Tag: DTLA

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LABW7 – Angel City

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We are one day into L.A. Beer Week but there are still events that need to be talked about. Angel City has a full slate of fun parties. 

June 22nd, 7pm – Ale Academy: Beer + Cheese Edition

Beer and cheese are two of the best things on earth. Join Angel City for an educational evening about the basic principles of pairings. Attendees will be walked through a curated flight of five Angel City beers and five cheeses from Vagabond Co.

June 24th, 7pm – Desert Dreams Beer Release

New brew alert! Angel City is releasing limited-time Desert Dreams, a one-of-a-kind beer brewed with organic black Mission figs, buckwheat honey, orange peel, prickly pear cactus juice and dry spiced with just a touch of desert sage. The beer was the brainchild of Lori Newman, the winner of Angel City Brewery’s ‘What Would You Brew?’ contest. Brewers will be on hand to talk about the making of the beer and lead guests through a tasting. Tickets can be purchased here.

June 25th, 7pm – Employee Battle of the Beers

Which Angel City staff member’s beer recipe reigns supreme? That’s for the fans to determine. It’s all part of Angel City’s first ever employee brewing contest, ‘Employee Battle of the Beers.’ The three beers will go head-to-head as fans vote for their favorite after sipping a flight that includes a sample of each.

The contenders are:

– Raspbanero, an ale brewed with raspberries and habanero

–Citra IPA, a single hop IPA featuring strong citrus and tropical fruit aromatic notes

–Rosemary Honey Amber Ale, a classic American Amber accented with notes of honey and fresh rosemary

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In the Tap Lines for June 2015

header_attractionsThis is L.A. Beer Week month. From the 20th to the 28th, the City of Angels becomes a beer destination for all comers starting with a blowout local brewery bash at Exposition Park near USC.  Plus…..

~ e-visits to three breweries who were at the recent Firestone Walker Invitational
~ special reviews of beers from new to L.A. 21st Amendment
~ Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark
~ Beer-centric podcast review, goes scientific with Beervana
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world
~ … and Session # 100 will converge bloggers onto a single topic, this month it is Resurrecting Lost Beer Styles

Here are two events to get your June started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) June 1st – Burger Week at both of the Oinkster locations with Red Tick Ale from Highland Park Brewery
2) June (anytime) – Check out the new DTLA gastropub and homebrewer space of BarrelDown.

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GRB @ GCM

If you thought that Golden Road OC would be the second outpost then you have bet wrong.  Your next Hefeweizen / Wolf Among Weeds/ Point the Way spot will be downtown at the Grand Central Market.

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The market has really undergone a gentrification transformation in a microcosm with gourmet coffee, cheeses, kombucha and BBQ taking over stalls and now barstools will be part of the equation.  Maybe even a special beer for the location to go along with taps, growler fills and cans to go.

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Review – Heritage Festival at Angel City

This is the third Heritage Festival for Angel City Brewery and the first visit for me.
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Say what you want about the sometimes uneven beers from the DTLA brewery but they have an ideal party space. Whereas noise at most festivals is a cacophony of conversation, street noise and music, the cavernous ACBC space diffuses sound so that conversations can take place plus I love the art on the walls which is of the edgy graffiti-esque variety. It is a pleasant change from the big screen TV usual in some bars and taprooms.
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But what about the beer?  I tasted one of my favorites Marilyn along with a flight of darker beers that included the new Orange Cocoa, Dark Rye Lager aged in Brandy barrels and the Imperial Chai Stout.  Despite the heat of the day, the stout was quite good. There was a progression of flavors from stout to orange to chocolate.  I had a bottled version of the chai before and it had more  of the tea character on draft. It is hard to balance spice in a beer and this was a skosh too heavy but not egregiously so. The Rye Brandy though was far too spirited for me. The beer was overwhelmed by the brandy. That being said, if you like brandy, than this beer might be for you.

Also on the plus side of the ledger was the food.  Two L.A. institutions were in attendance.  Kogi and Phillipe’s Original.  Can’t beat that for food choices.  Plenty of seating both inside and out and little to no lines either.  That is a recipe for a fun Sunday afternoon.

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Dragons & Gold Lines

Occasionally, beer events come in pairs and this past couple days was no exception.

Sunday, Ommegang debuted their third installment from the Game of Thrones beer, Fire and Blood. Atop the Fonda and Blue Palms Brewhouse, I sipped the new beer whilst sitting in my rightful place. Well almost. The line for the Iron Throne was longer than the beer line.

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The dragon themed red ale is my favorite of the three Game of Thrones offerings very Belgian Lots of esters here. Nice amount of hops as well. Well done. Some grape notes as well. According to the Ommegang folks in attendance the fire and blood is is a combo of spelt and rye and de-seeded ancho chiles.

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As usual Brian and his crew had the show running smoothly satisfying beer nerds, Westeros fans and fans of really big turkey kegs.

Then the very next night, I headed into DTLA and Angel City Brewery to sample two of their newer offerings.  I have had more beers from this new incarnation of Angel City that fall into the OK category than “Wow!” (and I am one of the few non-fans of the Avocado beer and their French Sip) but on the other hand I do like their pilsner and their Session IPA (which was one of the first I had seen before the 2014 explosion of SIPA’s) so my enthusiasm was both lowered and raised for their new Summer Wheat.

Re-tasting the newly christened Gold Line pilsner, it holds it’s place as a go-to beer for an L.A. summer. Slight minerality/metal note. But crisp with a note of wheat and grain to it. Simple and well done.

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The new Summer Wheat is similar in composition but has a slight off note with a bit of citrus to it and a slight but strange tart note to it. The wheat taste isn’t there for me and it has a bitter finish that doesn’t work with the rest of the beer.

The winner of the night is a beer going on tap tonight that I got a sneak preview of.  It is the winner of “What Would You Brew” contest.  Emily Finch has created a blueprint that brewer Dieter Foerstner has taken to create a really complex beer.  It is a Mexican Cola beer.  It also has citrus and tamarind and it is flat out good.  Certainly in the top 3 AC DC beers.  And their will be a rum barrel version coming down the pike later this year.

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Angel City coming SOON

Ever since Angel City Brewery re-started back in 2012, they probably have kept getting asked the same brewery question. When are you going to be open? As beer geeks know, that always takes too long and usually not because the brewery doesn’t want to be open.

Well, we are closer to the start for Angel City. They had a sneak peek on the 4th and they will be open soon. With hours from Tuesday through Sunday. That was good news to hear but even better was that there was a new beer flowing! Vanilla Porter. And though a skosh cold for me it had a pleasant vanilla taste that was strong but not sweet and a good base porter as well.
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The bar area is looking good…
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.. and the rest of the massive building is slowly coming into focus.
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When I see this space, so many possibilities swirl through my head. Though I will not try the slide.
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