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)