Tag: 1st visit

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1st Visit – Beachwood Brewing in Bixby Knolls

The space formerly known as Liberation Brewing has been given a Beachwood make-over and will house, in the future, distilling operations.

I made a weekend visit to get a Beachwood beer fix and here are my thoughts…

Obviously the beer is great, a dry hopped Knucklehead Red was hoppy with a great spice malt background. Two barrel-aged tasters were cool to compare as well so this visit was more an interior decoration review.

The trophy tap handles are great, the space can be loud but there is outdoor seating out back and enough space to have a quiet conversation or a party as needed. The bar stools are comfortable despite no back to them and the artwork on the wall was bright and colorful and unique.

Other than that though, the space is not super different from the previous brewery. Maybe that will change when distilling fires up operations but as of now, it looks Beachwood for sure and is as of now, I nice counterpoint to Ambitious Ales up the street.

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1st Visit – Brews Brothers / Burbank

What once was the Burbank Simmzy’s is now the Burbank brewpub for Brews Brothers.

I have visited the original Brews Brothers and liked the space and the beer selection but now they have their own beer. The space is still the same. A bit clunky and cramped and dark with a sound system that sounds better outside than in. The brewing system is shoehorned in with not great access for when the staff had an empty keg that they had to hoist over a little wall.

I went Belgian with my choices a blonde that came in at a whopping 8.5% which seems more a Tripel to me as well as a Belgian IPA, another biggie at 8.25%.

Both were good, not great. The blonde fared better than the IPA which was quite a muddy color in the glass and not exhibiting much of a hop presence. I avoided the beer named Butt Chin since I believe that you should not name a beer with the word butt.

Prices are a bit high. Maybe there is a Burbank surcharge in there. But the place was hopping (pun intended) for a Wednesday. I think I prefer the NoHo branch a bit better.

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1st Visit – Walt’s Bar

Walt’s Bar has been on my to visit list for awhile now and despite it being literally one neighborhood over, I had not stepped inside until this year.  Maybe because I am more of a sit down with a beer kinda guy and not a play pinball and drink guy.

For those of you who, like me, haven’t visited, and are curious about it, here are my impressions…

There are 10 pinball machines lined up against one wall and that is probably the best decoration outside the very 50’s diner green bar stools and red bar counter.  The interior is quirky to say the least with formerly live stuffed animals, rotating hot dogs and with a big neon chicken on the wall. And it gets loud quickly if more than three machines are played.

But there is loads of outside seating to enjoy beers with friends.  Speaking of, on my visit there were two Radiant beers, an IPA from There Does Not Exist, 

Craftsman, Beachwood, Common Space and Highland Park as well as canned Hamms.  Oddly, there were no beer names on the menu. Just brown ale, IPA or hoppy lager.

The vibe is a little hipster and the beer choices pale compared to nearby Talon or the Glendale Tap but I can totally see how people would enjoy it. Probably won’t order a hot dog though.

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1st Visit – Broken Barrel Whiskey Co.

I returned from Kentucky with an increased knowledge and excitement about bourbon. While on the trip, I nailed down a visit to Broken Barrel Whiskey Company right here in Los Angeles.

Here are highlights from my interview with Benhaim….

It is not often that you get offered the chance to take an ax to a bourbon barrel but Broken Barrel Whiskey Co. is shaking the spirit game up, in more ways than one.

You have to start with the barrel staves.  It is the logical next step from Benhaim’s first spirit venture, Infused Vodkas just taken to the next, grander level.  Swapping fruit and vodka for wood and whiskey.  The staves are not limited to former Bourbon barrels but include rum, mezcal, sherry, Armagnac and even Amburana just to name a few.  And it is not chips or chunks, it is the whole stave.

It is so integral to the product that when Benhaim first coined the name Oak Bill, his teams first response was, trademark that.  Which he did.  The Oak Bill is now as prominent on the labels as the malt bill and Benhaim envisions the term being used far into whiskeys future.

Another shake to the status quo is that the finishing is done here in Los Angeles and not in Kentucky (Owensboro to be specific).  My big question was, why not a location in Kentucky, or a distillery here.  Bring the “juice” closer, as it were.  The answer was a bit of a wistful, maybe in the future.  The business is in that small “for now” phase where everyone pitches in on bottling day.  

I should pause here to talk about the whiskey that I tasted in Benhaim’s office which is stacked floor to ceiling with bourbons, gins, rums and vodkas.  So many that a computerized inventory is needed lest you forget a bottle in the back of a shelf.

I started light then moved up to cask strength before sampling two other smaller batch offerings.  California Oak has an Oak Bill of 80% Cabernet cask and 20% French Oak. It is 88 Proof and super easy to drink and a great vehicle to show off the wood notes.  Next was the Small Batch which used 40% Ex Bourbon, 40% New French Oak and 20% Sherry cask.  I tend to gravitate to whiskey that doesn’t Kentucky Hug you real hard so the slight wine note from the sherry helped cut the increased proof.

Next was the rye, which is another pull for me.  I find the spice a big plus in creating a balanced drink.  Broken Barrel’s Heresy Rye was my favorite of the tasting with another super small batch rye that was entered into competition, code name Magic Rye.

Both the Rye and the cask strength have the same Oak Bill as the Small Batch.  But I found the Cask Strength to be a bit too burly at 115 Proof. By that point in the tasting my mind starting wandering to what beer barrels would be great to splinter and add.  Perhaps a Pastry Stout or a Baltic Porter.  Or go big and age a Triple IPA in wood and then see if the hops pulled into the whiskey.

Purists may scoff but I see a blank canvas where creativity can flourish.  There will be some weird or wrong tastes along the way, Benhaim pointed out that Scotch staves do not work at all, but when a combination clicks.  It could be magic just with a few swings of an ax.

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1st Visit – Wild Parrot Brewing

Out to East Pasadena to visit Wild Parrot Brewing Company which shares a space with Rosebud Coffee.

photo Richard Rosen

The space is adorned with parrots making it a flying twin to Green Cheek Brewing. The brewery just recently opened and has six beers on too plus a SoCal ubiquitous Michelada.

All the beers were solid. No, WTF moments here. Usually new breweries and IPAs don’t mix well but their Pandemonium West Coast IPA was good.

On the other side of the ledger was the Porch Chill Amber which did not build on the momentum from the first two lagers. Was kinda flat and uninteresting to me.

The sour could have been more tart but had a nice lime flavor. The Coffee Stout was more a Coffee Porter but had a good coffee note to it.

The best in show was the Doug Heavy. Light enough for hot weather but Big enough for cloudy skies too.

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1st Visit – Malibu Brewing Company

The Hopped beer website has been pumping the gas on this new brewery for months now.  None of their canned line has made it over to the Valley so, the first weekend they were open for guests, I headed there with fellow beer fan Richard to scope out the beachy taproom of Malibu Brewing Company.

Here is the 1st Visit report….

Upscale barn meets PCH version of a strip mall. The restaurant and taproom (brewing operations are in Westlake Village) is in a development leaning heavily into the distressed wood look. There is a small bar area and a medium amount of seating inside and out.

There is a two side list of beers which is a quantity not normally seen in a just opened tap list. Granted they have been packaging their core beers for a few months but impressive even if discounting the Zima, sorry, Zuma hard seltzer.

I had a custom flight of a Schwarzbier, plum Porter, IPA and a Hoppy Rice Lager + their hazy DIPA. Pours are not badly priced considering it is near the beach. Look at the ounces key though. All slimmed down. You cannot order a pint!

That said, the quality of my five beers and the consensus of the table was that everything was solid. A new brewery almost always has a clunker or two or a bent to doing one style better than others. This menu had a hatch chile beer and a Rose lager in addition to others and all were good.

Sitting outside was great for people watching and nice after some roasty temperatures. The food was good as well.

If you need an escape from L.A. proper then you will find a lot to like here.

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1st Visit – Orange County -Part 2

I have to admit that Monkish Brewing has not been on my radar for quite some time.  Not due to quality or anything, they just blew up and getting in was simply harder to either avoid a can drop or big tap room crowds.  

But the Anaheim location has been on my radar, and I finally checked out M2 recently and here is what I found….

The old Anaheim Brewing space seems way more garden like.  Trees and shade on a hot day worked wonders. It is blocked off a bit but not so much that it is darkened.  Way less space inside. Gotta say, better than the cramped Torrance brewery.  Even though the seating is not what one would call comfortable.

If soft hops is your jam and you want to hit two breweries, Monkish and Unsung Brewing nearby would be a great 1-2 punch.

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1st Visit – Orange County – Part 1


I tooled down the 5 on a recent Sunday to check out the new Everywhere Beer Co. To get there, I passed by Angel Stadium as well as the Orange County location of Golden Road and a Karl Strauss.

Everywhere is the project of a breakaway group from The Bruery much in the way that Radiant Beer Co. is.  And both are happy and colorful places for a beer.  Lot’s of colorful painted figures on the wall.  A happy little wobbly circle mascot.  Actual booths to nestle into inside, outdoor seating as well.  Spanish tile creating a warming counterpoint. Views of the brewhouse from most angles.

First beer was Delicious Moments an Italian Pilsner. My half pour came in a cool cylindrical glass that emphasized the dark yellow color. Sharp malty and mineral taste. Not bubbly but not viscous either.

Next up was Gladness, a West Coast IPA is nice a bright.  A burst of hoppiness here that is different from the crowded IPA field.  I get melon and grape notes.  As it warmed the fruit pulled back a bit and the West Coast-iness came out.

The finishing beer was Magnificent Everything a DDH DIPA. Super pillowy soft and fruity.  Getting a strawberry note here. Tastes way less big than the Gladness.  Getting a wheat note here as well.  

The selection on offer was five beers, two sours and two seltzers.  A little more style variety will probably come as the production grows. They also have beer to-go as well to round out your choices.

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1st Visit – La Jara Brewing

La Jara Brewing which has only been open a couple of months is right off the 5 and Carmenita in that not Orange County not Los Angeles County zone.  If you look up at the right time you will catch the sign on the building as you drive.  

It is very bright and colorful inside the industrial space.  Murals on the walls are well done and create an oasis like feel despite the sprawl of concrete everywhere outside the building.  I really like the rocking chairs to the side of the bar as well as the wooden bar thar looks onto the brew floor. Or you can choose the side outdoor patio.

The staff were super friendly in that new brewery way. The space filled up quickly after the opening bell, so to speak, has been rung. The beer menu is in the style of Pizza Port with plenty of info to make your choices from. Nine beers were on tap from blonde to wheat and the IPA swath.

Let’s move to the beers…

Gateway Dark Lager – little spice to this semi-dark lager. closer to a Vienna to my tastebuds.

Hindsight Cold IPA – has an IPL look to it. Darkish but clear yellow.  Fruity aroma. Earthy hops in the lead with pils notes coming through behind it.

Backhaul Hazy – an unfiltered juice look here so off to a good start. Has the signature hop tongue scrape indicative of early hazes. That earthy hop note is present here too.

Stunt Dubbel – this comes on strong like a spirit but not in an ABV way, just assertive. Comes off as just a little green to me. Balance of sweet and malt is not bad though.

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Thunderbolt

I veer into cocktails on occasion, actually bulking up my bar this year for once, so I was excited to try Thunderbolt and their primarily pre-made drinks.

I started with one of two cocktails on the menu that had a charity component to it. $2.00 from the Highball of the Month goes to the Another Round Another Rally fund for hospitality workers. The glass and the slab of ice was very eyecatching with the red/pink of the brambled gin. This is a raspberry drink that you can drink all day.

Next was a final attempt at the famous Negroni. I have had two before this and the strange Campari flavor had left me unfulfilled. The Thunderbolt version was fine but it put the nailin the coffin of me liking Negroni’s.

The location on Temple is done up real well with a dark bar vibe that is pierced by sunlight from two sides. They also have beer and cider but the star is the spirited concoctions.