Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
When in Los Angeles, you can obviously get great tacos but pizza and hamburgers are not too far behind either. And it is that last food item that interests us today because this month, Highland Park Brewery has an interesting line-up that will pair very well with their pilsners….
…the last one, Yellow Paper is darn good but I am even more intrigued by what Fluid State from Ventura and ISM from Long Beach are cooking up.
Usually on the drive southward and home from Paso Robles, I will stop in Santa Barbara for beer and a leg stretch. This time, since I am so far behind when it comes to my Ventura County beers, I decided to make a double stop in Ventura at Topa Topa Brewing and the nearby Fluid State Beer Garden.
On a corner of Main Street, you can see the design ethos of Fluid State with their wrap-around name on the building. This is a great spot with a well-curated tap list and some pizza by the slice that isn’t too fussy. I had the Dr. Pepperoni which had both sliced and chunked pepperoni on top. I love the wood used for the bar and tables with mermaid blue chairs at the bar. This is a perfect summer patio spot. I sampled Corralitos Hot Tip IPA and Central Coast’s Fresh Kicks Hazy IPA.
A nice brisk walk in the vicinity of the Mission brings you towards Topa Topa. It is a small-ish space with another nice (enclosed) patio. They were quite a few style options on tap but I was most excited to try the Sespe Pilsner and Dos Topas Mexican Lager. Both were really nice entrants into their respective categories.
I then made a third (unplanned) stop at Leashless Brewing which is just down the street from TT. They are organic, Belgian and when possible, gluten-reduced beers. Since it was near the end of my long beer weekend, I settled on 1618. A Belgian Red IPA. The menu is neatly split amongst Belgian standards and IPA’s and again, they have a lovely patio that faces a park to calm your nerves as you drink.