Posts

Posted on

LA Beer Week – The Bruery & Matt Denny's

A glass of Snickelfritz
A glass of Snickelfritz

Yesterday’s installment of LA Beer Week was a chance to introduce the Bruery and their Belgian concoctions to another friend.

First up was the Rugbrod. A Danish winter warmer. Pours dark brown. Gets sweeter the more you drink. Taste wise this is a departure from the normal Bruery line-up. It doesn’t use the funky yeasts that I associate with the Bruery. Next was this years holiday seasonal, Two Turtle Doves. It has a really strong taste at first. Just hits the tongue. But then the flavors sort of melt away. Slight bourbon taste to it.
Autumn Maple was next and it was the winner of the day. Had a nice little fizz to it after a mellow sweet taste. This time around I think I noticed a certain starchiness from the yams. We also had the Orchard White and the Cuvee Jeune to contrast against the heavy malty beers. The Cuvee Jeune is one of my favorites. Lovely sour tang to it but it also has a lovely wine flavor to balance it out. The gang also took the short tour of the operations lead by Head Brewer Tyler. We got to hear about their current and future expansion plans. This place is growing by leaps and bounds.

Then we headed up the 57 to Arcadia for our first ever visit to Matt Denny’s. The German band was playing loud. The crowd was large but not packed and their was a selection of six or so German Oktoberfest beers. I had the Spaten version. It had all the hallmarks of the Okto style but it could have been a shade or two drier. A little to sweet for my taste. And sorry to say but the sausage platter that I ordered with it was pretty sorry for a sit down meal. I have had better Dodger dogs.

More reports to come!

Posted on

LA Beer Week – Oktoberfest @ the Verdugo

A blazing hot October day in the valley, but that didn’t stop beer lovers from coming out to sample some authentic German beer and to try some Firestone-Walker, Skyscraper and Shmalz Brewing as well.

okto

Here is what I had….
Julius Echter Hefeweizen – a new entry to the SoCal market. This Hefe has the clove part down but could use some banana flavor upgrading. Very filling for a Hefe.

Firestone Oaktoberfest – Orange brown in color. Had a little of everything. Malty, sparkly, alcoholic and sweet. Awesome for a colder day.

Skyscraper Backhoe Brown – A very nice brown ale. At 6% alcohol it is not wimpy. Nicely balanced beer. Some browns are too sweet but this is not. I really like the seasonals from these guys.

Schneider Hopfen-Weiss – Second time trying this beer and I still can’t get it. Medicinal to me. The hops are weird, the weiss is strong. Not my favorite.

Kostritzer Pilsner – Pretty tasty pils. I liked it. Did not have the tinny taste of some that I have had. Perfect college football beer. Crisp and clean.

There was German music blaring and drinking contests and coaster building. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.

P.S. I made a point to ask people what their favorite beer was and all gave me a different answer. That must mean a good selection across the board.

Posted on

Beer and Haute Cuisine

I was reading the NY Times when I ran across the restaurant review for….
DBGB Kitchen and Bar

★★

Food looks good, exotic and pricey but what caught my eye was the wine recommendation. Scroll down to see for yourself.

299 Bowery (Houston Street),

East Village; (212) 933-5300.

ATMOSPHERE An open, vaguely industrial space combines the elegance of polished concrete, large mirrors and soft leather booths with the simple beauty of stacked boxes of restaurant supplies.

SOUND LEVEL Given all the stone and wire and glass, lower than you’d think.

RECOMMENDED DISHES Appetizers: blood sausage; crispy tripe; veal tongues; iceberg salad; matzo-ball soup; more sausages. Main courses: Arctic char; lamb duo; more sausages.

WINE LIST Totally acceptable selection, but much better to experiment among the 23 beers on tap and large selection of bottled beers that have traveled here from Britain, from Brooklyn, from Germany, from France.

Looks like beer is being mentioned as a better pairing.

Posted on

LA Beer Week – Duvel Green @ Lucky Baldwin's

Because I wanted to be rested and ready for the Verdugo and because the traffic on the 405, 5, 110 was for crap, I wandered to Lucky Baldwin’s for some Green. Duvel that is. It is an interesting beer that I think might be a new favorite. It is almost a cross between a saison and a Belgian golden. Lovely bright yellow color. Aroma was faint but the taste was really different and weird. In a good way.

Also, NEW LA BEER ALERT!!!
n175927536398_6993

From the mind of Martin Svab comes a new espresso stout made with the help of the fine folks at Skyscraper. They are having a release party tomorrow night at a hair salon? I hope to see you all there.

Posted on

LA Beer Week – The Edison

edison_downtown_los_angeles

Ever since I first heard of the Edison, I’ve been wanting to visit. But not being a mixed drinks enthusiast or a fan of crowds or for that matter dressing up, I’ve put it off. Walking in to the foyer, you can tell that they put some money into this. Interesting layout and set of chairs. Looks like it was set up to force people to mingle rather than sit. Very dark inside which made photography of the drinks near impossible.

But last night, I had an excuse to go. Cocktails made with beer! Aidan Demarest had three different examples at the bar and I stepped up to the plate and had two of them.

First up (the one I did not try) the Enlightenment is made with Edison’s own lager blended with bourbon and pomegranate.

Next is the Jack O’Lantern with Rye, apple juice and Floris Apple Beer. This was very sweet. Almost too much so. I probably would have left out the apple juice and just left the rye and apple beer.

Last but not least, the Dublin Dessert. Youngs Double Chocolate Stout with Jameson Irish whiskey and a dash of honey. This had big chocolate taste. And boy did it warm me up fast. This was not a light drink.

And in between the cocktails, there was a cask of living Stone IPA with Simcoe and Amararillo hops. Nice floral aroma and a good change of pace from the typical Stone hop bombs. Also got a glass from a jereboam of Chimay Grande Reserve. Wow. That was a powerful with yeast and alcohol that reached out and grabbed me.

Got to talk with Jay Baum, one of the forces behind LA Beer Week as well as Scott Wiegand from Stone, fresh off the blowout at Naja’s last night.

I would heartily suggest that you check out the Edison. The beer list is small but decent but you are going more for the interior design and the absinthe fairies anyway, right?

Posted on

more L.A. Beer Week

1) I will also be at the Freaktoberfest at the Blue Palms on Monday the 19th. Coney Island comes to Hollywood with Shmalz Brewing!!

2) Go to one of the Beer and dinner pairings. They may look expensive but when you factor in the beer and the food being provided you are usually getting a screaming deal. So put the Boneyard Bistro and/or McG’s on your calendar!

Posted on

LA BEER WEEK!!!!

It is finally upon us!
Here is my preliminary list of events that I will try to attend.

10/15 Opening Night at The Edison
10/17 Oktoberfest at The Verdugo
10/18 Oktoberfest at Matt Denny’s
10/20/09 Green Flash night at Blue Palms
10/21/09 Crown City RIP at 38 Degrees
10/22/09 Dinner at McG’s
10/24/09 Volunteering at the Descanso Gardens festival
bottom_banner

Posted on

New Oregon Beers!

Cascade Brewing 5 Barrel Thread:
a one-only blend of five amazing beers: Bourbon Barrel Aged Quad, White Port Aged Raspberry, Barrel Aged Triple, Apricot and Sour Pie Kriek. The blend may sound a bit odd, but brewers Ron Gansberg and Curtis Bain say you’ll be surprised by the “lift and color found in the final result.”

Barley Brown Fresh Hop IPA Roadside: Employing country roadside hops from Baker City, Oregon, this beer is a kind one of kind. Brewer Shawn Kelso says “It’s pretty hoppy and at 7.25% ABV you may want to just call it an I.P.A. It was brewed with fresh hand picked unknown hops that grow wild on the side of a road here in Baker City. I put 36 pounds in a 3bbl batch. It’s pretty damn tasty!”

Caldera Rose Pedal Imperial Golden Ale: Made with 11 pounds of rose pedals and two liters of Bulgarian rose water, brewer Jim Mills says “this beers tastes like a party at Grandma’s house.” Baileys taproom exclusive.

Posted on

My Perfect Bottle Shop

PART 1 – The Layout
store layout

As you can see, a few round tables in front. A standing bar in the middle. Two refridgerated cases. One for seasonals and new releases and one for main inventory stock. There would also be a sales island and an un-cooled section for barleywines and aging beers.

PART 2 – The beer
I would start with (3) taps with a goal of (5). One tap dedicated to a very local beer. In my case, Eagle Rock Brewery. Then there would be a couple of California beers, a foreign beer and a tap from somewhere else in the country that would rotate from Oregon to Florida to Washington state. The seasonal storage would change with the weather (dunkels and alts would be in that case now) and as new releases become available they would start their retail life there and if they sell well, I would add them to the main inventory in the back of the room. I would also sell 3 and 6 packs of mixed 12oz bottles to encourage tasting. I would focus on getting small breweries into the store. Places like Skyscraper and Upright. I would also like to place special orders as well if I could get enough good distribution contacts.

PART 3 – Events
There would be themed tastings every other month much like the quarterly tastings I currently do at my apartment. Canned beer, Christmas beer, beer and desserts and so on.
Also I would have a review program tied into my website. When you buy a pint, you get a review sheet. I make a copy of your review when you are finished and when you have reached 10 reviews, you get to choose a beer from the store for you and the room to try. The reviews will get posted on the store website. I would also like to be the host for charity events in the months where there is not tasting event scheduled.

So that is my dream. One day it will happen and I hope to see you all there.