Category: LA Craft Beer Events

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Firkfest

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This event stands out on the SoCal beer calendar not only because it is the first one but because of the cask ale angle that is the focus of Firkfest. So I was excited to venture out to the OC for some serious beer geekery.

And there was a delightful array of choices curated by Greg Nagel of the OC Beer Blog on hand

I started with Karma Kolsch with kumquats and Masala chai from L.A. Aleworks then moved on to El Segundo’s Hyperion Stout with rum barrel aging. Down to San Diego and Ballast Point for Sculpin with Wai ti hops.

Bootleggers put their infamous Knuckle Sandwich hop bomb in Rum barrels and Belching Beaver mixed peanut butter with Mexican chocolate. Golden Road had an unnamed pale ale on hand. And I had my first beer from Coachella Valley Brewers. A rye pale.

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Lemoncello from the Bruery then Last Flight from nearby Valiant followed by an Amarillo Red from Saint Archer and a chile pale from Bottle Logic. And an apricto Citizen from Cismontane.

And I am still not done! Then it was Haven Brewing with a dry hopped IPL and Eagle Rock with a hoppy Creamsicle. Keeping in the fruit theme, Lizards Mouth from Figueroa Mountain had dried tropical fruit. Then I finished with Manzanita’s Oh Nose Brett IPA and a cask of Simcoe Showers from Noble.

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I will discuss what my favorites were and what I thought of the festival in general in a post over on Food GPS in a post this Thursday after I have sifted through my notes and reflected a bit more.  But I can tell you now that this was a really well run and fun festival for a first outing.

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Atwater Beer-Wine-Food # 2

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The folks behind the curtain at Link ‘n’ Hops and 55 Degree wine have come back for a second go at The Atwater Village Beer, Food & Wine Festival.

According to the organizers, “Last year the festival sold out with over 1,000 attendees.” Which is amazing considering the small space it was wedged into.  But for those in the Glendale/Pasadena/Silver Lake areas it is a great chance for a lower key fest without a lot of the snobbery you see at other festivals.

Partial brewery list: Figueroa Mountain, El Segundo Brewery, Bootleggers Brewery

Partial food truck list: The Grilled Cheese Truck, Kogi BBQ

Click here for the full (and growing) list of participants. And to check out if you would rather go VIP or regular.  Prices go up the day of so better to buy in advance.

 

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Barleywines to honor Sam

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Venerable Alhambra craft spot, 38 Degrees was planning a Los Angeles Barleywine Festival, but now it has an even better name to honor a true L.A. beer legend.

The festival will “offer over 30 barleywines. Some cellared, some fresh, some hoppy, some barrel aged. We will be pouring sampler sizes of all of these gems for those who want to try a few, as well as full pours. We ask that all that come to celebrate keep in mind that these beers are high gravity and to enjoy with caution.”

Check out the link above for a current list.  It looks to be a BIG afternoon.

 

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The Vegans are coming (back)

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I ain’t gonna lie.  I am an omnivore.  I do hate enough foods (looking at you beets and parsnips) that I can’t cordon off one whole section of the food pyramid.  Not to mention that I do love me a good hamburger and pepperoni pizza.  But I am also open minded enough to try new things (minus mushrooms, hate those fungal bastards) and I won’t sneer at someone who chooses to go their own way. And the triumvirate behind the 5th edition of the Los Angeles Vegan Beer & Food Festival Tony’s Darts Away, The Roxy and Quarry Girl also seem to be on the same wavelength.

As Nic Adler of The Roxy puts it, “Going to festivals is about two key elements – enjoying things you love and discovering new ones. That’s what LA Vegan Beer & Food Festival is.”

Here is the initial beer line-up: Golden Road Brewing, El Segundo, North Coast, Stone Brewing, Modern Times, Ballast Point, Smog City, Automatic, Sierra Nevada, Firestone Walker and many more.

The Ticket 411 for the event of May 17th

“Tickets for the 21 and over event are $50 for general admission (includes unlimited beer tasting), $80 for VIP (early noon entry, exclusive and unlimited beer tasting and access to VIP lounge) and $30 for non-drinking admission. Tickets can be purchased on Ticketfly, here and day of pending availability. Located at 8950 W. Sunset Blvd near The Roxy Theater, doors open for general admission at 1 p.m.”

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Coming to Cali from Texas

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There is going to be a new addition to the beer shelves in California.  Adelbert’s Brewery, a Belgian-style brewery based in Austin Texas, is expanding here.

California will be getting the new beer The Traveler, as well as Black Rhino, Philosophizer, Flyin’ Monks, Dancin’ Monks, Tripel B, Scratchin’ Hippo and Naked Nun.

They join Jester King who have been in California in limited amounts for a few years now.

 

 

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Three Weavers

Three Weavers Brewing Company has been busy and will be getting busier as it prepares to open sometime this year.

They (Lynne and Alexandra) have participated in three collaborations: “Two with Golden Road Brewing, one exclusively for the United Kingdom in a series that brings the best craft beers from America and the second, a Stateside version called Cross the Pond. The third collaboration (The Messenger) was with Noble Ale Works to celebrate their anniversary earlier this month.”

And on March 6th (That’s TODAY!), Three Weavers’ Kickstarter campaign launches.

If you haven’t tried their collaborations yet, they will be at the Glendale Tap on March 6th and tentatively at Cinco (Playa del Rey) March 7th to celebrate kicking off the Campaign.

PS – I am now waiting to try the beers and will report back in a PSS.

PSS – I tried both and I really dug the Messenger.  Had a nice bitterness backed by what I can only describe as lemonade notes.  The Cross the Pond tastes very much part of the Golden Road family but is a welcome addition to the Session IPA trend,  if you can find either, I suggest you try it.

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A Valiant 1st

Hard to believe but Valiant Brewing Company has been around a full year and the last time I was there was at their opening.  So myself and beer compadre, Rich drove through the much needed rain to Anaheim.

And I started with the first anniversary offering which pours a golden orange red. A pretty decent strong ale for a stormwatch Saturday. Some Belgian notes to it. A little too viscous for me but the alcohol is well hidden making for a good sipper.
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While Rich did recon with a 10 taster package, I next chose the hybrid Lager Barleywine which was a little underwhelming. I didn’t know what to expect but it was thin and a bit watery which is not good for me in a lager yet alone a half & half version. I also had sips of the Guava Cream which gets classified as a game effort. My favorite was the dry hopped Crescendo. A blonde lager that I bought a bottle of on the way out
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There was quite the big crowd but the lines were manageable. They had a Pizza truck outside that was doing brisk business. But I felt like the beers hadn’t grown much from that first time I sampled. Some really nice beers like the Mounds of Grounds but more that seemed a few recipe tweaks away from being great.

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Firkfest

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FirkFest, Orange County’s first cask beer festival, is scheduled for March 22, 2014 from noon to 4.

This new addition to the beer fest scene will be located in the Farmers Park in the Anaheim Packing District located at 400 S Anaheim Blvd, (which was recently talked about in BeerPaper LA).

I will let Greg Nagel the driving force behind this and the OC Beer Blog describe the rest, “Firkfest highlights Old World beer serving technique and blends them with new creativity of today’s burgeoning local craft brewers. Thirty Southern Californian breweries will participate in this unique event that pays homage to how beer has been traditionally served for centuries.

The name Firkfest is a spin on the name “Firkin” which is a 10-gallon cask. A cask of beer is traditionally considered “real ale,” meaning the carbonation is supplied naturally from the yeast finishing secondary fermentation in the vessel. Cask beer is served directly from the vessel in which it finished fermenting and is normally served at cellar temp 50-55F. Cask beer is also a one-time blank canvas for brewers, who typically add specialty ingredients for the one-time serving. The use of extra dry hops, coffee, tea, spices, fruit, and peppers are commonly added to base beers.

 “What you drink at Firkfest can never be replicated exactly,” says Nagel.

Restaurants from the much-awaited Anaheim Packing House – ADYA (Indian), The Kroft (specialty sandwiches), Ecco (Italian fare), Wheat and Sons (butcher) – will sell locally-crafted food. The Packing House, due to open Spring 2014, will serve as a culinary center that brings together artisan food producers and purveyors in a public market type setting.”

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An Expanded Story

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Story Tavern in Burbank  which is just over a year old now will be doubling their space with a party tonight.

To celebrate the expansion of 8 more taps and a game room, “Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company will be in the house this Thursday at 6:30PM to shower Story’s patrons with a wealth of delicious rarities, most of which have previously never been available in LA! Flights will be available.”

Draft List: Bag of Cats IPL, San Rafael Red Ale, Magpie Porter ,Monkeys with TypeRYEters ,Our Belgian Pale ,Irish Stout ,Wrangler Wheat and on CASK: Hoppy Poppy IPA

 

 

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Amalgamated

I really don’t know if Julian at Beachwood sleeps much.  Every time I turn around he has another beer on draft or another beer debuting in bottles.  Now here comes….

“…Amalgamator India Pale Ale. This powerful and insanely hoppy brew is the perfect addition to Beachwood’s series of bottled IPAs.

Amalgamator is a West Coast India Pale Ale that’s bursting with unique aromas and flavors. This bold IPA is kettle hopped with Amarillo, Warrior, Columbus, and Mosaic, a new American variety. The dry hop is a massive charge of Mosaic that lays down an amalgam of passion fruit, blueberry, dank resin, and citrus aromas. ”

Amalgamator IPA bottles will be released at both Beachwood locations on February 25th, 2014 at 5pm.