Tag: Culver City

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Some Dry Goods Too

Stanley’s Wet Goods is part of the Los Angeles trend towards fancy grocery shops that every cool neighborhood has to have.  SWG is on Venice a few short blocks off the confusing road patterns of downtown Culver City.

Big high ceilings houses what, to me, is a goodly sized wine selection.  There are tinned fish cans because this is also de rigeur in L.A. now.  A liquor selection that is better gin wise than bourbon and a smallish, kinda old look can collection for craft beer fans.

There is a nice sized bar area, inside and out and predominantly wine by the glass along with a food menu that is a little bigger than what I have seen at other shop and stop spots.

If you need a beer, draft is a better choice.  Only five options but two are Radiant Beer Co. which are always solid.  

The best option is the RTD cooler.  Lots of great options from Ventura Spirits and Death & Co.  and you could get a canned French 75 too.

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Triple Tiki

The triple IPA deluge is continuing with a Thor Heyerdahl entrant from Los Angeles Ale Works, Kon Tiki.

“We took a different approach with this beer, using our hazy IPA yeast before spinning through the centrifuge. This preserves the complex, yeast-driven tropical aromas while keeping the body closer to more traditional IPAs.  On the nose, Kon Tiki has loads of pineapple and mango, followed by subtle sweet notes of passionfruit, mango and ripe citrus.”

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1st Visit – Los Angeles Ale Works at Ivy Station

When I was in Portland, I visited a coffee shop that was next door to a bottle shop which was part of an apartment complex. It made me wonder what it would be like to have that availibility so close.

If you live at the Ivy Station in Culver City you now have an outpost of Los Angeles Ale Works an elevator ride away.

Yesterday, I was able to step inside for the first time. The color scheme is great, warm blues with wooden slats plus blue speckled countertops. The space is rectangular and a bit smaller than I expected with a corridor of outside seating facing the Metro.

I liked the little touches on the chairs….

…and the beer list was full. No lack of choices…

…this a great addition to what is becoming a Metro beer crawl with Santa Monica Brew Works to the west and Party Beer to the east. Dodger and Angel City FC fans will have a great place to pre-game as well.

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Ale in the Ivy

Los Angeles Ale Works is getting a 2nd tap room location and it is in the “in the works” Ivy Station development that will be the new home of HBO amongst other shoppes and eateries. The location will have 24 taps, a patio to enjoy your beer on, and takeaway sales if you do not like patios. Expect last half of 2020 for this to open.

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The Hi-Lo Counter

The wonderfully fun little specialty shop, Hi-Lo in Culver City has added a tasting counter with draft beer as well as wine to make your time near the Expo Line more fun before you grab some take home cans and bottles.

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Harajuku + Baird Beer

There has been a noticeable decline in foreign beer but maybe that tide is turning.

Harajuku Taproom opened their first U.S. location in Culver City. The five strong chain from Japan does izakaya fare with craft beer.

The oddly Germanic named Adam Guttentag longtime friend of Bryan Baird, founder and owner of Baird Beer, and the original Harajuku Taproom in Tokyo is behind the new Southland venture.

There will be traditional yakitori, skewers and house-made gyoza but most importantly, Baird Beer will be in abundance, see below, and that is a good thing.

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1st Visit – A Duo in Culver City

Metro is a great way to get to certain beer locales across Los Angeles. Caveats being that the Blue Line ranges between uncomfortable to scary and the 90/91 bus back to Glendale runs every other day it seems.

A more pleasant ride is the Expo Line which I took for the first time on a recent Sunday. The goal was to stop in Culver City at two new spots for beer. Hi-Lo Liquor and The Cannibal L.A.

The latter is part of the Platform concept that is right across the street from the Culver City station. There is a little butcher shop / bottle shop in the corner of the wood dominated restaurant. Damn they have high prices. No beer from the wood plank tap handles was under $8. $15 for Bretta Rose. $10 for Power Plant. It was a good sign to see the Beachwood style beer regulator on the wall.

There were a wide variety of bottles to buy but I am concerned that they face the big windows that are great for watching the trains roll in but are letting in light too. The bottle and can prices rise with the rarity to a crazy (for me) $30 for a de Garde beer from Oregon. Would be cheaper to fly to the Oregon coast and buy it there.

I ordered a Modern Times Ice Pilsner along with a biscuit and bacon. It was a nice small brunch and fueled me for the short walk to my next stop, Hi-Lo Liquor.

This is a small square space with loads of artisanal treats. If I had a gift card, I could go nuts. Up on the back wall is a cooler of curated beer choices. (With unfortunately some macros on the far right taking up space). If this was in my neighborhood, I would be dropping in to check the new stuff all the time. They carry spirits and wine too.

I consider it a spot to pack a Hollywood Bowl picnic. Now if they would add some taps, I would stay even longer.

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Hi and Lo


There is a plethora of liquor stores in the Southland. Some nowadays even posterize their windows with the well-funded craft brands in an attempt to lure unsuspecting craft beer fans.

But a new store coming to Culver City with the old fashioned name of Hi-Lo wants to reinvent that model.

“Hi-Lo offers a spectrum of modest as well as boutique liquors, from affordable, quality Kentucky whiskeys, to small-batch wines and seasonal cult beers. Plus, a revolving selection of uniquely curated, heritage sundries.”

Their initial beer list includes locals like Dogtown, Homage and Eagle Rock with out of town favorites like 21st amendment and Founders. You can build your own 6-pack or peruse the cocktail accessories and stock your bar at home. Then pick up some bites to go along with your beverages.