Homebound?

When Imperial Western Beer Co. re-opens at Union Station it will be with a new name, and I gotta say, not digging the change…

Homebound Brewhaus. Combining Dodger baseball with train travel, I guess. But it lacks the stature that Imperial Western has as a name. Plus the brewhaus just adds a tacky aspect to it. And don’t get me started on the logo. Home plate turned upside down? You can say that the baseball seams also could be tracks but that is a stretch.

To me, this looks like the first step in the sports bar-ification of the space. Even worse is that Homebound has quite a different meaning now, and people are trying to safely stray from home, not shelter longer.

1st Visit – Imperial Western Beer Co. at Union Station


I chose a rare wet and windy day to Gold Line myself to Union Station to make my first visit to the new-ish Imperial Western Beer Co. Part of the 213 Hospitality Group and sister brewery to Arts District Brewing a few blocks away. I had super high hopes for ADBC which is fine but hasn’t really super impressed me. That left me wondering how the beer would be here. On the flip side, the photos from various websites were fantastic looking Well, expectations are just that. The space is smaller and less grand than the shiny photos made it look. Don’t get me wrong, the space looks really nice. There is a good amount and different seating set-ups and you can’t go wrong with the look and architecture of the space. There is a weird little front bar that is part (not working yet) coffee bar and host/hostess stand that I think would be better utilized for more seating. At the rectangle bar near the kitchen there is a businessman with ear piece, travelers coming in for a quick beer and local workers. The oyster special seems a big draw, saw three sixers of the slimy things go by. (Not a oyster fancier am I)

And while the surroundings were fine the four beers from the quite large selection sampled were good to above average. I would pick IWBC or ADBC based on this initial taster tray. Below are my quick takes on the beers…

Table Manners Patersbier
Nice Belgian character. A little sharp. Banana prominent. A bit viscous on the palate

Calliope Hazy IPA
Bright fruit character. Haze has left. Concord grape. Nice medium hop hit.

Union Station Pale Lager
Lots of grain and corn. Smooth and easy to drink. Really light yellow.

Fred Harvey Hefe
Not super hefe’y. The Table Manners has more banana. Might have gotten the beers flipped? Couldn’t quite tell from the color.

Lastly, I tried the new…
Some S’mores Stout
Arts District will do the More version. A serviceable Stout. Some chocolate notes. Expecting more flavor components to it.

Next time I go, I will test out the Streamliner bar which wasn’t quite open when I visited.

Beer at Union Station

It’s neither on Imperial or Western but rather at Union Station….

The logo and name for the awaited brewery at the iconic L.A. transportation landmark are here along with the news that there will be an Eagle Rock Brewery alum at the controls.

More news to come.