under the Stairs barrel-aged sour with Guava. The aroma was quite fruity but once your nose got closer and once it hit the tongue, all butter. One of those beers that probably shouldn’t be on tap.
The service was attentive and the bartenders had the spiel down but that spiel was a lot more in depth as to beer and food pairings then I expected.
If you pick and choose carefully, this could be a really good place to spot new Karl beers and have some lunch.
The latest news from Strand Brewing was the introduction of cans but now they are joining the NE IPA brigade but with a bit of a twist.
They are starting with a DIPA named ONE, which one assumes will be followed by TWO. The beer is dry hopped with El Dorado, Jarrylo and Idaho 7 hops and will ONLY be available in bottles at the brewery this Saturday. No distribution-No draft.
