Tag: The Verdugo

Posted on

Verdugo Boulevard

Not the actual boulevard but Boulevard beer at the Verdugo who hosted a special  tasting on Saturday directly after a similar soiree at Sunset Beer Co.

I have been absent from the Glassell Park bar for too long and with a bright sunny day on their back patio beckoning, I sipped on three different beers from the Midwest brewery making a new push into L.A.

IMG_4245

I started with the Lemon Ginger Radler which was very refreshing.  The ginger was hinted at in good balance.  This was my favorite on the afternoon.  Easy drinking is an understatement.

The Pop-Up Session IPA was fine.  But in comparison to my gold standard of Easy Jack, it faltered.  I want a certain brightness and crispness that I didn’t quite get from this one.

My other hop choice was the Heavy Lifting IPA.  Like the Pop-Up, it was fine.  Not the highest praise, but it didn’t lift itself out of the pack of IPA’s.

IMG_4247

Now that L.A. is a destination for out of state breweries, which beers will make their mark?  After this afternoon, my vote is for the Radler.

Posted on

#LABW5 Pick of the Night – Friday 9/27

Screen shot 2013-09-07 at 8.04.35 AM

Each morning throught L.A. Beer Week, I will give you my Pick of the Night.  The ONE event I think rises to the top of the list.  Some days that choice will be harder and there might be 1A and 1B’s (if I get wishy-washy).  I will endeavor to pick events you can just head out to.  But if tickets are required, I will mention it.  But expect crowds.  Craft beer and craft beer in L.A. is popular.

Modern Times Exclusive Los Angeles Preview at Verdugo Bar
Friday September 27th 2013 7:00 pm-11:00 pm

Celebrate the Exclusive Los Angeles Preview of Modern Times Beer!

Join us at Verdugo Bar on Friday, Sept 27th at 7pm for a taste of the San Diego brewery that focuses (non-monogamously) on aroma-driven, complex, flavorful, sessionish beers and other hybrid styles and mash-ups.

The Taplist includes:
Lomaland Saison
Fortunate Islands Hoppy Wheat
Black House Oatmeal Coffee Stout
Blazing World Amber IPA
Roraima 100% Brett Trois Amber

You may have heard about their mega-successful Kickstarter appeal.  You may know about their ties to San Diego.  But now you can actually try the beers.  And that is what it is all about.

Posted on

FoodGPS Teaser – Eagle Rock turns 3

Eagle Rock has made it to the ripe old age of three and they are going to celebrate with a killer beer list. Read on……
year3
And as usual we are celebrating in style with a big bang. The great folks over at Verdugo Bar will be hosting our party again this year on January 26th from 12-4pm. The cost will be $15/person which includes 2 drinks and a commemorative glass to take home. More drink tickets will be available for purchase. Mandoline Grill and more will be there to feed you and with a total tap takeover we will be serving 22 of our beers to celebrate this third year; including our newest member “Threes”— a Rye American Strong Ale brewed specially for the occasion.

Are you excited yet? We are. How about a peek at the tap-list for the day?
Solidarity
Vanilla NITRO Solidarity
Manifesto
Revolution
Unionist
Populist
NITRO Populist
Libertine
Deuce
Ginger Saison
Eradicator Jr.
Stimulus
Tarte Noir
2011 Jubilee
2012 Jubilee
Barrel-aged Jubilee
Red Velvet
Threes

And a few other surprises. You’ll definitely want to be there so be sure to put this one on your calendar now! And add a reminder alert. Because you are not going to want to forget. The beer gods will not be pleased.”

Posted on

Event Review – FiftyFifty Night at the Verdugo

One of the annual L.A. Beer Week highlights for me is when Fifty/Fifty brewing makes the trek from Truckee with their rare (in L.A.) beers.

This year they landed at the Verdugo Bar and brought an eclectic mix from their beer line-up.

I went bassackwards and started with the heaviest beer and worked my way down. So first up was B.A.R.T. which is described as, “Barrel Aged Really Tasty. This is a rare one-off beer blended on the brewers whim. The most recent iteration contains a delicious blend of Totality Imperial Stout, Donner Party Porter, and our Summit Barleywine, aged in Oak Bourbon Barrels for 180 days.”

It was smooth and not super boozy. I’m thinking it had more of the regular porter than the Stout or barleywine because the 10% alcohol was well masked. Hopefully, I can try the 2013 version to compare and contrast.

Next up was Rockslide IPA. I had only imperial stouts from this brewery so this was a brand new experience. It was strong and hoppy but wasn’t a muddle like some can get. Nice initial bitter punch that melted away.

Last on the night was 4 Wheat, their American hefeweizen. Maybe the B.A.R.T. and the Rockslide were still on the palate but this tasted kind of strong but in a good way. Really wheat-centric without the banana/clove combo. A grand way to end the night.

Posted on

The return of the Winter colLAboration!


Here is the full info on the re-scheduled Winter colLAboration event.

“Winter ColLAboration is back on! The mobile craft beer garden (from the brains behind Tony’s Darts Away/Mohawk Bend/Golden Road Brewing, Verdugo Bar/Surly Goat, Blue Palms and 38 Degrees) will be revived in the form of a weather-proof, indoor late-winter wonderland on Sunday, February 26th at the Belasco Theater in Downtown L.A. – located conveniently near the Metro Blue Line. 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

As previously planned, the garden will feature a selection of winter brews and favorites from: Anchor Steam, Avery, Bootleggers, Bruery, Beachwood, Cismontane, Dogfish Head , Eagle Rock Brewery, Eel River, Firestone Walker, Hangar 24, Golden Road Brewing, Lost Abbey, New Belgium, Oskar Blues, Russian River, Sierra Nevada, Smog City, Stone, TAPS and many more.

Food will be available onsite.

Limited-edition Winter Fest Steins are $15 while supplies last. Any 2011 ColLAb glasses can be used for admission; most beers will be $5 to $6.”

Posted on

Eagle Rock’s 2nd Anniversary

Eagle Rock Brewery celebrated the Deuce yesterday. Both the anniversary and the anniversary beer. It was a bright sunny day with a big crowd ready to sample a wide spectrum of Eagle Rock’s brews.

Beer Buddy Richard and I waited in line and quickly grabbed our taster glasses and tickets. I started with Tarte Noir a lovely sour beer with big dark fruit tastes and then went bigger with the Deuce.

This anniversary edition (in bottles too!) is an amped up version of their classic Solidarity. Which has also spawned a vanilla bean nitro version which I also had a glass of too. It is big and defies easy adjectives. It isn’t super chocolately or roasty and it is almost more Belgian-y than English. Dark fruits and some light coffee notes.

Oddly enough, the biggest line was for the taps that housed Stimulus and Red Velvet instead of the new beer. Then I tried the Red Velvet which had been run through a randall and tasted why. It was lighter and less hoppy than I remembered the original award winner being and it had a lovely tea taste infused all the way through it.

It was my favorite even though I went back for seconds on the Deuce and bought a bottle later at the brewery.

Thanks to Jeremy and the hard working Eagle Rock crew who had to man the tap room right after the party. And also a big shout out to Ryan Sweeney and the Verdugo folks for hosting.

Posted on

Woody and the Deschutes gang

The Deschutes Base Camp rolled into Los Angeles last night with one of it’s first stops being the Verdugo.

And I mean rolled in. Woody the giant beer dispensing barrel (o.k. a trailer) was on the patio and for $5.00 you got a beer AND a glass.

And a strong Deschutes line-up was inside the bar as well. Including Abyss, Jubel 2010 and the mysterious Black Butte XXII.

I started with Red Chair the NW Pale Ale. Because I had to get a beer from the barrel.

Then because I thought it would run out. I grabbed a goblet of the XXII.

In the end, I had the Cascade ale as well and even though I am usually not a big stout/porter fan, the BB XXII was the clear favorite for me as well as my drinking buddy Richard who also sample Abyss and Jubel 2010. Lots of chocolate notes in the XXII. Smooth but not viscous. An enjoyable late night sipper.

Posted on

LA Beer Week – Report # 2

The 2nd Beer Float Showdown presented by FoodGPS and held at the Verdugo was a rousing success with a bunch of people taking the leap into the realm of beer and ice cream.

Four competitors created really original floats with most involving fruit beers. Here are the four floats in pictorial form.

# 1 from Ladyface Brasserie

# 2 from Simmzy’s

# 3 from Boneyard Bistro
Here is the description of the winning float, “Boneyard Bistro bar manager Rory Snipes made a float using Floris Apple, Bourbon-salted caramel-cinnamon ice cream, and a garnish of green apple coated with caramel cinnamon crumble.” Since it was such a hit, it may end up on the regular menu.

# 4 from Tony’s Darts Away

float photos courtesy of the Rosen Film Institute

Since there is no such thing as too much ice cream or too much beer, next stop was Scoops on Monday night for some incredible artisanal ice cream made with beer as a highlighted ingredient. I had the apricot/Chimay which was really good. You got a both fruit and beer solidly. The Hazelnut Lost Coast combo also worked wonders.

To further tempt you to go, here are some photos of the deliciousness… (Double click the photos to see the combinations)

Posted on

Craft Beer Fest LA

Yesterday was the 1st of hopefully many more to come of the Craft Beer Fest Los Angeles. I was there as both fan and volunteer from 2pm to 10pm so this will be a longer than usual post so find a comfortable chair. I will break it up into sections to make for easier reading.

Section 1 – The beer!!

Not a bad brewery in the bunch. And most importantly for me, new stuff that I really wanted to try plus new stuff from some of my old favorites. Here is what I had…..
1. Siamese Twin from Uncommon Brewers
Light golden ale, very different fruity taste to it. This beer really grew on me.
2. Automatic # 1 from Blind Lady Ales
Light Belgian ale. Had a bit of a tinny taste to me. A little astringent.
3. Scotch Isle from Craftsman
Very nice. Dark and malty. Not my favorite style of beer but this is well done.
4. Black IPA from Stone
DSCN5228
Very good. I love IPA’s and this is an excellent beer.
5. Golden State from Uncommon Brewers
Hazy color. Light and flavorful. Great on a summer day.
6. Cuvee Jeune from The Bruery
Had this at Blue Palms a week ago and had to get some more. Excellent sour taste.
7. IPA from Hangar 24
Another really solid IPA. Not a hop bomb but citrusy and not too acidic.
DSCN5226
8. Warm Water Wheat from Port Brewing
This was a really good banany hefeweizen. I hope they bottle this it is one I would like to have more of.

What I didn’t get to try and wanted to..
TAPS – Belgian White (which was really popular)
Port Brewing – Pig Dog Pale Ale

Section 2 – The Beer Panel
Moderated by Christina Perozzi with Mark Jilg from Craftsman, Ryan Sweeney from The Verdugo, Larry James from Wine Warehouse, Steve Grossman from Sierra Nevada and Victor Novak from TAPS Brewery.

Quite the interesting cross section of the beer community. They were all quite optimistic and passionate about making craft beer and where we are compared to the past and where we may end up.
It was so heartening to hear what they were saying and I wish they could have gone on longer. One thing that I took away was that there seemed to be a feeling that it was inevitable that craft beer would do to BMC (BudMillerCoors) what Starbucks did to Folgers. To that I say Amen!

Section 3 – Behind the Bar
DSCN5235

All I can say is, I had great fun being behind the bar. I had never done it before and I am sure it showed but it was great to hand beer over to the smiling faces on the other side. It was not long before I was sweating from avoiding fellow volunteers and going all the way from one side of the bar and back with four beers trying hard not to spill. Thanks to Kevin, Alex, Liz, Bob and Ben for allowing a rookie to help out.

Section 4 – Who was there
Jeremy from Eagle Rock Brewery
Tomm from the Celebrator
Tony from Craftsman
Joel from 826LA
Patrick from The Bruery

All in all a really great time. If you weren’t here this year plan on it next year.