Beer Belly

Craft Beer Los Angeles


Take Western south towards Wilshire and just past 5th you will take a left into a parking lot next door to a bank. Follow the sign that says “Drink” and you will have found one of L.A.’s newest craft beer spots, Beer Belly.

This inviting place features warming shades of wood starting on the wall and moving to the ceiling. Sunlight comes pouring in from the windows in front. Chairs made out of recyclable materials and a glistening set of metallic taps to beckon the beer lover.

10+ taps give a good selection of beers some I had not even heard of like Plum Riot from Bootleggers which had a nice hint of fruit to go along with the Belgian dubbel base or the Craftsman Citrus Saison which had a great tangerine aroma and taste. TAPS, Cismontane and The Bruery were also on the menu. Recently they have had TAPS Irish Red, Blue House Pale ale from El Segundo and Cismontane Black’s Dawn on nitro-tap.

And where else can you have a beer and a fried Twinkie? Beer Belly has a nice menu of food to go along with your brew of choice and if you follow their Facebook feed, you will see other dishes that have been improved by an addition of beer. Duck Fat Fries for $6 are a really good choice and the next time that I visit I am going to try the Meatballs which have Asiago cheese, crouton, bacon bits and the Beer Belly Frankenstein spicy ketchup.

Jimmy and Yume Han have obviously poured a lot of effort into Beer Belly and it shows. It is a fine addition to the ever-growing Los Angeles craft beer scene. An addition, you will be seeing in the Beer Blast every week starting today.

For the craft Beer of the Week, I recommend The Bruery’s Bierbauch. Which in English is, you guessed it, Beer Belly. It is an Imperial Maibock aged in oak barrels. I know it is June and Maibocks are normally served in spring but this being an imperialized version that is already breaking the stylistic rules so, we can make an exception. I sampled this at Blue Palms last night and it was truly a new taste combination. Big woody, barrel taste with a little bourbon kick.

Your Homework is to help fund a brewery! You may be familiar with Kickstarter the website that allows people to financially back projects that otherwise might not see the light of day. I have donated to Mystery Brewing and Pipeworks Brewing both of which are in the mid-west and now a 3rd from Missouri is trying to get off the ground. Check out the Wilderness Brewing video on Kickstarter (where you can give as low as $1) to the cause of great craft beer.

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

Address: 532 South Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90020
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Sean Inman

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

Blog Comments

Sean,

Thanks for posting this. We are gratified that so many people are lobbying for us…and thanks for backing us.

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