Recently, I made my first visit to Far Bar in the Little Tokyo section of downtown Los Angeles.
I like the chill outdoor vibe with the view of the sky above hemmed in by buildings. You feel hidden and out of the way, until you see the beer list and realize the most of the good breweries must know about this place too.
I had chicken satay and ended the evening with Mach 10 Double IPA from Bear Republic but first I had to try the Pumpkin,sour,cranberry “Kick” from New Belgium. It was slightly sour and the cranberry was there all right. But no pumpkin or earthy squash notes came through. A fine beer but I was expecting more I guess.
My beer buddy Richard had the Stone 15th concoction and this uniquely served Belgian strong ale from Kwak.
If you haven’t been to Far Bar then add it your beer itinerary.
Point the Way
The brewery that I can walk to in 20 minutes, Golden Road, has been making fast progress.
A name and a keg collar ready and soon the first beer will be too.
And speaking of ahead of schedule, what I consider the “backlash” articles are showing up. Just one now, and it is fairly tame but I do not like even an inkling of this sort of thing in an industry that I believe to be super collaborative.
Personally, I don’t care how or when you got involved in craft beer or how big or small your participation level is. All are welcome in my book.
In the history books
I may be in Portland, networking with a great group of beer bloggers but that won’t stop me from thinking about the LA beer scene….
Late last month, KCET.org posted an informative slice of Los Angeles history focusing on breweries.
It got me to thinking that we need to get our current LA craft beer boosters and artists to pay a little homage to our past. The easiest way being to make some lagers that call back the old beer names like Eastside and Brew 102. Or maybe make a Zobelein & Maier session ale.
Or to take it one step further, take our new pop-up beer gardens to some of these historical brewing spots and have a history professor talk about the site and and the stories of brewing from the early days of the City of Angels.
I am sure there are some stories to tell.
To the City of Los Angeles – Zoning Administration
On Saturday Night Live, there was a recurring segment called “Really?”. Whenever the writers hear of an issue that strikes them as outrageous or dumbfounding, they use this segment to give it the satirical roasting it deserves.
I wish I could hire the writers of that show to give me better words for this occasion, but I will have to settle for “Really?”
What is this occasion? Eagle Rock has to go in front of the Zoning Administration to defend itself as part of the Conditional User Permit it was granted. And if they pass this test, they get to do it again in 3 1/2 years. Before Eagle Rock is questioned tomorrow, here are my questions for the City of Los Angeles….
You are actually thinking about stopping a growing business that has actually hired people in this economy and possibly force them to move. Really?
You would rather a building sit empty than have people inside buying products that are taxed knowing that those dollars then go to the City of Los Angeles? Really?
You want to make the City of the Angels MORE unapealing to entrepreneurs who would like to be opening breweries? Do you know something that Portland, Oregon, Asheville, North Carolina, San Diego, California, Seattle, Washington and New York City, NY don’t know? Really?
You desire to antagonize the small but tight knit craft beer community? A community that has propelled economic growth in a down economy? Really?
Eagle Rock Brewing is an asset not only inside city limits but across the country because they not only employ and serve our local citizens, but also represent Los Angeles at national events – like when they brought home a gold medal from the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.
This is a law abiding, tax paying, community building small business who needs your support. Really.
Los Angeles Craft Beer timeline
Saw this on the Craft Beer Chronicles and thought it should get another audience after bouncing around Facebook and Twitter last week.
These two timelines really show how young we are as a craft beer community. I sometimes feel impatient with the growth of breweries and bottle shops here in LA but I have to stop comparing to Portland and Denver and see that that most of the places that I frequent aren’t even 5 years old. We have to walk before we can run. And here is what I think we will need in the future to really make LA a beer destination.
1. More breweries. We are on the path and if the City of Los Angeles would just get the hell out of the way we could have a bumper crop in a couple years. A community of brewers will only create higher standards and more experimentation.
2. A couple specialty beer bars. We need a real ale establishment or a sour beer house or heck even a bar that serves out of town beers to all the LA people who came from someplace else. Maybe a movie house with taps like the Alamo Drafthouse.
3. More media coverage. I’m looking at you LA Times and KCRW’s Good Food.
4. A lot more summer beers. LA gets hot if you didn’t notice over the 4th of July weekend. We can’t be drinking high ABV Triple IPA’s and Barrel aged stouts. We need light session beers and pilsners and we need more of them in cans so the active set can take them to where they want to go.
colLAboration in July
If this can happen…
…then what may happen when the colLAboration takes a month long residence in West Hollywood?
Check out the website HERE to get all the details because you don’t want to miss the beer or the people at these events.
But for starters here is the general where and when….
Saturday, July 9th
12 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday, July 16th
12 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday, July 23rd – A Salute to Belgian Beers!
12 p.m. to 9 p.m.
8950 Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood, CA 90069
The new Duvel/ColLAb glasses are $15. Those who purchased the $10 glass from the first or second event can use that as their admission; most beers will be $5 to $6.
the colLAboration continues…
…and here is the latest update, “colLAboration – the mobile craft beer garden from the brains behind Tony’s Darts Away, Verdugo Bar/Surly Goat, Blue Palms and 38 Degrees – is popping-up a second time in Hollywood on Saturday, June 4th at the corner of Gower and Hollywood, from noon til 7 p.m.
The garden will feature dozens of the best in California beers including:
Firestone Walker, Sierra Nevada, Russian River, Beer Valley, Craftsman, Green Flash, Moylan’s, Avery, Alesmith, New Belgium, Dogfish Head, Port/Los Abbey, Eagle Rock, Hangar 24, Oskar Blues, Grand Teton, Uinta and many more.
Also, for the entire month of July, COLLAB will be held every Friday (4 p.m. to 9 p.m) and Saturday (noon to 9 p.m.) on the Sunset Strip right across from the world-famous Roxy Theater, featuring craft beer from California and beyond.
When: Saturday, June 4th 12 noon to 7pm.
Where:6124 Hollywood Blvd. at the corner of Gower and Hollywood
Cost:Those who purchased the $10 glass from the first event can use that as their admission; most beers will be $5 to $6. Glasses will also soon be available for purchase online at http://www.collaboration.la/
Pop-Up Warning
If you live in Los Angeles and love craft beer, and you DIDN’T know about Saturday’s ColLAboration pop-up beer garden, then you are quite the professional hermit.
All pre-sales are now closed. There will be a limited amount of ColLAboration glasses (which are the admission ticket for this and future pop-ups) on sale Saturday.
I will be there enjoying the atmosphere and the beer and taking photos for a future post. To further whet your appetite, here is the first tweeted beers that will be there…”Bruery Gremlin, Russian River Redemption, North Coast Barrel Aged Old Stock.”
El Segundo Brewing
There are reports on the food blogs such as Grub Street about a new brewery in El Segundo (near LAX).
They have the prototypical initial beers: a pale ale, a red ale, an IPA and a stout under the Blue House name plate.
They may be opening soon but as faithful readers will know, these openings are never set in stone.
More news and reviews when the beer becomes available.
LA Beer Week – Where the BSP is going
Here are the events that I am MOST excited about for the 2nd year of the Beer in the City of the Angels Week
10/7 – Naja’s Place for the kick-off
10/10 – Beer Float Showdown II at The Verdugo
10/13 – Oinkster for Craftsman beer
10/14 – Beer and cheese at the Surly Goat
10/17 – Union Station for the Grand Finale festival!
Where are you going?