Tag: From the Barrel

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Review – From the Barrel with Firestone Walker

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From the Barrel presented by Firestone Walker is a one of a kind event. I often wish / lament that events or beers were held here in Los Angeles and FtB fits into that category.

It is a well-run show. You know that the choices of beer, spirits and food will be plentiful and good. But it is the not-so-little things that make this event a success. The amount of tickets sold is regulated. The location adds to the ambience. The localness of the vendors. All of it is needed or even the best beer will not taste as good.

FtB is unabashadely a post-prohibition party and even I, a non- costume dress up guy who tired of Halloween long ago, had fun dressing up a bit.

What caught my palate on the drink side was Crooked Stave’s Blueberry beer was really good as was the barrel aged Manhattan shaken by the Eureka! Burger folks. I was also taken with the selection of Moonshines from straight-up to Apple Pie to Sweet Tea from American Born,  Ninkasi threw a change-up with an IPA, This is Why I’m Hop that cut through the bigger beers on offer.

Even with three hours, there was no way that I could taste all that I wanted to taste without passing out. That is both a good and a bad thing. I am of the temperament that if given ten choices, I will want to try all ten. I would be happy with five but if I miss five then I feel like I got less. All of that is to say that I think the choices (except for food) could be trimmed back a bit. This would not detract from the experience and also free up some much needed elbow room.

That leads to my second suggestion for improvement: seating. Costumes are not usually the most comfortable. Especially the high heels for women. But there was no real place to sit. There were a few table tops to place your tray and glass on but a few picnic tables spread around would have been very welcome.

I was an still am split on whether the placement of vendors worked or didn’t. Part of me would have liked the whiskey in one area, beer in another and food in another with maybe a crossover table where a beer aged in a whiskey barrel would be in between that brewery and that distillery.

The main question in an event review is; Would you go back again? The answer is, yes.

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Two from Firestone Walker

Firestone-Walker has gone all out on two events that you should really ponder attending. They have grabbed some seriously great breweries. (Some of which do not venture to California). Read the descriptions below and start drooling.

“From the Barrel will return for the second year at the Historic Santa Margarita Ranch and will feature some of the best barrel-aged beer in the country as well as Ports, Bourbons and great local food. The event is March 30th and tickets are on sale now at fromthebarrel.net. Breweries that will be there will be Russian River, Jolly Pumpkin, Crooked Stave, Lost Abbey, Ballast Point as well as Firestone Walker. This is a prohibition themed event that was very well received in its first year. There will be even more this year with the inclusion of more Bourbons and a beer cocktail station run by the Beer Wench herself Ashley Routson.”

“The Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest will be making its debut on June 9th and will feature a TON of great breweries. In partnership with the Pioneer Day Committee we decided to put on a world class beer event in the middle of wine country. We had a dream list of breweries that we could get to attend this and sent out the invites and to out surprise and pleasure they pretty much all said yes. We have breweries from all over the country and some from overseas as well some of whom have never poured their beer in California. Visit Firestonebeerfest.com for all of the info and the full list of breweries. Tickets will go on sale February 10th.”