I fought my way through the Ciclavia to Angel City for the first (of what may become annual) DTLA United Festivals.
Here are a few photos and my quick thoughts on the event…..
DTLA Fest
I knew that this was a small festival but it was literally just the corner lot where the Farmer’s Market normally congregates in the Arts District. There were no lines to get in. Only 150 tickets were sold. Plenty of elbow room and you could talk with the brewers for minutes on end without interruption.
Onto the beers that struck my fancy. Cowboy Curtis from Arts District (the silver medal winner from GABF) was a finely balanced hit of smoke and chocolate. By far the best beer on the day and that I have had from ADBC. Second for me was Llorona from Dry River. Described as a dark sour which it was in flavor if not color. Indie Brewing had a lacto version of the 7th Street Saison that was wonderfully dry and quite earthy.
The two beers from Mumford Brewing, well, I was expecting more. The Pantsuit Saison was a bit rough and abrasive and the DTLA IPA was not to the heights that past hop offerings from them have been.
Not only was their craft beer flowing, there were two emissaries from the land of spirits. Greenbar Distilling and the Spirit Guild were pouring as well. Spirit Guild makes their Vapid Vodka and Astral Pacific Gin from Clementine oranges which added a citric tint to both. Greenbar was pouring their foray into hops with their hop liquer.
Because the fest was so tiny, there wasn’t much to take issue with. There was a good variety of beer, there were special pours throughout the afternoon. Water was readily available, as were restrooms. Everyone was in a great mood and you could almost (if you were ambitious) try everything that was being tapped before hopping onto public transport.
