L.A. BEER BLAST is a weekly newsletter designed to let Food GPS readers know about what’s new at select L.A. bars and restaurants with great beer selections. Expect a new L.A. BEER BLAST every Thursday evening, in time for the weekend rush. From now on, bars and restaurants are only listed if their selection has changed in the past week. Scroll down, subscribe to Food GPS and you’ll receive the L.A. BEER BLAST by e-mail.

BARBARELLA BAR
2609 Hyperion Avenue, Silver Lake, 323 644 8000

This week, owner Anat Escher is hosting a soft opening for family and friends. Barbarella Bar officially opens February 11. Beginning Wednesday, you can expect a 60-foot handcrafted wooden bar, 24 taps and a rotating selection of internationally inspired microbrews. Here are some of the beers you’ll find, with descriptions courtesy of Barbarella Bar:

Erdinger Weissbier “dark” (from Germany is a rich and smooth wheat beer specialty from Erdinger Weissbräu. It owes its full-bodied flavor to the fine hops and dark malt used in its production. The dark beer specialty is brewed according to an age-old recipe. At 5.6%, it doesn’t contain much more alcohol than Erdinger Weissbier with fine “yeast.”

Old Speckled Hen (from England) has a superb rich malty and fruity aroma. When tasting it you will experience a wonderful warming flavor that is bursting with body. Malty (malt loaf) toffee flavors from the pale and crystal malts combine with bitterness on the back of the tongue to give balanced sweetness which is not cloying. This is followed by a dry finish, surprising for ale of this strength.

Tripel karmeliet (from Belgium) is still brewed to an authentic beer recipe from 1679 originating in the former Carmelite monastery in Dendermonde. Written over 300 years ago, this recipe describes the use of three kinds of grains: Wheats, oats and barley. The name Tripel Karmeliet thus refers both to its origin and its in-the-bottle fermentation. Tripel Karmeliet has been crowned as “Worlds Best Ale” at the world beer awards in London.

Aventinus wheat doppelbock (from Germany): Dark-ruby, almost black-colored and streaked with fine top-fermenting yeast, this beer has a compact and persistent head. This is a very intense wheat doppelbock with a complex spicy chocolate-like arome with a hint of banana and raisins. On the palate, you experience a soft touch and on the tongue it is very rich and complex, though fresh with a hint of caramel. It finishes in a rich soft and lightly bitter impression.
Maredsous 8 Dubbel (Belgium): a classic abbey dubbel; with elegant sweetness, lightly caramelized flavor, translucent tawny-brown body, luscious head, and floral bouquet. A delicate balance between malts and hops gives way to hints of toffee and chocolate in the finish. Its velvety smoothness belies the 8% alcohol content.
West Coast I.P.A. (California Micro) This West Coast-Style India Pale Ale is extravagantly hopped, full flavored, medium bodied and copper colored. A menagerie of hops is combined throughout the brewing process to impart specific characteristics. Hops used include Simcoe for a unique fruitiness and grapefruit zest, Columbus for strong hop pungency, Centennial for pine and citrus notes, and Cascade for floral aroma.
Red Seal Ale (California Micro) Malt and hops are beautifully married in this full-bodied, copper-red Pale Ale. Red Seal is generously hopped for a long, spicy finish. An excellent accompaniment to grilled meats and rich sauces.
Maudite (Canada) has a deep amber-red color with a rocky foam head and an appealing aroma of wild spices and floral hop notes.  It is spicy, vinous, and deliciously complex with a crisp hop finish.
Lost Coast Great White (California Micro)  An American version of the Belgian style. This unfiltered beer has a striking translucent, golden color with white clouds. Seemingly a contradiction in terms, it has a full body mouth-feel but is surprisingly light to drink. Topped with a hint of citrus, provided by Coriander and a secret blend of Humboldt herbs, this beer is slightly sweet and a delight to drink in any season.

Blue Palms Brewhouse
6124 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, 323 464 2337

Tasting notes from Blue Palms owner Brian Lenzo and Firestone’s Steve Almarez:

Rubicon Rose Bud
“Old Strong Ale”

Rubicon Capricorn Black IPA
“A delicious black malt IPA,  rich roasted flavors with a Simcoe hop bite”

Firestone Double Barrel Ale
“California Crafted British Pale Ale fermented in oak barrels, Rich copper colored Pale Ale, very balanced.”

Blue Palms IPA
“Custom Made IPA from Firestone Walker Brewing Co, Makers of Union Jack, this is a rich full bodied IPA , with a great floral aroma, perfect with our Pulled Pork BBQ sandwich with fried jalapeño.”

St Bernardus Abt 12 Quadrupel Ale
“Dark, ivory color with high fermentation and a strong fruity aroma, the best of St Bernardus beers.”

CHARLIE’S
22821 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, 310 456 3132

Charlie DiLorenzo just opened this upscale neighborhood restaurant in the former Allegria space. Beer sommelier Christina Perozzi (“The Beer Chick”) has assembled a beer selection that involves four rotating beers on draught. She has even commissioned El Monte’s Skyscraper brewery to concoct a “Charlie’s Lager,” which will be available in about two weeks. Here’s the opening beer list:

ON DRAUGHT

IN SMALL BOTTLES

BIGGER BOTTLES

DAILY PINT
2310 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica, 310 450 7631

ON TAP

CASK

PURE LUCK
707 North Heliotrope Drive, Los Angeles, 323 660 5993

NEW ON TAP 

Port Brewing Co. Old Viscosity – San Diego, CA ($6/10 oz.)

Owner Ben Ling’s tasting notes: “Dark, thick and slippery as crankcase oil. Old Viscosity is somewhere between an Imperial Stout and a Barleywine. Fresh beer is blended with an earlier batch that’s been aging in bourbon barrels. Silky smooth, with big notes of dark chocolate, vanilla and hints of burnt wood.”

The Bruery Humulus Ambre – Placentia, CA ($6/pint)

Ling: “This experimental small-batch brew from the Bruery is a hoppy, Belgian-style Amber Ale. The light body allows the aromatic hops to show off their full range of flavors – with grassy scents of salad greens, big tastes of citrus zest and a resiny finish.”

Mersea Island Brewery Skippers – Colchester, U.K.

Mersea Tasting Notes: “4.8% ABV. The ‘best’ bitter from Mersea Island, dark amber in colour with a good malty flavour from five different malts and a smooth bitterness from Fuggles hops.”

NO LONGER AVAILABLE
Oskar Blues Gordon – Lyons, CO

THE YORK
5018 York Boulevard, Highland Park, 323 255 9675

Owner Ryan Ballinger calls Oskar Blues “a nicely balanced pale ale from Colorado.”

“The cask ale is supposed to be delivered today, and it is most likely the Craftsman Poppyfield Pale Ale,” says Ballinger. “There may be some new bottled beers–a 22 oz. bottle from Coronado Brewery that I believe is a wheat beer with orange flower like a Belgian wit style and the light beer from Bavarian brewery Shoenrammer. Not sure if those will make it to the list by this weekend, they may start Monday.”

NO LONGER AVAILABLE
Budweiser Budvar- České Budějovice, Czech Republic