Category: LA Craft Beer Events

Posted on

L.A. Beer Week – Day 14 – Union Station


What a beautiful Sunday to have a beer festival. There were three “must” attend events for this two week bonanza called L.A. Beer Week. One was Deconstructed, the second was the Beer Float Showdown and the third was the festival finale.
First on my list was to sample the beers from L.A. newcomer Ohana. They were pouring their new Black IPA by the gritty L.A. name of Black Dahlia. As well as two versions of a Muscat barrel lambic. And as good as the IPA was to this hophead, the lambics were great. One was milder and really showcased the grape tastes with a bit of tart. The punchier version was much more Belgiany and pucker inducing. I liked both equally precisely because they were so different but with common flavors.
The other spot that I honed in on was the Pro-Am area. And I was lucky to get the last of the collaboration of Strand Brewing and the Beer Chicks. It was a combination of hops, nuttiness and caramel that I really enjoyed. I ended up trying close to (15) samples while alternately hiding in the shade and warming up. But there was just too much good stuff being poured. From Beachwood…. to Craftsman…. …to Dogfish Head…. and many more inbetween.

The first two iterations of the festival, I volunteered. But this time around, I played the role of media and got to see the event from a new perspective. There was quite the equal representation. Both genders and all ages in equal amounts. This was definitely not a Beer Geek dominated party. There was also a wide representation of beer with a nice amount of focus on SoCal. I was really impressed by the amount of beer that Craftsman brought too. Angelino Weiss, Ruddy Bloke, Sour Grapes among the many they were pouring.

On the downside, water stations were nowhere to be found and I walked around a few times looking. At a festival with unlimited pours, there needs to be easily accessible water. There was a hiccup getting people inside but that was an unforeseen complication that was not the fault of the organizers.

Overall, it was easy to navigate and get beers. Not many lines and the ones that were there were fast moving. Couple that with the selection and the weather and this event was a winner.

Posted on

L.A. Beer Week – Day 13 – Beer Belly


It has been a long Week(s) but the finish line is in sight. But instead of looking past a day, I and beer buddy Richard headed to Koreatown and Beer Belly for a night that featured the beer of El Segundo and the social networking of Untappd.

I got to try the new Picket Fence Wheat IPA. Which is another winner from El Segundo. Rob and Tom from the brewery made the eastside trek to be on hand as well as Untappd to celebrate.

I also had the Double Dry Hopped Nelson which is really tremendous. The Nelson hop balances out the bitterness that really is strong on this one without being overpowering.

Oh and both Richard and I got badges tonight!

Posted on

LA Beer Week – Day Twelve – Dionicess


Dionicess is hard to explain but easy to love. You just can’t pin down what will be on hand when you walk in. Beerimasu and Firestone-Walker one time, partnering with Eric Greenspan and the Foundry restaurant another.

This time the pairing of Gev, Randy Clemens, Dave Watrous and Matt Biancaniello has tackled beer cocktails. And an eclectic group of cocktails they were.

How about Lambic Pentameter with strawberries, elderflower liquer, white balsamic and rare distilled lambic? Or let’s get crazy and have a smoked beer with rum, lemon, sage and pumpkin air. Or the Cascading Hophead. with Thrill Seeker IPA from Beachwood, grapefruit, lemon, honey and hop infused gin?

I simply do not know how one goes about pulling those ingredients together into one recipe. It is like musicians knowing just the right notes to make a song, well, sing.


The great thing about an event like this and Deconstructed from last week, is that I was forced to try food that I normally wouldn’t. Figs! I ate a fig. Probably won’t again for a while but it didn’t kill me. My favorite though was the Risotto Lollipop with rice, sage, hazelnuts and parmigiano-reggiano. Delicious.


Oh and the proceeds go to charity, The Real Medicine Foundation.

Posted on

LA Beer Week – Day Eleven – Ultimate Flight Night


A night in Alahambra, sipping at the L.A. Beer Week version of Ultimate Flight Night thanks to 38 Degrees…. That photo shows only 1/2 of the plethora of flights you could have ordered last night. I chose to not go that route and tried the Eagle Rock Barrel Aged Equinox, Stone 15th Anniversary with espresso beans and The Bruery’s Birra Basta. My beer buddy Richard stayed on program and got the Beachwood BBQ Brewing Flight. His favorite was the Thrill Seeker IPA.
Jeremy Raub was in the house along with Kern River and Mitch Steele from Stone as well. Oh and FoodGPS Josh, Alex Villa, The Full Pint guys and Dan from L.A. Weekly too… Who gave me the lowdown on the proper toast.

Thanks to Clay Harding and his flight crew for the evening!

Posted on

LA Beer Week – Day Ten – Kern River at Blue Palms


Blue Palms hosted Kern River Brewing last night. And for awhile, their Facebook event page just had Class V, Just Outstanding, Golden Trout pale and the new pumpkin beer (which is reviewed by me, today). But I knew that they would probably have the famed Citra DIPA as well. And I was right. 6:30 came and so did our goblet with one of my favorite beers in it. It is just a tropical fruit explosion especially in the aroma. Personally, I wouldn’t call it a Double because it is so light and effervescent with just a touch of bitterness. I have only had this twice now and each time I am pulled in two directions. Savor every last drop slowly or greedily drink in all the goodness.
As mentioned, there were other Kern beers last night. Including the Golden Trout pale ale which was new to me. Utilizing the Galaxy hop, this was a solid pale. It is such a different flavor profile from Citra. To me there is a somewhat metallic harshness to it. But a nice hearty beer.

Thanks to Brian and Matt and everyone else at Blue Palms and Kern River for bringing the good stuff. Blue Palms will be featuring Beachwood beers tonight. Try the Thrill Seeker IPA!

Posted on

LA Beer Week – Day Nine – Ten Fidy at Boneyard


Three years of Ten Fidy from Oskar Blues? Sign me up. At Boneyard Bistro last night, I got the chance to compare and contrast three vintages of the Colorado beer at yet another great LA Beer Week event….
The ’11 was strong with a lot of roasted notes. As it warmed up, the hoppiness revealed a bit but it was dimmed by the rising heat at the back.

The ’10 was much more mellow and sported a chocolately flavor. The roasted qualities were there but not in abundance but I did get some bourbon flavors as well.

The ’09 was my favorite of the night. Milder than the ’10 with a milk chocolate taste. Had some vinous wine aspects to it and as it warmed, I got more floral tea like notes.

To top it off, amongst the many stout choices available, I went with Ballast Point and their Indra Kunindira. And that is a beer that I am still, the day after trying to decide if I liked it or not. It was this swirling combination of vanilla, cinnamon and pepper on a base of stout. The 4oz pour was perfect. I can’t imagine trying to drink more than that. It is a fireplace after dinner, snifter beer for sure.

Thanks to Rory and the Bistro for showing off some world class stouts!

Posted on

LA Beer Week – Day Eight – Beer Scribes


What it was like to be on a panel? Weird. I am usually the one looking up at speakers, not the other way around. So some nerves and fast talking at first but once I started cussing live on the streaming internet.
We were at the Four Points right next to Brewsters which had some cool Sierra Nevada brews on tap and the Cismontane Oktoberfest beer as well.
The assembled panel from the Celebrator (Don and our moderator Tomm), Drink-Eat-Travel (Cambria), SW Brewing News (Dave), FoodGPS (Josh) and LA Times and Squid Ink (Steven) talked about who we are and what we do, then segued into our take on the culture of craft beer in Los Angeles, then tackled the thorny topic of ethics and objectivity.
As I have mentioned before, you will know that L.A. Beer Week has taken bigger strides when there are more sessions and events that are blogger or community driven (much like the Echo Park crawl). Not that our fine LA beer bars and breweries don’t put on a good show, But we need more outside viewpoints on the beer scene for balance. Much like a uber-hoppy IPA needs a malt counterweight.

Thanks to Tomm Carrol for moderating and getting the event set-up and also thanks to Phil Baxter at Four Points for his hospitality. (They have two beer dinners coming up that look really good, so add them to the list of beer places to try)

Posted on

LA Beer Week – Day 7 – Golden Road


My second visit to Golden Road brewing on a Sunday afternoon…

….as a big crowd lined up to get access to not only a mini-beer festival but also to scope out the three colorful buildings that make up the Golden Road mega-complex.

There were stations in each building and outside too to where you could get some Hangar 24, Eagle Rock (including Unity 2011), Stone, Dales, Avery, Firestone and of course Point the Way IPA and Hefeweizen from Golden Road.

All of which looked great in the grand opening glass. (That I very nearly broke on the way out). Aside from Point the Way my favorite was the Thrill Seeker IPA from Beachwood. Very herbal and piney aroma that was strong on flavor but not a hop wrecker.

There was quite the crowd from a sheer number perspective but also from the world craft beer luminaries. Let’s name drop! David Walker of Firestone-Walker. Adam Avery of Avery Brewing. Julian from Beachwood Brewing. Megan from Beer West. The guys from Oskar Blues.

But the biggest name drop was the third beer from Golden Road.
Burning Bush is a rauch-IPA that really brings the smoke and BBQ notes but then the hops kick in to balance things out. Quite tasty. Would get rauch fans to try IPA’s and IPA fans to try more Rauchbiers.

Thanks to Tony, Meg, Jon, Cole and Skipp for putting on the party.

Posted on

LA Beer Week – Day Six – Beer Floats


Friday was a day of rest. Two big events past and two on the weekend. Pacing myself. Anyway, here is my take on the 3rd Beer Float Showdown (full disclosure – I volunteered at this event and write for FoodGPS that was the presenter of the showdown)….

The challenge was set forth. Five floats created by a combo of brewer and chef. And not just any chefs. Ilan Hall and CJ Jacobson of Top Chef fame, the Trans of Starry Kitchen, Andre Guerrero of Oinkster and the new Maximlilianos and Laurent Quenioux of Vertical Wine Bistro.
Serious fire power and the beer wasn’t from slouches either Ladyface, Eagle Rock, Beachwood, Firestone Walker and the new Smog City were all there.

I only tried three of the floats and in fact did not get to taste the eventual winner. But I was mightily impressed by the Ladyface / Starry Kitchen effort…..….which had fruit, pop rocks and habanero! My personal favorite was the Firestone / Yard combo … It had a rim of caramel and potato chips, the famous hemp ale and a nice light ice cream. Primo stuff from CJ and Jace. I also enjoyed the creation of Beachwood and Laurent Quenioux. Herbs with saison and another light ice cream. Three creative and tasty floats.

But the winner was Andre Guerrero and Jan Purdy who were paired with the host of the event Jeremy Raub and Eagle Rock Brewery. Their secret ingredient? Bacon with Vanilla Bean Solidarity.

The Beer Float Showdown champions of 2011!

If you think this event looked fun then check the official website for more information on events during week 2.

Posted on

LA Beer Week – Day 4 – Bottle Room


As if last night wasn’t enough, back on the road to Whittier and The Bottle Room for Deschutes beer and chocolate….

Who needs dinner when you can start with dessert. Well, I almost did that last night. Placed an order for the chocolate dessert sampler and the two Deschutes beers (Black Butte and Jubelale) after sitting down. Then realized I should probably have some food first. And since I wanted to save the beer to pair with the desserts, I sampled Strand Brewing’s 2nd Anniversary braggot.
It was quite good. Braggots are hit or miss for me but this had a nice interplay of honey, vanilla and spice. A great fall beer for cool nights. (LA should get one of those in November).
Then it was on to the dessert.
. The cake was soooo rich. That was a wicked mixture of caramel and chocolate that came oozing out of the middle. I am much more a pie guy, but molten cakes rank really high too. The chocolates were also great. There was blue cheese lurking in the small square and it was good. Again, I shall close with the beer. I had the Jubelale 2011 at the Beer Bloggers conference this year and this was a chance to see if my initial reaction would be changed. It hasn’t. But it doesn’t scream winter ale to me. The Black Butte was quite good and matched the richness of the desserts better..

As usual, I was wowed again by the food of Tony Alcazar and the great tap list.