Tag: Angel City

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Angel City – New Look Labels

Angel City has been quietly plugging away in the background of the Los Angeles scene. Sure they have been at the L.A. Beer Week and other events and you can find their beer especially downtown. But the tap room is still in process and the beers and the beer names were in R&D for awhile.

But now, here are some label images for what you will be seeing on store shelves….


I like that they are evoking the grand movie palaces of downtown with these looks. It ties in with the Hollywood theme and plays nicely with the Angel City logo. All of a retro L.A. Noir piece but with room to grow and be creative.

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Angel City + Alchemy & Science =

Big news for the Los Angeles beer world, Alchemy & Science which is a new division (?) of Boston Beer Company has purchased Angel City Brewing which had recently moved to downtown LA last year.

Before I opine on the matter, here are the posts from the great BeerNews.org that detail what happened. # 1. # 2. # 3.

This seems to be uncharted territory as far as I know in the beer world. There is the Craft Brewers Alliance and the Magic Hat group where there is a pooling of resources but those are different from what appears is going on here with Angel City and A&S. The first question that I have is, and should always be the first question in any analysis of a business deal, will the beer quality improve? If Michael Bowe is allowed to just brew and someone else does the marketing and distribution, will that be a change for the better? Only time will tell, but my initial gut instinct is that it will.

Angel City, in recent years, had been eclipsed by Eagle Rock, Strand and El Segundo in buzz and number of tap handles. And Craftsman beers were always more highly regarded especially from a keeping the craft beer flame lit in Los Angeles perspective. Will the big business and dollars behind the new Angel City be a turn off to the craft beer crowd? I think it might.

One good thing is that the craft beer spotlight is now shining on Los Angeles for a bit. Can we as consumers and bloggers and lovers of craft beer keep that focus on LA?

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Los Angeles Beer Festival

A beautiful Southern California day to have beer…

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…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.