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Thanks in no small part to Highland Park Brewery, Los Angeles has a thriving hoppy pilsner reputation. And it comes down to the creation of Timbo Pils and its many and varied variants.
HPB is celebrating their pils with a week of Timbo. Follow their social feeds to see what the specific plans are but might I recommend the guest Timbo night on Friday.
The now mostly quarterly Beer Paper LA will be holding an 11th Anniversary shindig at ISM Brewing in Long Beach near the end of the month. I will be up north in PDX but this would be a good time to visit ISM, if you haven’t already….
Paperback Brewing has reached the four-year mark and on July 20th the San Fernando Road brewery will be “releasing a special beer, unveiling a delicious food menu, and offering limited edition anniversary t-shirts!”
On Saturday, July 13th, the mighty Beachwood Brewing will be celebrating 13 years of brewing IPAs and all sorts of other styles at all five Beachwood locations. Five locations and thirteen years which is amazing. Pick your favorite spot and have fun!
The forecast is hazy for Burbank on July 13th as Tony’s Darts Away showcases hazy IPAs. This is a ticketed event which gets you a sampling glass and unlimited teeny tiny two ounce pours. Some breweries you will see are Highland Park, North Park, Ogopogo, Ambitious Ales and Burgeon Beer.
Absolution, the Torrance based brewery will be celebrating double digits this year with a big 10th anniversary party. Might be a good time to re-acquaint yourself, if like me, you get stuck at Smog City and Monkish and have a hard time moving past.
Since Far Field Beer Co. is turning three, they are going to have three days of celebrations with special draft beers, special can releases and special flights, so you can pick your day to celebrate.
The first weekend of L.A. Beer Week is in the books, here is my first thoughts of the festival in Long Beach along with some more picks of events to attend…
I started LABW early with a trip to Boomtown Brewery for the unveiling of the Unity 2024 Hoppy Pilsner. Which I have now reviewed for this blog.
Saturday was the big dance down at Shoreline Park in Long Beach. The weather was on point. Sunny and warm but breezes floating in off the water and plenty of shade. Nothing like drinking a beer and looking at the Queen Mary in the distance.
My goal was to taste the six breweries in Los Angeles County that I have not visited yet and I completed the task tasting beers from Brown Soul, Campsite, La Verne, Santa Cruz, Two Tracks Cellars and Beer Thug. I came away most impressed by Campsite and Beer Thug based on a small sample size but will attempt to visit each taproom.
I should recap my favorite beers. Tuscan Sun an Italian Pilsner poured from a cask at the Smog City tent was great. Space Cookie from Monkish was that weird cookie with hops thing that still works. Rounding out my top three was Aurora Lights by Brewjeria, a Belgian IPA.
This was my first time for the re-christened Los Angeles Independent Beer Fest and it ran smooth, I heard talk of long lines last year but this was very easy entry for me. The tent layout was mostly great though the Unity Beer should have been more front and center and having the food so far away that you couldn’t see multiple trucks was a bit weird. Minor quibbles though. This was a great way to kick-off the Beer Week.
Sunday was a slow day for me after the excess of Saturday. So I planned to visit a taproom that I found out was open when I saw their tent at the festival, Solarc Brewing. They have been open for eight months in Glassell Park on a hip block with Bub and Grandma and The Grant bar.
Inside there is a lot of tinfoil. Cool barndoors. Super bright and colorful and eclectic with a nice little outside seating nook that I was jealous another group had. There was quite a few people hanging on a lazy, hot Sunday..
Glasses are small canning jars. 5 beers on tap. Had the Earl, a tea pale ale which was only OK. I liked yesterday’s glassellager better. But it is a cool block of places to visit.
L.A. Beer Week is underway and here are the photographic receipts to prove it…
I promised posts about L.A. Beer Week and here is another one with some BSP picks for the almost here celebration of L.A. beer….
All month the Stuffed Sandwich will have an L.A. brewers flight available.
Monday, June 17th – Cellador Ales
Cellador Ales has a tap takeover in Virgil Village at Alma’s Cider. And if you can’t attend that event, then…..
Wednesday, June 19th – Cellador at Southland Beer
“LA is not only blessed with great beer but is also surrounded by agriculture and a great way to showcase how those two factors meet is with Cellador’s sour beer program. We’ll have a selection of beers never before seen at Southland, and Cellador will be in the house telling the stories behind those beers.”
On tap:
Oogum Boogum – Wild Ale with Murray Limequats, Fukushu Kumquats, 2nd use late harvest Masumoto Le Grand Nectarines, vanilla & elderflower.
Raspberry Beer – Wild Ale with Raspberry, Blood Orange and 2nd-Use Nectarines and Apricots
Bottles:
15 Petals – Wild Ale with Roses and Masumoto Rose Diamond Nectarines
Nouvelle Pêche – Tart Saison with Masumoto Baby Crawford Peaches
Thursday, June 20th – Lincoln Beer Company
L.A. Beer Week Collective Brew – join the team and be a party of the brewing process. Brew with them, smell the hops and vote on your favorite and get your signature on the can.
Friday, June 21st – Farmer’s Market Bars
El Segundo Brewing and Three Weavers Brewing tag team at the historic Farmer’s Market for a one night tap takeover.
Saturday, June 22nd – Brewyard Art Festival
Come out and support your community of 20+ local artists and vendors. There will be so much good food, live music, DJ’s and of course, special beer releases!
Sunday, June 23rd – King of the Kolsch
Arts District Brewing hosts Wave 2 of their Kolsch contest between L.A. brewers starting at Noon