You better be at Descanso Gardens for the LA Beer Week extravaganza.
I will be there volunteering so if you see me come up and say hello and let me know what beer you have had and which is your favorite.
LA Beer Week – Beer dinner at McG's
One of my goals after looking over the imposing list of events for LA Beer Week was to attend a beer pairing evening. Mission accomplished. The evening at McG’s started off very nicely with a large glass of German lager from Weihenstephan.
Here are the highlights:
Best pairing:
Boxty Potatoes with Salmon Mousse was a surprise and the Blanche de Namur witbier with its citrus overtones really contrasted the starch in the potato pancake and the creaminess of the mousse.
Best Individual Beer:
Weihenstephan lager was bright and sparkly. Served in the brewery’s own logo’d glassware. Just a great lager that American’s should be drinking instead of BMC.
Best Individual Food course:
For me it was the Shepherd’s Pie. Good portion size. Gravy was good. And the meat had a nice spiciness.
All in all, I was surprised that the courses that, on paper, would not be my favorites were better than the ones that I thought would be great. I was anticipating that the lamb course would be my favorite followed closely by dessert. Both were dissapointing. The lamb was charcoal outside and close to raw inside and the sponge cake had a great Framboise reduction but was dry. Beer wise, the Xingu lager seemed off to me. Much more sweeter than normal, almost honey-ish. And the beers from St. Peter’s Brewery were solid but not spectacular. They didn’t really add anything to the dishes they were paired up with. But the Irish Green mussels were great with the kellerbier which I did not expect.
So, thanks to all at McG’s who made it a memorable night with all of their hard work.
LA Beer Week – 38 Degrees
When I first moved to Glendale, I was shocked that there was little to no access to good beer. Now this was (dare I say) around 15 years ago and I was a spoiled Portland boy. One of the few places available along with Lucky Baldwin’s (which was nearby) was Crown City Brewing. It was a friendly place and I could easily get to it on the bus which was my main mode of transport out of college. As the years passed and more avenues for beer became available, I went less, but still held a fondness for Crown City.
When I drove by one day and saw that they were out of business, I was sad but not surprised. Their beer had been eclisped by bigger and bolder brews. I wished that I could have raised a final pint to the brewery that got me through the lean times.
And last night I did, a type of wake was held for Crown City (as well as the Dodgers as it turned out). Two of their beers returned, Arroyo Amber and Oatmeal Stout, and the large crowd got to see familiar faces and remember the Around the World beer club and sample from a special tasting menu created for this party.
The Oatmeal stout was mild but very nice after the extreme Green Flash beers from last night. The amber could have used a little more punch to it but was right on style wise. In the end, it was a fitting tribute
Click HERE to get to the LA Beer Week site
LA Beer Week – Descanso Garden event brewery list
A mighty impressive list (I highlighted what I am excited about)…
Abita Brewery
Allagash Brewing Company
Ballast Point Brewing Co
Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan
Belhaven Brewery
Bières de Chimay S.A.
Bootlegger’s Brewery
Brasserie d’Achouffe
Brasserie Lefebvre
Brewbakers
Brewery Ommegang
Brewery St-Feuillien
Brouwerij Het Anker
Brouwerij Huyghe
Brouwerij-brasserie Van Honsebrouck
Cerveza Cucapá
Coronado Brewing Co.
Craftsman Brewing
Dale Bros. Brewery
De Koninck
Duvel Moortgat
Eagle Rock Brewery
Eel River Brewing Co
Firestone Walker Brewing Company
Fuller Smith & Turner (Fullers)
G. Schneider & Sohn
Green Flash Brewing Company
Greene King
Hacker-Pschorr Bräu München
König Ludwig Schloßbrauerei Kaltenberg
Lagunitas Brewing Company
Lost Coast Brewery
Malheur (de Landtsheer Brouwerij)
Moosbacher (Scheuerer Brewery)
Newport Beach Brewing Co.
North Coast Brewing Company
Paulaner Brauerei München
Port Brewing Company
Schloss Eggenberg Brewery
Shipyard Brewing Co.
Shmaltz Brewing Company.
Skyscraper Brewing
Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu
Speakeasy Brewery
Steelhead Brewing Company – Irvine
Stone Brewing Company
Taps Fish House & Brewery
Telegraph Brewing
The Bruery
The Lost Abbey
Unibroue
Wells & Young’s Brewing Company
Wychwood Brewery
Click HERE to get to the LA Beer Week site
LA Beer Week – The Bruery & Matt Denny's
Yesterday’s installment of LA Beer Week was a chance to introduce the Bruery and their Belgian concoctions to another friend.
First up was the Rugbrod. A Danish winter warmer. Pours dark brown. Gets sweeter the more you drink. Taste wise this is a departure from the normal Bruery line-up. It doesn’t use the funky yeasts that I associate with the Bruery. Next was this years holiday seasonal, Two Turtle Doves. It has a really strong taste at first. Just hits the tongue. But then the flavors sort of melt away. Slight bourbon taste to it.
Autumn Maple was next and it was the winner of the day. Had a nice little fizz to it after a mellow sweet taste. This time around I think I noticed a certain starchiness from the yams. We also had the Orchard White and the Cuvee Jeune to contrast against the heavy malty beers. The Cuvee Jeune is one of my favorites. Lovely sour tang to it but it also has a lovely wine flavor to balance it out. The gang also took the short tour of the operations lead by Head Brewer Tyler. We got to hear about their current and future expansion plans. This place is growing by leaps and bounds.
Then we headed up the 57 to Arcadia for our first ever visit to Matt Denny’s. The German band was playing loud. The crowd was large but not packed and their was a selection of six or so German Oktoberfest beers. I had the Spaten version. It had all the hallmarks of the Okto style but it could have been a shade or two drier. A little to sweet for my taste. And sorry to say but the sausage platter that I ordered with it was pretty sorry for a sit down meal. I have had better Dodger dogs.
More reports to come!
LA Beer Week – Oktoberfest @ the Verdugo
A blazing hot October day in the valley, but that didn’t stop beer lovers from coming out to sample some authentic German beer and to try some Firestone-Walker, Skyscraper and Shmalz Brewing as well.
Here is what I had….
Julius Echter Hefeweizen – a new entry to the SoCal market. This Hefe has the clove part down but could use some banana flavor upgrading. Very filling for a Hefe.
Firestone Oaktoberfest – Orange brown in color. Had a little of everything. Malty, sparkly, alcoholic and sweet. Awesome for a colder day.
Skyscraper Backhoe Brown – A very nice brown ale. At 6% alcohol it is not wimpy. Nicely balanced beer. Some browns are too sweet but this is not. I really like the seasonals from these guys.
Schneider Hopfen-Weiss – Second time trying this beer and I still can’t get it. Medicinal to me. The hops are weird, the weiss is strong. Not my favorite.
Kostritzer Pilsner – Pretty tasty pils. I liked it. Did not have the tinny taste of some that I have had. Perfect college football beer. Crisp and clean.
There was German music blaring and drinking contests and coaster building. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.
P.S. I made a point to ask people what their favorite beer was and all gave me a different answer. That must mean a good selection across the board.
LA Beer Week – The Edison
Ever since I first heard of the Edison, I’ve been wanting to visit. But not being a mixed drinks enthusiast or a fan of crowds or for that matter dressing up, I’ve put it off. Walking in to the foyer, you can tell that they put some money into this. Interesting layout and set of chairs. Looks like it was set up to force people to mingle rather than sit. Very dark inside which made photography of the drinks near impossible.
But last night, I had an excuse to go. Cocktails made with beer! Aidan Demarest had three different examples at the bar and I stepped up to the plate and had two of them.
First up (the one I did not try) the Enlightenment is made with Edison’s own lager blended with bourbon and pomegranate.
Next is the Jack O’Lantern with Rye, apple juice and Floris Apple Beer. This was very sweet. Almost too much so. I probably would have left out the apple juice and just left the rye and apple beer.
Last but not least, the Dublin Dessert. Youngs Double Chocolate Stout with Jameson Irish whiskey and a dash of honey. This had big chocolate taste. And boy did it warm me up fast. This was not a light drink.
And in between the cocktails, there was a cask of living Stone IPA with Simcoe and Amararillo hops. Nice floral aroma and a good change of pace from the typical Stone hop bombs. Also got a glass from a jereboam of Chimay Grande Reserve. Wow. That was a powerful with yeast and alcohol that reached out and grabbed me.
Got to talk with Jay Baum, one of the forces behind LA Beer Week as well as Scott Wiegand from Stone, fresh off the blowout at Naja’s last night.
I would heartily suggest that you check out the Edison. The beer list is small but decent but you are going more for the interior design and the absinthe fairies anyway, right?
LA BEER WEEK!!!!
It is finally upon us!
Here is my preliminary list of events that I will try to attend.
10/15 Opening Night at The Edison
10/17 Oktoberfest at The Verdugo
10/18 Oktoberfest at Matt Denny’s
10/20/09 Green Flash night at Blue Palms
10/21/09 Crown City RIP at 38 Degrees
10/22/09 Dinner at McG’s
10/24/09 Volunteering at the Descanso Gardens festival
Coming Soon
Starting on the 15th of this month, all posts will cover the 1st LA Beer Week. Reviews of the parties, reviews of the beer, photos and maybe even a little video.
Also, in a week or two, I will make available a Beer Travel Planner for the Northern San Diego area as a sample of what I can do for you. Free is a good price!
Get your tickets while they last….
…because you do not want to be on the outside looking in.
Here are the details from the press release:
Local beer culture has really come into its own in 2009, as exemplified by the virtual explosion of beer festivals in the greater L.A. area over the past several months. And now comes the crowning event: LA Beer Week, to be held at venues all over the Southland October 15-25, highlighted by the closing weekend celebration, the L.A. Beer Week Festival, at Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge Saturday, October 24 from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Over 70 craft and artisan breweries from across California and throughout the world will be pouring their wares –– many of them special release and esoteric beers –– at the L.A. Beer Week Festival, which will be held in the unique setting of the five-acre Rosarium at Descanso Gardens, beautifully landscaped with plenty of shade trees, roses, streams, ponds and even hop vines! High-quality artisan food will be available from Patina Catering, including grilled meat and seafood, sandwiches, salads, snacks and non-alcoholic beverages. There will also be live Gypsy Jazz, courtesy of Gonzalo Bergara Quartet.
Tickets for L.A. Beer Week Festival are now on sale only at www.labeerweek.com/tickets.php, and are selling swiftly. Admission is $40 and includes entrance to the historic Descanso International Rosarium, the live music, and unlimited 4 oz. pours of beer. Food is not included in the ticket price, but is available to buy at the event, CASH ONLY (ATM or credit cards will not be accepted). Tickets are limited and must be purchased in advance; they will not be sold at the door. Proceeds will benefit the non-profit Spero Foundation, which raises awareness and capital for charities that bring hope to people in need.
The 11-day L.A. Beer Week is a far-reaching celebration of beer culture in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, as well as surrounding areas, and will feature a palate-pleasing array of breweries, local taphouses, tastings, pairings, examples of beer cuisine, meet-the-brewer events and culinary and home-brewing demonstrations.
