As the nationwide brewery total inches up to the 7K mark, even more beer is on the way for Los Angeles! Four in-progress L.A. breweries in the planning stages are moving closer to their opening days (with more that I have yet to hear about probably waiting in the wings).

First stop is Westwood Village as Artisanal Brewers Collective’s fourth brewpub jewel, Broxton, takes over some prime real estate in the UCLA area. They’re serving beers brewed in-house on their small system as well as from their sister brewpub taps that I wrote about in my last column.

Head over to Glendale, near the famed Glendale Tap, and find the reading (tap) room for Paperback Brewing. When this brewery opens, San Fernando Road may need a name change to Brewery Row (excluding a certain foreign owned brewery of course).

Next, we head to DTLA, another independent beer-congested area. Specifically iconic Union Station. The grand halls where travelers spill out and connect to all sorts of non-car transit will become the home for The Imperial Western Beer Co. You have zero excuses for not taking the bus/train instead of driving when the brewery opens.

Lastly, we head back west to Three Chiefs Brewing. They have collaborated with Good Beer Co. in Santa Ana and have staged a pop-up bottle and can release in Inglewood, but when they finally open up their own home in Inglewood, expect a lot of beer aficionados to be standing in line. They have a devoted following and glowing press already.

The brewery count is growing and the Los Angeles beer consumer has never had it so good.

Since the Great American Beer Festival is kicking off in Denver, how about we kick the tires on some Colorado beers. Fat Tires to be more precise. It has probably been a long time since you bought New Belgium Brewing Company’s iconic Fat Tire beer and you may not have even tried its sibling Belgian White either. Both beers are worth re-visiting, perhaps while you watch the live stream of the GABF Awards ceremony on Saturday.

The OG Fat Tire is all toasty malt with light hits of sweetness and hops adding to the flavor profile. The Belgian White version with very specific ingredients, Seville oranges, and Indian coriander provide a fruity/spice set of competing flavors. Find both are good beers in either cans or bottles.

Mark September 29 on your calendar to head under the bridge in Glendale as Brewyard Beer Co. debuts their fall beers and will fill Steins/Boot glassware (with some reasonable rules) for $10. Their Oktoberfest Rye Lager, Rye Hurr, will be new on tap and uses German Rye Malt. A Special Pumpkin version will also be available, as will a bottle release of Special Bubbly Crude – Bourbon Barrel Aged Black Common.

Find more of Sean Inman’s writing on his blog, Beer Search Party.