Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
One of my bottle shops stops is Talon Tap & Wine in Eagle Rock. Friendly people, you have a great selection that you can buy single cans of and there is a nice little bar in the back if you want to catch a game.
And this year, they are turning 5! There will be a special day of celebration for it on Saturday, October 5th.
After driving by it many, many, many times, I finally made a point of stopping at Western Station a mostly wine (but also beer) bar in Eagle Rock.
It is a small and dim but not dark space with a group setting in front but mostly bar seating. The beer and wine lists are chalked up in frames on one side. There is also a side wall with bottles of wine and a couple coolers with a small but nicely curated choice of beers. Any place that has Duvel bottles is a step ahead of the game.
The small draft list had Highland Park, There Does Not Exist and a pair of Craftsman beers and since I had not had the famous for Los Angeles 1903 Lager in quite some time, I went with that.
File Western Station under where you want to go when you have bi-curious beverage groups. Wine fans will find something and beer fans will too.
Party Beer Co. is on the move and it is for typical reasons for an L.A. brewery. The landlord.
But do not fret. The beer will continue, brewed at Eagle Rock Brewery until they can find a new forever home. The beer will also be on tap at what will be a combo Eagle Rock – Party Beer taprrom.
It is a shame that West Adams is losing a spot for craft beer because the area is under beer-ed.
Colorado Wine Co. in Eagle Rock begat Sunset Beer but the former has moved and the latter was pushed out by, well land greed. But now the original CoWineCo. is now Western Station. A beer and wine bar plus small bottle shop in Eagle Rock.
It will be open 7 days a week and I will certainly pop in to see what the new place is like.
A month or so back, I teased that Eagle Rock Brewery was expanding to a location in Burbank. That location has a name and logo now…
…it also has a bit more information about it. You will obviously be able to buy Eagle Rock beer but there will be wine and other goodies on sale as well.
Opening date is not set but I will certainly 1st Visit report on it.
Walt’s Bar has been on my to visit list for awhile now and despite it being literally one neighborhood over, I had not stepped inside until this year. Maybe because I am more of a sit down with a beer kinda guy and not a play pinball and drink guy.
For those of you who, like me, haven’t visited, and are curious about it, here are my impressions…
There are 10 pinball machines lined up against one wall and that is probably the best decoration outside the very 50’s diner green bar stools and red bar counter. The interior is quirky to say the least with formerly live stuffed animals, rotating hot dogs and with a big neon chicken on the wall. And it gets loud quickly if more than three machines are played.
But there is loads of outside seating to enjoy beers with friends. Speaking of, on my visit there were two Radiant beers, an IPA from There Does Not Exist,
Craftsman, Beachwood, Common Space and Highland Park as well as canned Hamms. Oddly, there were no beer names on the menu. Just brown ale, IPA or hoppy lager.
The vibe is a little hipster and the beer choices pale compared to nearby Talon or the Glendale Tap but I can totally see how people would enjoy it. Probably won’t order a hot dog though.
Whether you call them Mom & Pop, locals, or small business, times are tough. That is why I am highlighting The Fable, right close to me in Eagle Rock.
You can get a nice, little array of beverages from them. Cider, cocktails, kombucha and yes, beer. It may not be the tip of the beer curve, but if you need to support local. It should be an option.
Eagle Rock is dipping it’s toe into delivery and has two excellent options for you starting with the very real, Virtual Happy Hour. A “rye IPA features Mosaic and Dr. Rudi hops..”
2nd up is the intriguing Local Source which “is a Helles lager brewed with Local, Native Plants including Woolly Blue Curls, California Bay Laurel, and Black Sage from Theodore Payne’s Nursery.”
I was vigilantly checking my credit card statement when I saw a strange name on a purchase. I looked at my calendar and saw that I was at the Eagle Rock branch of Craft Beer Cellar that night and not at some place called Talon. I dug a little more and found out that the Talon is now the new name of the bottle shop.
The only news that I can find was on Facebook saying that Tom & Nicki have taken over. Leads me to think that the franchising through Craft Beer Cellar is having problems over on the West Coast too or maybe some other answer is at the root of the sign change.
I made a quick stop and did not see any of the regular staff on hand but the shelves were stocked so let’s hope that the beer choices stay strong.
Looks like Relentless is fitting into their Eagle Rock environs. They have teamed up with fellow Colorado Blvd. business, The Oinkster to create an IPA’d version of their Oinksterade citrus drink. Combining Citra, Loral, Calypso and Cryo Simcoe to mimic the orange lemonade goodness. They also added orange and lemon zest to add a little more zing.