1st visit – Page 5 – Beer Search Party

December 12, 2018November 30, 2018

1st Visit – Imperial Western Beer Co. at Union Station

I chose a rare wet and windy day to Gold Line myself to Union Station to make my first visit to the new-ish Imperial Western Beer Co. Part of the 213 Hospitality Group and sister brewery to Arts District Brewing a few blocks away. I had super high hopes for ADBC which is fine but hasn’t really super impressed me. That left me wondering how the beer would be here. On the flip side, the photos from various websites were fantastic looking Well, expectations are just that. The space is smaller and less grand than the shiny photos made it look. Don’t get me wrong, the space looks really nice. There is a good amount and different seating set-ups and you can’t go wrong with the look and architecture of the space. There is a weird little front bar that is part (not working yet) coffee bar and host/hostess stand that I think would be better utilized for more seating. At the rectangle bar near the kitchen there is a businessman with ear piece, travelers coming in for a quick beer and local workers. The oyster special seems a big draw, saw three sixers of the slimy things go by. (Not a oyster fancier am I)

And while the surroundings were fine the four beers from the quite large selection sampled were good to above average. I would pick IWBC or ADBC based on this initial taster tray. Below are my quick takes on the beers…

Table Manners Patersbier
Nice Belgian character. A little sharp. Banana prominent. A bit viscous on the palate

Calliope Hazy IPA
Bright fruit character. Haze has left. Concord grape. Nice medium hop hit.

Union Station Pale Lager
Lots of grain and corn. Smooth and easy to drink. Really light yellow.

Fred Harvey Hefe
Not super hefe’y. The Table Manners has more banana. Might have gotten the beers flipped? Couldn’t quite tell from the color.

Lastly, I tried the new…
Some S’mores Stout
Arts District will do the More version. A serviceable Stout. Some chocolate notes. Expecting more flavor components to it.

Next time I go, I will test out the Streamliner bar which wasn’t quite open when I visited.

October 16, 2018October 13, 2018

1st Visit – Hand-Brewed Beer

Inexorably, I am catching up to the goal of visiting all of the Los Angeles area breweries. Still have a few in Long Beach and one up Newhall way, but first is Hand-Brewed Beer in Chatsworth.

A long time ago in a galaxy, far, far away: I sampled some Hand-Brewed beers but the road to a taproom has been long for this brewery. Three months in, I headed to De Soto Avenue to see the space.

It is a nice set-up. A good amount of seating, warm with wood fencing on the wall and the HB logo emblazoned on it. The beer list is on a TV and is easily read with a good amount of information on it. A good solid space with attentive and easy to talk to staff.

Of the four beers I sampled and another that I sipped, the quality is still on the way. The Santa Susanna Saison was my favorite but even it was an overall mid-ranker. The Nitro Latte Brown was fine but thin with very little coffee taste. Of the two IPAs, the Brumeux was the better. A DIPA by name, it didn’t taste very strong and the hop quality faded quickly. The 4th Anniversary beer was all over the map. Made with honey, it was a little sweet, a little bitter and a little astringent and honestly smelled a little funny.

If I was to rank, I would slot the 8one8 brewery higher in terms of beer and atmosphere. Hand-Brewed has worked hard to get to this day and I hope that the beer continues to grow.

May 12, 2018August 27, 2018

1st Visit – 8one8 Brewing

On a recent warm Sunday afternoon, I took a little drive on the Reagan freeway to check out the recently opened 8one8 Brewing taproom which just recently opened.

I ordered up a flight and had it delivered to me at my table along with a water! Here are my quick hit reviews:
Bodie’z Pale Ale – rye and mosaic. More rye than hops to me little bit green too
1st Stage IPA – smells light. More session. Grain forward to me.
Good Day DIPA – bronze color. Way too much caramel. No hops at all. Not great.
Gravity Hill Belgian – big banana esters. Little overboard on it. Doesn’t grow on me.

There is a lot in front and I like part of the decor. It has a flight freight Indiana Jones decor going on but then that is a bit diminished by a Staples open sign, some “art” 2 and two TVs tuned to the Dodgers.

There is a nice amount of space inside with 22oz bottles to go. I was given a shade more than the taster fill line which was probably the opening week hospitality in effect.

They have some room to grow but a decent start for this brewery.

February 25, 2018August 27, 2018

1st Visit – Common Space Brewing

While visiting State Brewing earlier this month, I drove west on El Segundo to make a first visit to Common Space. I had only tried one of this new brewery’s beers so I was interested in tasting a flight and getting a better handle on how they are doing, early in the run. SO early that the version numbers are still in use and a whiteboard (better suited for a corporations meeting room) were still in effect.

The space is huge with a nice amount of seating inside and a large patio outside that buts right up to a dedicated food truck spot (which shows some forward thinking). There is a large brewing area and to the right seems just empty space punctuated by a few bags of grain.

For the beers, I tried the Pils, Jasmine Saison, Strong Saison and the new version of the IPA. All were very strong with my winner of the group being the Pils. I skipped over the Light Beer and Coffee Stout. Saving those for a future visit. The color palette was really nice and it is an overall strong start quality wise.

I am not a fan of the name or the interlocking circle motif. Both seem, well, common and don’t really scream Hawthorne or Los Angeles to me. Though you can argue that Space and Space X are matching but that seems a reach to me. Maybe the locked down versions of the beers will bear names that tie into the community.

January 9, 2018August 27, 2018

1st Visit – State Brewing

Only a few days into the new year and I have notched another brewery to my tally. I hadn’t expected to visit so early, but a window of time opened and without hesitation I drove down to Gardena to visit State Brewing.

The brewery seems to be in a residential section of town at first but it the area turns industrial as I see the roll-up door that opens up to the space. First thing I see are the rows of empty crowlers behind the bar waiting for to-go orders. There is a nice amount of seating and a TV menu board between two sports tuned TV’s. Said menu board is in a bad place in relation to the bar, forcing the person to swivel to the left and backward to see what is on tap. They probably need to add paper menus at the bar (which they might have, I didn’t see them though)

State is playing both sides and the fence with their beers as they do West Coast, Hazy and hybrid IPA’s as well as pils and many stouts.

Here are my notes on what I sampled:
Baby Merman– Hoppy Pils
Mosaic and Saaz – lemony and malt mix, a bit thin

Super Smoove Move– NE IPA
Fuzzy on the roof of the mouth pineapple. Quite bitter. Unbalanced

New Toy– Project Vanilla with mint and cocoa nibs
Very vanilla, followed by a lot of mint. Like leaves.

Project Nicaragua– RIS with coffee
Very bitter burnt beans. Silky texture. Not super balanced either.

Elbows Off– Table Saison
Very thin. Has the Belgian character though. Little bit of clove

Nice Chucks– NE IPA
Best of the bunch. Very fruity with minimal bitterness.

October 3, 2017August 28, 2018

1st Visit – Ten Mile Brewing

Being on the Westside for a bit, I decided, on the spur of the moment, to check out the new brewery in Signal Hill amongst the oil pumps off the 405, Ten Mile Brewing.

I was pleasantly surprised from start to finish. Tucked into the corner of an unassuming building, the brewery has been well outfitted with wood and metal. Especially impressive is the menu board. Really well done.

Extended descriptions of the beers are on sheet handed over with your taster tray and are helpful for both those new to beer and those who have visited many a brewery. I tried all but the milk stout, and found all to be clean and well done. The Kentucky Common even grew on me after my initial thought was that it was too watery and light.

There is a NE IPA coming as well as Direct TV for those that want to watch the new NFL team in town. I would suggest the Pale Ale Citrallenial and the well named Segway to Munich Helles Lager.

Plus, if you choose your seat carefully, you get a view of the really old city cemetery across the road. Not your usual brewery scenery.

January 14, 2017August 28, 2018

1st Visit – Verdugo West

Verdugo West threw open their doors on the 11th for a soft opening and I was there to check out the new Burbank brewery tucked up against the 5 freeway.

My favorite beer from brewer Chris Walowski was the Jack Roller pale ale. Nice and crisp without being a heavy-handed hop bomb that some so-called pales can be.

The Wax Wing blonde was my second choice. Solid and clean with good carbonation. What Plane? was the third of the core beers on tap and it was a solid entry in the porter/stout category.

They also were pouring variants of those three. Dry Hopped pale, ginger Wax Wing and a coffee What Plane? None of which were markedly improved by the additions. All seemed a little out of balance. Sometimes adding to an existing beer without allowing for room for both to breath can be hard.

The thin space was crowded with people from Burbank who had been coming in a stream since the opening at 4pm. There are still some kinks to work out which is what a soft open is supposed to reveal. The menu board needs work. Only the core beers were up and could use more description in the manner that say, Chapman Crafted has done. Payment was a little slow and the limited space combined with that to make the bar area a bit traffic jammy. Again, once people learn the system, the people will be served quicker and be out of the way.

You can also order food from sister company Market City, which is a plus.

A solid start for the newest brewery in Burbank.

January 3, 2017August 29, 2018

1st Visit – Mt. Lowe Brewing

Less, than a week ago, I had heard about and then posted the news that a new brewery had sprung up in Arcadia, unbeknownst to me. And before, Christmas, I snuck in a visit as a gift to myself. Here is the 1st Visit report of Mt. Lowe Brewing.

I ordered up the usual 1st Visit fare, a taster tray of “everything you got”. In this case it meant six beers which is a pretty good start for a new brewery.

Of the group the Inspiration Porter was the clear winner. Working with coconut is barely done well but there version was restrained with a touch of sweetness and a hearty base of malts. Maybe it was the slightly cold L.A. snap but the beer was a nice warm up. Second place went to the Rubio Red which had a buoyant spice profile and a dash of hop bitterness to make the beer come alive.

Mid-pack was the Incline Ale which I guess was a pale or pale amber. It was fine. Not much of a hop profile to it which leads me to the amber descriptor. The Bungalow Blonde wins points for the name which nods to both the architecture and history of the San Gabriel Valley but the beer itself falls into the fine category as well.

The Hef was lacking in both the clove and banana department. I wanted more punch from it. Too restrained and more tilted to just a wheat beer. But it was much better than the Hills Have IPA. Another great name but the beer was no where near hoppy and was more muddy and closer to a light barleywine.

The location is close by Santa Anita Avenue so if you can catch the 210 at one of the rare slack times, you can be there in a jiff. Inside is sectioned off so you can have friends get together and not have to yell. You can choose booths or the bar. I appreciate that they have filled the space without sacrificing free roaming space.

As far as starts go, they have a good base of beers to evolve from but nothing really made the leap of marking Mt. Lowe as one to watch closely. Keep it in mind and check in a few months to see how the beers have grown since opening.

October 4, 2016August 29, 2018

First Visit – Santa Monica Brew Works

Looks like my beer buddy Rich has a brewery within walking distance, and for the rest of us, we can use the new Expo Line and be dropped off nearby.

The brewery is Santa Monica Brew Works and I made my first visit last week.

Here are some of the photos:

The menu board. Core to the left, Seasonal on the right.

April 28, 2016August 30, 2018

1st Visit – Scholb Premium Ales

I e-mail corresponded with Scholb Premium Ales which you can read over on Food GPS. Now I actually visited. (After a side trip to Smog City and before a short jaunt to King Harbor)

Scholb is in the same complex as Absolution Brewing but at the latter I was unimpressed whereas Scholb is off to a good, strong start. The Columbia Street Pale Ale was bright and fruity and better than most in this crowded category. My second favorite was the Cherry Wood Smoked Brown which at first seemed thin but filled in nicely with a different smoke note that I found pleasing. Dad’s IPA was a strong third. My only clinker was the Bat Ray Red IPA. It seemed a little dimmer compared to the other hoppy offerings.

It’s s nice big space. Big logo on the wall and super cool taster trays made out of plastic piping. There are Wisconsin ties to the four part ownership group and maybe they can bring a Midwestern beer or three into the line-up for the out-of-state expats. As it stands, it is worth a visit to try the new kid in Torrance.