Category: LA Craft Beer Events

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Event Review – L.A. Beer Week Finale


Craft beer can draw a crowd. Despite some serious heat. Despite the Carmageddon sequel on the 405 freeway. And despite a triathalon blocking other routes, Union Station was packed with beer lovers who were shown a cornucopia of craft beer choices.

For the first time this year, I signed up in time for one of the three break-out sessions (indoors) that were on offer. But I did have time to sneak in a couple beers first. So I started with Smog City’s Citra Quercus and Bravery’s Allegiance IPA.

This was not the panel I was attending (though I hear it was great). I sat in on the Unity – Prickly Pear panel and sampled four of the prickly pear influenced beers from Eagle Rock, Monkish, Beachwood and Ladyface. It was a study in comparing where one ingredient would take a brewer. Two added it to existing beers to create a whole new breed and two created from the ground up. Or the Sueno up in Monkish’s case. My favorite of the group was the super Prickly Pear Chesebro IPA from Ladyface that was SUPER red and fruity before getting back to bitterness at the back.

This year, I decided that I was only going to have beers that I had not sipped before. And I still had plenty of options. I got my first taste of Ritual Brewing from Redlands, Ouroboros and the aforementioned, Bravery. And I tried new beers from Ohana (Saison Dubach), El Segundo (Rum/Oak Hyperion Stout) and Hangar 24 (a hybrid IPA a blend of two of their regular hop offerings) too.

The ratio of hit to miss was about even. Partially due to the heat and the fact that after seven or eight tasters the palate gets a little wonky. But that is what is great about beer festivals, you get to sample so many and find that gem of a beer. One like Bravery’s Pineapple Boo which had a kiss of pineapple then a nice wheat beer behind it.

Speaking of gems. My two favorites were from one booth. Smog City. Their Citra Quercus and Weird Beer (yes, that is the name) both rocked.


They were light with a complex swirl of spices and very refreshing. Each one made you stop and go what is in this. I even told complete strangers in line to get either one or both.

So the 4th annual L.A. Beer Week is complete. Due to BAM Fest in Santa Monica and the Great American Beer Festival coming soon, there will be no heavy critique on these pages about this year’s extravaganza. But I would like to hear your thoughts as to how to better improve the festival and the week as a whole for when the Week turns five.

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Event Review – FoodGPS Beer Float Showdown


I will state up front that I write a column for FoodGPS and I do the weekly Beer Blast (which you better subscribe to if you are in L.A.) so I am biased when it comes to the Beer Float Showdown.

Plus it was a brutally hot day in the valley so ice cream (and beer) were a welcome relief. There were (5) breweries paired off with (5) different chefs as is the now custom.

My favorite of the day (when I wasn’t volunteering) was the White Dog IPA with Simcoe sorbet from El Segundo Brewing. The beer was refreshing and hoppy. The ice cream had a nice bite to it and there was little fruit pearls in it too. Lovely. Plus it had a nice cookie floating in there too.

But there was a tie at the top of the leaderboard at days end. Reigning champ Eagle Rock with the Oinkster/Maximilliano was dead even with Strand Brewing and Short Order.

Team Eagle Rock concocted a Beer-imasu complete with Ladyfinger cookie.


Team Strand paired Ito-Weisse Berliner with a cherry ice cream for a cute red float that was simple but paired fruit against tartness.


If these photos don’t convince you that craft beer and craft ice cream go together then nothing will except for next year’s edition. Which you better attend.

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Event Review – Logsdon Farmhouse Night

With the 4th version of L.A. Beer Week nearing it’s climax, certain truths have become evident. Firestone-Walker is creative with their major event theme. Fifty/Fifty Brewing brings some great beer and the Bottle Room in Whittier will dazzle with their food and beer pairings.

Last night was Logsdon Farmhouse Ales night. With head brewer and yeast wrangler, Dave Logsdon in attendance all the way from Hood River, Oregon. And you had a great gamut of his beers to sample….

….to go along with different cheese plates that Tony Alcazar had whipped up for the occasion.

I had a sampler tray of four beers that may have been first poured through the lines and so they didn’t have the same bite and flavors that I remember from the bottled versions of the beer…

…but the hopped Saison was quite nice. Very mild and certainly not an American amped of saison style.

It was great to sit with Kevin and Scott from Artisan Ales who make sure we get the Logsdon beers down here as well as to talk to Dave and Tony. That’s the type of environment that makes a L.A. Beer Week event great….

….all layers of the industry out at the bar talking to the fans and showing off the beer.

You have two more opportunities to go all Logsdon durin the final days of L.A. Beer Week. Tonight at Sunset Beer Co. and Sunday at the Union Station festival. Don’t miss your chance to try a really great cherry beer….

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Event Review – FiftyFifty Night at the Verdugo

One of the annual L.A. Beer Week highlights for me is when Fifty/Fifty brewing makes the trek from Truckee with their rare (in L.A.) beers.

This year they landed at the Verdugo Bar and brought an eclectic mix from their beer line-up.

I went bassackwards and started with the heaviest beer and worked my way down. So first up was B.A.R.T. which is described as, “Barrel Aged Really Tasty. This is a rare one-off beer blended on the brewers whim. The most recent iteration contains a delicious blend of Totality Imperial Stout, Donner Party Porter, and our Summit Barleywine, aged in Oak Bourbon Barrels for 180 days.”

It was smooth and not super boozy. I’m thinking it had more of the regular porter than the Stout or barleywine because the 10% alcohol was well masked. Hopefully, I can try the 2013 version to compare and contrast.

Next up was Rockslide IPA. I had only imperial stouts from this brewery so this was a brand new experience. It was strong and hoppy but wasn’t a muddle like some can get. Nice initial bitter punch that melted away.

Last on the night was 4 Wheat, their American hefeweizen. Maybe the B.A.R.T. and the Rockslide were still on the palate but this tasted kind of strong but in a good way. Really wheat-centric without the banana/clove combo. A grand way to end the night.

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L.A. Beer Week – Odds & Ends


How is your bucket list looking, all you L.A. craft beer geeks? You had better get to work on filling each quadrant with a sticker. Visit that brewery. Eagle Rock or Strand would work. Go to a special beer-centric event like Saturday’s Beer Float Showdown. Once those four stickers are affixed to your sheet, all it will take is four quarters for a bottle of Unity 2012!

Next item:
Federal Bar in North Hollywood through Friday
“Beer week has been super delicious so far! What better way to keep it going then by adding a creamy, tantalizing twist..Cheese! That’s right, The Federal Bar has shipped in the creamiest, most scrumptious,
finger-licking cheeses, specially for this week. We’ve designed the perfect beer tasting with the perfect cheeses and homemade jams. Stop in for some special treats from Firestone Walker. We’ll be tapping DBA,
Double DBA, Union Jack, and Oaktoberfest.”

Middle item:
City Tavern in Culver City tonight!
Black Market Pint Night with some delicious old-standby’s and some new beer too.

Last item:
38 Degrees in Alhambra
Ultimate Flight Night III

“LA Beer Week is back and so is the return of Ultimate Flight Night! This year we are changing it up a bit, well only the beer but not the sexy flight gear! I have invited a few of our favorite breweries to pick their own flights to feature as well as to hang out with us for the evening. We will still feature 15 flights as Clay will mix up the breweries for his own fun as well as feature some rare bottle flights. If you missed the madness last year, dont be left out again.

This years participants are: Kern River Brewing,The Bruery ,Stone ,Eagle Rock ,Beachwood BBQ and Brewing, Bootlegger’s, Ballast Point and Firestone Walker.”

That should keep you busy until October.

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Pacific Brewers Cup

I had the fun opportunity to steward at a home brew competition last weekend. And after doing so, I highly recommend that other beer geeks do the same.

It was the Pacific Brewers Cup…..

As the website explains, “This year marks the 16th-Annual Pacific Brewers Cup Homebrew Competition. The competition is hosted on a rotating basis by the Strand Brewers’ Club, Pacific Gravity in Culver City, and the Long Beach Homebrewers.”

I was stationed at this table….

There was three sub-categories to this group and it was my job to keep the beer flowing to the judges and to do the other little things to make their jobs easier like having enough water and cups and bread on the table. And since I had only two judges (some tables had six!), that job wasn’t super stressful.

It is interesting to watch others judge a beer so specifically to style guidelines and then be able to taste it yourself to match it up against what comments the judges were making. This style is not wide with many variables so it makes the job somewhat easier if the beer doesn’t hew to the norm. But it also means that you will get many beers that are closer together taste wise.

Thanks to the home brew clubs for putting this event together and letting me see behind the scenes.

Best of Show
Congratulations to Kingsley Toby & Brian Holter for their Belgian Dark Strong Ale! (You may know them as Pipe Dream Brewery)

High Point Club
Congrats to this year’s High Point Club winner Pacific Gravity!

You can check out the full list of winners HERE. (You will notice that Kip from the forthcoming L.A. Ale Works and Chris who is new at the recently new on tap Ohana have numerous mentions!)

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Event Review – Better Weather Festival


Since I was off stewarding at the Pacific Brewers Cup, I could not make it to the Better Weather Festival put on by the fine folks at Golden Road. But I did have a man on the inside, Rich Rosen from Cap’ns Bier Blog filed this report…..

“My Fellow American; [it is an election year after all!]. This past Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012 was the Better Weather Festival @ Golden Road Brewing. The event started at high noon. Upon entry, one received a festival glass, 5 drink tickets, one ticket for a baseball cap and one ticket for a goodie bag.

Along with the fine food that the Golden Road Pub has to offer, a couple of food trucks were on hand. Parked strategically between the places where beer is brewed and where the brewers were dispensing their biers. Picnic tables were set up for one to sit and eat comfortably.

A good sample of the L.A. Craft Beer Breweries was present. A few craft brews from outside of L.A. were on hand. Dogfish Head, The Bruery and Hangar 24 served up some of there fine drafts.

Yes the temperature was well into the 90’s. It was after all Glendale, Ca. on the first day of autumn. Shade was in abundant supply where the beers were being poured. One could grab a pint and take a seat in a covered area easily.

Favorites included Bitches Brew from Dogfish Head, 4th Anniversary Dopplesticke from Hangar 24 close 2nd.

Also had Humulus and Autumn Maple from The Bruery and a Pumpkin beer from Taps.

Busiest Booth? I would say the Tour of the Golden Road Brewery was the busiest.

The festival was well run. No long lines existed. The exception was at the first half-hour at the entry. It was a good event for L.A. Beer Week!!”

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Prickly Pear Beer Review – Unity 2012


I helped “unwrap” prickly pears on the brew day and then I helped on bottling day as the finished beer filled up bottle after bottle so I am a bit biased about this year’s Unity beer from Eagle Rock Brewery.

And it lived up to it! You get a bright prickly pear flavor right off the bat. The beer then settles into some other exotic fruit notes before finishing with a real cereal grain end. And it is just tart enough and effervescent to really add another layer to a really low ABV beer. This one is under 4%. The only flavor that I didn’t get on the palate was the rye. Maybe it was working in other ways, but I did not pick up much spice but that is a minor quibble with a really strong Berliner Weisse.

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Event Review – Firestone-Walker’s Wild Ride


My favorite event from last year was the massive Deconstructed dinner put on by Firestone-Walker. Great beer and great food with a cool twist on their blended anniversary beer.

This year, they came up with yet another great hook for a beer event. They brought five sour beers to five different L.A. bars. Did not tell the bars which beer they had and then had David Walker drive the Firestone-Walker emblazoned rover from spot to spot to reveal which sour they had on tap.

I skipped the first stop at Golden Road because the Better Weather Festival (to be reviewed later by my special westside correspondent) was in full swing. I headed for the Verdugo first and was treated to Lil Opal which poured a light yellow color and had a touch of tartness. And out on the patio after watching my Dad’s Oregon State team win over UCLA, was the full F-W entourage including brewer Matt Brynildson.

Then the next stop beckoned. While they headed to Alhambra and 38 Degrees, I jumped to the 4th stop, Far Bar. All because of a dirty hippie (aka, the 6th anniversary beer from Kern River) It’s good to have two beer events in one spot. Makes my job easier plus that Imperial Red is quite good and a beer you should search out. Notes of Citra hit the nose but the beer doesn’t try to tackle your palate. It is soft and strong. As the time approached for the 4th sour, many familiar beer geeks filed into the now expanded space on 1st for the reveal of SLOambic.

A red hued beauty with a light fruit taste and a nice bit of tart to it. Firestone sours are not the mouth contorting puckery kind but on a hot day where lighter beers seemed more appropriate, they really fit the bill and it was great to see the bar filled with snifters of the strawbeery in everyone’s hands.

Events can be hard to pull off. Events that involve L.A. traffic, a skosh harder. But this worked like clockwork. People could get one beer or all five. The taps flowed when promised and the group was more than willing to talk with everyone. It is a model L.A. Beer Week event. And whatever crazy idea they have for next year. I will be there.

Then the rover was off to Blue Palms for it’s final stop.

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Event Review – Rocket to Flanders

Story Tavern is new this month to the craft beer scene and they have joined the fun that is L.A. Beer Week so I headed over to Burbank for the first chapter of the story.

The theme was Rocket to Flanders. Belgian beers and punk rock. The locale was all Craftsman styled except for the fake fireplace below a big screen TV. They had the cool Beer Week posters up though so I sauntered in and since the bar seats were filled grabbed a seat at one of the communal tables.

The prices were a bit high for Burbank but they had Beachwood’s Uno Belgian single so that is where I started. I ordered the Belgian stew that promised vegetables and delivered onions only which was a bit of a letdown but it was from the special appetizer section so not a total loss.

A decent flight to celebrate Belgian beer but I didn’t get much in the way of “selling” the flights or L.A. Beer Week. And it looked like the flight was from bottles which meant extra work for the bar staff and beer that might sit for a bit waiting for the next flight order.

All in all, I didn’t get a vibe of special event nor much education. (I went without saying that I was a beer blogger just to see what sort of help I would get). So I can only give a very mild thumbs up. The beer list was fine. No complaints. Just pricey and below standards that I have set for L.A. beer bars.

Maybe they will grow and upgrade but Golden Road is just down the road and better so they need to up their game.