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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.
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.
I ain’t gonna lie. I am an omnivore. I do hate enough foods (looking at you beets and parsnips) that I can’t cordon off one whole section of the food pyramid. Not to mention that I do love me a good hamburger and pepperoni pizza. But I am also open minded enough to try new things (minus mushrooms, hate those fungal bastards) and I won’t sneer at someone who chooses to go their own way. And the triumvirate behind the 5th edition of the Los Angeles Vegan Beer & Food Festival Tony’s Darts Away, The Roxy and Quarry Girl also seem to be on the same wavelength.
As Nic Adler of The Roxy puts it, “Going to festivals is about two key elements – enjoying things you love and discovering new ones. That’s what LA Vegan Beer & Food Festival is.”
Here is the initial beer line-up: Golden Road Brewing, El Segundo, North Coast, Stone Brewing, Modern Times, Ballast Point, Smog City, Automatic, Sierra Nevada, Firestone Walker and many more.
The Ticket 411 for the event of May 17th
“Tickets for the 21 and over event are $50 for general admission (includes unlimited beer tasting), $80 for VIP (early noon entry, exclusive and unlimited beer tasting and access to VIP lounge) and $30 for non-drinking admission. Tickets can be purchased on Ticketfly, here and day of pending availability. Located at 8950 W. Sunset Blvd near The Roxy Theater, doors open for general admission at 1 p.m.”
Recently, Golden Road Brewing unveiled another IPA from their Custom IPA series. And this, like Heal the Bay, has a watery challenge behind it. This hoppy offering is brewed to bring attention to the L.A. River Greenway 2020 project.
To help you order the right beer and donate to the cause with your purchase, here are the tap handle and the can packaging:
Maybe one day we will have a thriving culture alongside the river that we were so scared of that we had to box it up in a concrete canyon.
Before the main event at the Brewbound – Brew Talk at Golden Road. A diverse panel of speakers covering three sectors of the craft beer ecosystem were called to the podium to talk about the State of Beer in Los Angeles.
Included were Anne Conness the chef for Simmzy’s, Jace Milstead the beer guru for Ace Distribution and Jeff Sapsford from Sunset Beer.
Here are some tidbits from their talk (in no particular order of importance).
You have to “earn” the privilege of pouring special beers. You don’t get the uber rare beer if you don’t support the rest of a breweries beers.
It would be great to go to signature L.A. landmarks and see signature L.A. beers served there.
You have to have IPA’s on at least 1/3 of your taps.
If you are brewing beer, two key things: Consistency and Availability.
Seems like anyone who gets fired decides to open a brewery.
Be a part of the market.
On Food GPS tomorrow, what I took away from business discussion between The Bruery and Golden Road.
Los Angeles Craft Breweries & Coffee Roasters Team Up with Leading Chefs at Lot 613 on June 16 Los Angeles, CA—Even the gnarliest of old-school dads needs an occasional change of pace from instant coffee, industrial lager and $5 breakfasts… That’s why you’re going to treat your dad to the Father’s Day “Collabrewtive” Brunch on Sunday, June 16 at Lot 613, where his taste buds will be tantalized by leading Los Angeles craft brewers, coffee roasters and chefs—including coffee-flavored beers created specially for the event by each brewery and roaster.
Presented by Firestone Walker Brewing Company and Food GPS, the Father’s Day “Collabrewtive” Brunch will feature six stations showcasing brewery-roaster duos, as well as six food stations helmed by several of L.A.’s most talented chefs. Seating will be communal, with guests free to chart their own culinary adventure, at their own pace.
Brewery + Coffee Roaster Collaborations
· Firestone Walker Brewing Co. + Intelligentsia Coffee
· Golden Road Brewing + Handsome Coffee Roasters
· Eagle Rock Brewery + Tierra Mia Coffee
· Beachwood BBQ & Brewing + Portola Coffee Lab
· Cismontane Brewing Company + Caffe Luxxe
· Ladyface Ale Companie + LAMILL Coffee
with Featured Chefs · Genevieve Gergis & Ori Menashe (Bestia)· Daniel Mattern & Roxana Jullapat (Cooks County)· Zoe Nathan (Huckleberry + Milo & Olive)· Jason Travi (Littlefork)· John Sedlar (Rivera)· Steve Samson & Zach Pollack (Sotto)
The event runs from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and isn’t limited to fathers. The cost is $50 ($60 at the door if available). Children 12 years and under are admitted at half price. A portion of the event proceeds will go to Share Our Strength, an organization that’s dedicated to battling childhood hunger.
Fresh off a Firestone/Windrose beer pairing lunch, I jumped back into action here in L.A. at Chloe’s inside the Pub at Golden Road as they unveiled their new (and open to the public) Brewer’s Supper, a soon-to-be every Wednesday event.
Here is the lowdown from Golden Road, “Brewer’s Supper is an opportunity for Golden Road to showcase their limited release brews, delicious food and, most importantly, have a weekly gathering of friends in Chloe’s. Each week, there will be four small plate courses, paired with a different selection of Golden Road Brews, priced at $38/pp. Additional tapas are available for $6 each, and an additional beer flights are available for $9.50.”
Some of the menu items and their accompanying beers include:
Roasted sunchoke puree with fried parsnip chips and “creme fraiche” (vegan) paired with Get Up Offa that Brown
Beef tenderloin carpaccio paired with Golden Road Berliner Weisse
Duck confit croquettes with cranberry-orange compote paired with Golden Road Hefeweizen
Half roasted quail stuffed with mushroom-bacon duxelle and chorizo cream paired with Golden Road Kolsch
Smoked lentils with grilled fennel (vegan) paired with Golden Road Tumbldown Shack Barleywine
My favorite pairing was the Ruby Red Grapefruit salad with a balsamic dressing with the new-ish It’s Not Always Sunny in LA Black IPA. The grapefruit was evenly matched with the citrus of the beer and the balsamic matched the darker malts used. A pairing that worked on two levels.
Also, I got a sneak peek at the new can and recipe of Point the Way. Jesse Houck, the new brewer in town, has changed the signature Golden Road IPA to a more West Coast style (He is also changing the Wolf Among Weeds Imperial IPA). You can try PTW in the new 12oz cans and in the near future Mohawk Bend will have a beer dinner with a mango-fied version of it as well.
The latest Golden Road beer to make it to the cans is Get Up Offa That Brown. They come in the the new-ish four packs with a window to see the really cool Sunset Strip can design.
The crew at Golden Road describe it as a “…traditional English-style Brown, complete with chocolate-y malt notes and a smoky-sweet aroma has been a draft-only favorite since its introduction in early 2012.”
It does indeed pour a cola brown with a bit of a fizzy stream of bubbles. Right out of the ‘fridge the taste is muted but once it gets to room temperature the malt notes start adding up giving you a flavor profile that leans towards toast but touches on a sweetness and a skosh of chocolate before the carbonation takes it away so that you can enjoy the next sip. Like it Hefeweizen and Point the Way counterparts this is very light and quite sessionable.
Maybe next, Golden Road will release a variety pack with one of each of their canned creations.
If you would like to meet people (like me) and start to social media connect with the burgeoning L.A. Craft Beer Scene then I have an event for you.
Here is the scoop from Cambria and Fran from Golden Road, “We are proud to present our very first event made just for YOU. We are teaming up with LA Craft Beer Bloggers to open the Chloe’s doors to our Facebook fans, Twitter followers, beer blogging pals and homebrewing friends — nobody else! We’ve reserved a special night at our upscale pub-within-a-pub so we can hang out and enjoy each other’s company in a relaxed atmosphere AWAY from our computers.
So here’s the plan for the 29th of January (A Tuesday, yes, you can drink on a weekday):
Doors open at 6PM.
At 8PM the one and only John Palmer and the illustrious Drew Beechum will speak and answer questions on homebrewing and beer writing, offering their precious insights into brewing great beer and upping your beer writing game. If you don’t write or brew, no problem, they are great resources for learning more about beer all together.
From 6:30-8:30PM the Golden Road beer and appetizers in Chloe’s are on us. Our full menu and beer lists from both The Pub and Chloe’s will also be available for purchase all night should you hunger or thirst for something more.
After John & Drew time is over stay and hang until 11 PM. If you happen to blog, we’ll have a table set aside for you to share business cards with your peers and the like, so bring anything you feel would help you connect.
>>¡IMPORTANTE!<<
To guarantee your entry to Chloe’s for this event, you MUST RSVP VIA EMAIL to cambria@goldenroad.la with your full name, phone number, email address, and Twitter handle!! A “yes” RSVP to this event page will NOT get you in… as backwards as that may sound 🙂
Further details on special gifts, beers, bites and GRB brewers to join us are to come … as well as an extra special surprise for our homebrewing friends.”
So if you would like to get involved in “pushing” craft beer then let’s meet up.
The week began in flight. A flight of Craftsman beers in Highland Park at Maximilliano. Three of which I hadn’t had before including Ochre (a sour ale), Point Five (the session IPA), Juniper (made with, you guessed it juniper) and the new Maximilliano House beer which is on a 1903 lager base but with oregano added. It is the one on the far left in the photo below.
Tuesday was a double shot. Finished at the Pub at Golden Road and had some Double Jack and Parabola from 2010 in Burbank at Tony’s Darts Away during Firestone-Walker night.
Wednesday was Beer Belly and the Bruery, hello again Fruet!
I also got a taste of Carmen with cranberries. Though not as sour as Filmishmish this was two distinct sour notes. One from the beer and one from the fruit.
I took Thursday and Friday off in preparation for two events on Saturday. First was the Farmer’s Market FestivAle at Blue Palms and second was the Eagle Rock Session Fest.
Blue Palms put quite the menu together in honor of fruit and vegetables. 
. Of the beers that I sampled the Honey Bee Hefe from nearby Golden Road was my favorite. Lost some of the hefe-ness but made up for it with a strong honey and pollen taste. And it was beautifully cloudy. I was a bit disappointed by the Almanac Fennel Biere de Mars and the Magnolia Gruit but the Ballast Point Winter San Salvador with all San Diego ingredients was quite nice though heavy on the bay leaves. 
Then lastly on to Session Fest at Eagle Rock and boy was I shocked by how much I enjoyed the two beers that I had. By far the most flavorful and interesting of 2012. I started with the Citrus Basil Party and it was just that. Both ingredients there in ample amounts but not over the top. Light and refreshing and a pretty yellow. (Though not as pretty as the pink Kolsch). 
I followed that up with the Brett-a-Colada which was fantastic. Funky light farmhouse nose and initial taste followed by a wallop of coconut and fruit and then a gentle cooking spice note. Really interesting take that I enjoyed.
Then on Sunday the Beer Search Party rested.
Other people have posted the news, but in case anyone in Los Angeles has not heard, here is the latest news from Golden Road Brewing…
After opening the brewery doors in October and introducing their first two signature beers, Point the Way IPA and Golden Road Hefeweizen, the Golden Road team immediately focused their energy on three things: brewing as much quality beer as possible, getting a can line up and running (look for Golden Road cans in stores early 2012!), and putting the finishing touches on the pub space. Explains co-founder Meg Gill, “From the start, we’ve wanted to make the brewery a destination and really invite people into our process. People can come and see where the beer is made and then immediately taste it, which really lets you appreciate the craft and care that we put into it.”
When searching for a chef for this extension of the brewery, co-founders Tony Yanow and Meg Gill looked high and low for someone who would be able to create a menu that would complement and showcase the Golden Road beers. As a passionate home-brewer, Chef Adam Levoe possesses an impressive mix of beer and food creativity, which made him the best candidate for the job and a wonderful addition to the Golden Road team. After graduating from the California School of Culinary Arts in 2001, Levoe worked throughout Southern California at a wide range of casual and fine-dining establishments, from Roxanne’s Raw Vegan Cuisine to Medeline’s Wine Bar and Bistro in Pasadena, and, most recently, Quadruple Brasserie in Pasadena. For The Pub at Golden Road he has crafted a menu with plentiful vegan and non-vegan options, each designed to pair beautifully with a cold brew.
After opening with limited hours and an abbreviated menu in mid-December, the pub is finally ready to open its’ doors wide. With an expanded menu that now features a full array of
bar-friendly items, salads, sandwiches and entrées, and new daily hours from 11 AM – 11 PM, the brewery will have something to satisfy any craving at any time of day. Customers can come for a beer and a steak, or a quick lunch to go and a growler for the road. The pub also has signature Golden Road gear available for purchase, including glassware, recyclable bags, t-shirts, hats, sweatshirts and, starting mid-January, cans of the Golden Road beers as well.
The spacious, newly renovated warehouse features a take-away deli case for quick lunch pick-ups, where adventurous salads like the vegan Coconut ‘Noodle’ (shredded young thai coconut with julienned vegetables, spicy cashews and an almond chili sauce), and ‘Miso Crabby’ (blue crab meat with shaved cucumber, bell peppers and cherry tomatoes with miso vinaigrette) will be available along with sandwiches, including the Roast Beef (roasted in house with caramelized onions and peppers and blue cheese mousse) and vegan Bahn Mi (pickled carrots, jalapeño, cucumber, bell peppers, fresh herbs and tofu with Sriracha mayo).
Comfort foods such as meatballs (served with spicy vegan cornbread), twice-baked potatoes and an assortment of fritters (all available in vegan and non-vegan iterations) are all offered on the bar menu. For heartier entrées, the main menu features a Braised Pork Shank (braised in whatever extra beer specials the pub available week to week), a Sloppy Joseph (with Porter braised beef short-ribs and house made BBQ sauce) and a vegan Crispy Sundried Tomato Polenta, among other items.
With high ceilings and an industrial grey interior, small touches like the chalkboard menu behind the 30 foot bar announcing new brews on tap in bright colors, the vintage beer logo lights and the dark wood tables really bring the room to life, making the spacious warehouse feel comfortable and warm. An automated jukebox allows the space to transform with the clientele, with music ranging from Johnny Cash to The Grateful Dead at any given time.
Of course, the heart of the brewpub will be the twenty bar taps, which will house all of the Golden Road brews (five to start, but more as they produce new varietals), and up to fifteen guest taps, reserved for breweries that the Golden Road team holds in high regard. Says Brewmaster Jon Carpenter, “Our beers will not just be from California, but will primarily stay in the USA. All beers will come from friends of ours, as we want to support people that we respect and admire such as Dogfish Head, Oskar Blues, Firestone Walker, Avery, Stone and Hangar 24.” The goal for the pub is to provide a space for patrons to experience the best that craft beer has to offer, locally and nationally, with great food and a great vibe to match.
The new pub will seat approximately 80 people, with space for an additional 72 on the patio. The Pub at Golden Road is located at 5410 W. San Fernando Road, Los Angeles, CA 90039, there is an ample parking lot adjacent to the building, and street parking available.”
I have eaten and (had beer) there a few times now and I really like the space (especially the patio) and the club sandwich that I have ordered twice now is quite good. It doesn’t hurt that it is a 25 minute walk from my apartment either.