A beautiful Southern California day to have beer…
…Culver City to be exact on the Sony Studios lot.
The Los Angeles Beer Fest!!
A very smoothly run event I must say. Free parking which is a plus on the west side. Check-in was smooth and kept separate from the entry line. A very nice selection of quality brews on hand.
On the down side, a sizable portion of the crowd was ex-frat party boys. Lagunitas only brought bottles no kegs and Bud and Michelob were on hand. But to be fair, no one seemed shy about trying something new and even Anheuser had Hoegarden Wit on tap so effort was being made.
On to what I had before I had to call it quits.
The Bruery – Saison de Lente
Excellent beer that seemed a little toned down from a bottled version that I had before. Light and refreshing though.
Left Coast Brewing – Hop Juice
Not the hop bomb I was hoping for so I would have to rank this as a middle of the road IPA
Alaskan Brewing – Summer Ale
Only so, so to me. I don’t know why but I much prefer their darker beers.
Pyramid – Rollick Amber
Very nice malty taste. One of the better Ambers that I have had and one of the best that I tasted.
Angel City Brewing – Che
Also very nice. Balanced. Not too malty and not to hoppy but with a bit of spice to it.
Dale Brothers – Black Beer
Sort of bland to me. Not bad but did not compete with the others.
Skyscraper Brewing – Sancha Lager
Excellent. In the top three. Light and refreshing lager. Would make a good session beer.
Dean Brothers – IPA
Unfortunately, did not taste right. Acidic and not hoppy.
Widmer – Drifter Pale Ale
I really like this beer. Spicy and fruity and great on a summer day.
Bootleggers Brewery – Hefeweizen
Plain. No banana or cloves. Below average to me.
The Bruery – Orchard White
You can’t go wrong with their beers. Complex but not overpowering. I wish they had brought more than two beers.
Coronado Brewing – Orange
Fair. Drifter from Widmer blows it away though.
If I had more tolerance I would have had more from the large selection that Angel City had brought and I would have tried Shipyard and Deschutes and Kona but my limit was reached.
Overall, I give the event an A.
I thought it was a great fest too.
Skyscraper was excellent as was Ballast Point, and on Sunday when the temp was in the 80’s Bierbitzch cooled me off and was actually a great tasting lighter beer.
Where was Stone though?