Kinetic Brewing Company

Earlier this month, I and craft beer buddy Richard made the trek an hour+ north of Los Angeles to Lancaster to sample beers for the first time from Kinetic Brewing (which has been recently added to the L.A. Beer Blast over on FoodGPS)

The brewpub is located on a newly remodeled and beautifully tree-lined stretch of downtown Lancaster that has electrical outlets by each of the parking spots. With the help of the city they have taken an old car stereo store and completely re-done the site to make a lovely and large gathering spot for beer lovers.

We talked with co-owner and head brewer Steve Kinsey while trying the full Kinetic repertoire. He explained the reason behind the name (it is defined as pertaining to motion) and how it is woven into the logo design, the gears that are in the impressive stone bar and the beer names. We moved on to their Tuesday series where they add a new ingredient (or more) to a beer from the regular line up to show off the creativity of beer. (the basil version of White Thai is a great pizza beer) And we also learned about their bar at the Lancaster JetHawks minor league baseball stadium.

My favorites from the sampler tray were the Potential Blonde kolsch which was a lovely shade of yellow and had a good mix of sparkle with some fruit notes. Their White Thai with lemongrass and kaffir lime hit my palate well and the Fusion porter was a nice coffee way to finish off the visit. And I got an Untappd badge as well!

Once their tap handles gain governmental approval, you will be seeing Kinetic beers in L.A. and not just at the brewery.

Bravery Brewing

As of July 4th, Lancaster (just north of my base in Los Angeles) has 2 breweries!

Joining Kinetic Brewing Company is Bravery Brewing.

The tasting room is open Wednesday through Sunday and in the mold of places like Eagle Rock and The Bruery is BYOF. Or check out the food cart that may be stationed outside.

What caught my eye on a recent perusal of their website’s beer list was a citrus bitter as well as a pineapple wheat beer. Very intriguing for the dry July weather.

A visit to Lancaster is now in the planning stages.

Where to drink for London 2012

Now may not be the time to head to London to get a peaceful pint in a historic pub. There might be a few other people around. But with the Olympics in town is does afford me the opportunity to talk about British beer and lo and behold the New York Times beat me to the punch with this article</strong>.

But that is OK because it introduced me to the website for Des de Moor. Who has literally a ton of information (and up to date information) about craft beer in London. It is required reading for those planning a beer trip to London. Plus he makes the occasional Doctor Who reference which makes me laugh.

Rough Draft

As much as I love writing about beer, it must be tough for the San Diego beer blogger to keep track and to keep up.

Here is another brewery that I have failed to mention in the years that I have been blogging, Rough Draft.

Their tasting room is open Wednesday through Sunday and they have a couple IPA’s that caught my fancy Eraser and Frontal Labottleme both clocking in around 7% abv.

Might be another to add to your San Diego brewery crawl. Which at this point is probably a week long affair.

Food GPS Teaser – Pipe Dream Brewery


Pipe Dream is still fermenting but the brewery fronted by Brian Holter and Kingsley Toby are all about the “BREW•DRINK•DREAM”

So one day soon, we will be able to taste their flagship ale, Lazy Sunday or Green Dragon Imperial India Pale Ale or the Pipe Dream pale or the Tahoba Summer Ale.

And after trying the gamut of styles that they are creating on their pilot system, I can safely say that these are beers to be on the look out for.

The full story will be on FoodGPS tomorrow…

It’s HUGE!

Or I should say Gigantic.

I sent my mom to check out Gigantic Brewing in Portland since it is a much longer drive for me here in L.A. to check out what the new tap room looks like.

The entry to the eastside establishment of Van Havig and Ben Love.

The to-go options which include their IPA and The City Never Sleeps. They also have a collaborative brew with 3 Floyds out of Indiana by the name of Axes of Evil.

Or you could sample a beer from someone else to compare and contrast.

Batch 9000 in bourbon

One of the prizes of my cellar collection is a bottle of Bell’s Batch 9,000.

Here is what the brewery website says about it: “Batch 9,000 Ale offers up aromas ranging from the sweet caramel & molasses of dark rum to fruits such as raisins and plums. Brewed with the idea of pushing boundaries in mind, Batch 9,000 Ale is a unique, one-time-only recipe. Well suited for vintage aging, this limited release will continue to develop in flavor & complexity over the years.”

Well now after finishing the series with Batch 10,000 they have gone back to the cellar and are releasing a bourbon barrel aged version of 9,000. Now I just need to find a way to get a bottle so that the original doesn’t get lonely.

Axes of Evil


Gigantic Brewing has come out of the gate strong with a who’s who roster of collaborators in their first few months.

Pelican, Oakshire, Anchorage, Laurelwood, Breakside and now Three Floyds. That is a breakneck pace of brewing but a smart way to hit the ground running. I think I will have to send my mom on a Gigantic beer buying binge for me.

Oh, and GO TIMBERS!

Beer Shampoo


You can get a luxurious mane of craft beer smelling here from that bottle above thanks in part to Seattle’s Elysian Brewing. Might be the perfect gift for the craft beer fan who you need to get a present (other than beer for.)

Click HERE to check out via Amazon