Category: LA Craft Beer Events

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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!

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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)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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LA Beer Week – Day Three – Firestone/Walker Deconstructed


This was the event that I was waiting for, the famed Sean Z Paxton, the Home Brew chef paired with Firestone-Walker’s 15th Anniversary Ale. Welcome to Deconstructed….
Mark off this bucket list item. Dinner created by Sean Paxton. And this was in grand style. All 8 beers that make up the XV anniversary beer from Firestone-Walker. Plus Pale 31 and/or Unfiltered DBA to start with some malted cashews or Moroccan themed popcorn.
The event was held at the Avalon theater across from the Capitol Records building in Hollywood. Great space with old timey movie theater architecture. The downstairs portion got real hot so beer buddy Richard and I hightailed to the more AC friendly upper space to enjoy the evening.

The food (as these photos will show) was plated with care and artistry and the food was just great. Even the items like scallops or peppers that I don’t usually like were done so well that you had to tip your hat even if it wasn’t your thing. The winner for me was the lamb tenderloin that was presented on a spoon and was just delicious. Second place goes to the chocolate covered bacon that was so rich and savory.Neither of which are pictured because I still want them all to myself. So you had great food and then Matt Brynildson walked around and talked to everybody about the beers, David Walker (yes, the Walker) was pouring beer and Sean Paxton made the rounds.
But let’s briefly get down to the beer:
Sticky Monkey – Big and brassy. Almost whiskey in it’s own right.
Double Double Barrel Ale – mellower but strong in different ways
HellDorado – dark golden gem that was my favorite other than XV
Double Jack – really excellent IPA. Paired well with the sausage
Bravo – another dark, big and bold beer
Bourbon Barrel Aged Velvet Merkin – I still prefer the regular of this
Good Foot – similar to Sticky Monkey but lighter and brighter to me.
Parabola – my least favorite of the night. too medicinal

Then the XV was unveiled. And if you are a fan of the Anniversary ales, this one will surprise you. The Double Jack cuts through the barleywine and barrel aged flavors to make for a demanding brew that is hoppy and hot and rich. I really enjoyed it but it is a huge beer and is best sipped in small portions.

LA Beer Week. The bar has been officially raised.

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LA Beer Week – Day One – Lucky Baldwin’s


Since I spent most of Sunday driving, I did not relish a trip (in traffic) to Redondo Beach. And besides, I was planning on going there for the Local Breweries night next week. SO to kick off the 2 weeks of beery goodness, I and beer buddy Richard headed to the old school Lucky Baldwin’s in Old Town Pasadena to ring in the 2011 edition of LA Beer Week.

I had the double dry hopped Ruination to start, then a year old Emperial IPA (the 14th anniversary ale). It was a restrained start to a two week marathon of great beer.

Stone 14th Anniversary IPA

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L.A. Beer Week starts…..

TOMORROW!

Here are my picks for this week:
10/10 Naja’s Opening Night Stone Festival
(but if you can’t make it or can’t get a ticket, try Lucky Baldwin’s for Craftsman and Stone beers)

10/11 Musical Beer Crawl

10/12 Firestone-Walker Deconstructed. If you can’t get into the main event. Blue Palms has a post party and the anniversary beer will be released into the wild around this time too.

10/13 Deschutes Beer and Chocolate at the Bottle Room

10/14 Lucky Devils will be pouring Lost Abbey beers.

10/15 Beer Float Showdown 3
(you can also hit the nearby Verdugo for their annual Oktoberfest celebration)

Check out the official website for more information on each event.

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Beer and Descanso Gardens

One of the calmest and tranquil places in Los Angeles is Descanso Gardens. Nestled in the mountains above my home in Glendale, the garden played host to the first LA Beer Week Finale Festival in 2009. And this year they are joining in on the Beer Week festivities with a day devoted to brew, on week from today.

The main attraction is a biergarten from 3-8pm. But there will also be a Home Brew class and how to grow wheat and barley class that you have to sign up for beforehand. It is a great place to stop and smell the roses and listen to your beer as Fred Eckhardt would say.

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Two Week Warning – LA Craft Beer Week is coming


Hopefully you have gotten your tickets to the Union Station finale of LA Beer Week.

~ All three Lucky Baldwin’s will be pouring Stone and Craftsman beers for the week.
~ The Verdugo will celebrate it’s 4th Octoberfest
~ Golden Road Brewing will grant a sneak peek.
~ Dionicess will visit Steingarten
~ Cismontane and Tony’s Darts Away feed our caffeine needs

and that is just a smattering of the fun we will be having in LA!

Here is the full spiel:
“The ever-growing horde of Los Angeles craft beer fans can again rejoice as LA Beer Week makes its triumphant return on October 10. Cramming so much win into seven days proved impossible, so the event organizers decided to slightly alter the definition of the word “week,” opting to extend the festivities through October 23, spreading the gospel for a whopping 14 days.

This epic celebration of local beer culture will take place throughout Los Angeles & Orange Counties (and their respective environs), highlighting an array of focused tastings, educational seminars, and beer pairing dinners at bars, restaurants, bottle shops, and breweries throughout the area. These resplendent activities will culminate with the signature LA Beer Week Festival on October 23, from 12-4pm at the historic Union Station. $45 pre-sale tickets for the flagship festival are available now, which entitle attendees to unlimited 4oz. tasters of beer from over 70 of the world’s most respected craft and artisan breweries, including some rare and special releases.

One special find that will pop up around town throughout LA Beer Week will be Unity, an autumn saison brewed with tamarind. The recipe, developed by Eagle Rock Brewery’s Jeremy Raub and Craftsman Brewing Company’s Mark Jilg, and brewed by a team of the event organizers, is reflective of the collaborative spirit behind LA Beer Week as well as the camaraderie present within the craft beer industry.

The team is rightfully proud of the diversity of the local beer culture and community, and looks forward to once again promoting and celebrating it with a larger audience. A framework and calendar for individual establishments and breweries to promote their own events, as well as information and tickets for the LA Beer Week Festival, are available at LABeerWeek.com.

Proceeds from the LA Beer Week Festival will be benefiting The Spero Foundation”