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.
Rip Current
Here is another SoCal brewery to keep an eye on as it puts the brewing equipment into place, Rip Current Brewing. You can check them out on FaceBook and eventually on their own website in the future.
The pace of new breweries is simply amazing, especially in locales that you would think have enough already. Now if we can get some East Coast brewers to build in LA.
The Tripel + Smog City =
In one of my homework assignments over on FoodGPS, I implored people to sample some Smog City beers. Well, lo and behold, now you have a chance….
“To celebrate the culmination of American Craft Beer Week, Smog City Brewery and The Tripel are teaming up for a night of big brews and fantastic food. The evening kicks off with a cocktail beer hour, followed by a special four-course tasting menu created by Brooke Williamson and Nick Roberts. Each course will be paired with a limited edition Smog City beer, all on draft. This special evening on May 21st begins at 6:30 p.m., and seating is extremely limited! For those unable to make the ticketed event, The Tripel will offer the special menu à la carte along with the limited selection of Smog City beers from 9pm to close.
Selection of Hors Oeuvres” The cost is $65.00
Little Bo Pils
Hot and Sour Cockle Soup with Saison Runnings,
Sweetened Egg Omelette, and Wood Ear Mushrooms
L.A. Saison
Black Bread with Rabbit Pâté and Pickled Icicle Radish
Sabre-Toothed Squirrel
Beet Pasta with Wild Boar Ragout and Porcini Mushroom
Oaked Penumbra Stout
House Made Box of Candies
Groundwork Coffee Porter
Monkish Brewing
On the last day of March, I visited the newly opened L.A. brewery by the name of Monkish that has opened in Torrance. (And I squeezed in a visit to Strand and their new tasting room too)
These photos are the teaser for the main article on Monkish that will arrive tomorrow over on FoodGPS.
Henry Nguyen with a flight of Monkish Belgian ales. Oblate, Crux and Rosa’s Hips.
The brewing operations and a saint too!
Berryessa Brewing
Winters, California has a new brewery (with tap room underway) in Berryessa Brewing.
Aside from the cool logo, there is litle on the official Berryessa websites about their brews that I could find in a quick search so, like I asked with Southern Pacific Brewing, if you have sampled their beers at Sacramento or San Francisco beer weeks, let me know your thoughts and give me recommendations.
Should I try Freshie, their pale ale or their Common Sense California common first?
2011 Brewery # 2 – Pacific Brewing Laboratory
We travel all the way back across the country for our second highlighted brewery of February to get to http://www.pacbrewlab.com/about/ in the Bay area.
And they have started with two unique beers. Squid Ink which is a black type IPA and a Hibiscus saison. And that second one sounds really good. I wish more people would use hibiscus in beers. It has such a distinctive and refreshing flavor.
And as many a brewery before it they started via the home brew route, “Pac Brew Lab started in a garage as a place for Patrick and Bryan to experiment with new beer flavors, styles, and brewing techniques. What started out as a place to share new creations with friends grew into a bi-monthly, totally free event with hundreds of our “new” friends and great local street food vendors.”
I & I
I was reading about the new Little Bear bar on the interwebs (I forget where, apologies in advance) and I ran across this bit of news: “I & I Brewing, the newest in the thriving micro and small brewery business, has opened shop today in Chino. The menu currently features six offerings, including Honey Cream Ale, Peach Wheat Ale and a Belgian Cranberry Wheat. Their tasting room is open only on Fridays (4PM to 9PM) and Saturdays (1PM to 9PM)”
Aside from the fact that my last name starts with I, this is cool on another front. Every community should have their own brewery. And maybe one day I&I will make it to L.A. and be a player just like Hangar 24 from Redlands is today.
Venice Ale House
It is sometimes hard for a now SoCal valley boy to make it out to the craft beer hot spots at the beach. Sometimes I just need a little extra something to get me out to the Pacific.
That something was the release of a new house beer for the Venice Ale House which has been on the scene only since last August. It is called Hi Hop XPA. And it would make an excellent choice for sitting right there on the northern end of the infamous Venice boardwalk. It had a bright citrus aroma and a long and lingering bitter hit. I would call it closer to IPA or pale despite the light yellow color but whatever style it fits, it is a good brew and one that I hope may be followed by more.
It is currently being contract brewed with the hope that one day it can be done in a brewery in Venice. But until that day, one will have to make do with a great beer list that is heavy on locals (Cismontane, Eagle Rock, Strand) on rotation as well as a steady list of other fine brews.
The food is quite good too and is organic and locally sourced. I recommend the salmon sandwich with the Hi Hop particularly. This is food that is miles above the usual grub found on the boardwalk and you get the same great view.
The only downside that I saw with one visit now under my belt is that it will get crowded in the summer or on any other beautiful weekend.
Cannery # 2 – Mammoth Brewing
Since this is CanFest month, my featured breweries don’t come from just one state or region but share the commonality of canning!
Mammoth has shown up in L.A. markets on occasion and their IPA 395 is a spicy and bitter treat.
They are part of the trend of brewers who do both bottles and cans.
Grab a can or bottle when you see their stuff. Both the Epic IPA and the pilsner were tasting good at Canfest this year.