Next month, I will review both last years and this years L.A. Beer Week Unity collaborative beers in “from the bottle” form. But yesterday, I trundled down to K-Town to try a cask version of the beer first at Southland Beer.
The cask was tapped behind the curtain so I only saw a few tools head behind the bar but soon the beer was being pushed through the handle and I got one of the first pulls of the beer. There was a weird bitterness to Unity 2016 with some fruit notes too. Do I detect Watermelon? Certainly not very citrusy. I was expecting the cask to mute and round off the sharp hop edges but this beer is still a little too harsh with some woodsy back end flavors to it.
I was left trying to wonder what the cask presentation added/subtracted from what the beer will be in the most available forms. Will the fruit notes pop more? Will the carbonation add some zing? Time will tell since the bottles will be soon on the market.
Social Sip
Southland Beer has recently introduced what they are calling Social Sipping Sessions. The first ever Session is scheduled for Sunday, March 20. It is your chance to “fuss over” beers with like-minded beer nerds. You will be at their communal table and given a curated flight of 4oz pours to taste.
This will be a ticketed event and there will be seatings at 1:00pm, 3:00pm, and 5:00pm.
The first Session focuses on the sour with…..
Almanac Hoppy Sour w/Azacca – Sour Blonde Aged in Wine Barrels w/Azacca Hops
Eagle Rock The Yearling – American Sour Aged in Oak Barrels
Tahoe Mountain Aurelia – Golden Ale Aged in French Oak Foudres
Paradox Skully #37 (We Jam and They Jelly) – Sour Ale Brewed with Cherries & Aged in Oak Wine Barrels
To Øl Sur Amarillo – Dry-Hopped Sour Ale w/Amarillo Hops
HaandBryggeriet Funky Black – Sour Black Ale
Grand Opening Alert – Southland Beer
On Saturday, December 5th the currently soft-opened Southland Beer in Koreatown will throw a grand opening party to truly welcome craft beer fans south of Wilshire to their primarily tap room with some to-go sales as well.
Mark your calendar if you haven’t visited yet, it will be a great introduction to this new addition to Los Angeles.
First Look – Southland Beer
Tucked into the corner of a strip mall on Western Avenue just south of the Wiltern is the upcoming Southland Beer…
They will have bottles to sell but primarily this will be a 20 tap beer bar with nibbles to tide you over….
Plus they have parking, great owners/hosts in Tim and Orchid and some really mod hop art on the walls along with a teeny-tiny sign that will tell you what they sell…
You can read more about Southland Beer in this L.A. Times article.
Southland Beer
Not one but two craft beer bottle shops are constructing their way to opening dates this fall. Craft Beer Cellar – Eagle Rock just finished a successful Indie-Go-Go crowdfunding campaign and Southland Beer has an ABC license pending for their Koreatown storefront near Beer Belly on Western Avenue.
Some 19 taps will grace the bar with the possibility of cask ales and even food too. There is the makings of a good little Western Ave. craft beer crawl.