L.A. Beer Blast B2

Beer Sign

Sometimes, you just need a cold beer...fast.

The L.A. BEER BLAST is designed to let Food GPS readers know what’s new at select L.A. bars and restaurants with great beer selections. You’ll also discover beer-related events in the area and learn about industry leaders. Expect a new L.A. BEER BLAST every Thursday evening, in time for the weekend rush. Look in the left sidebar, SUBSCRIBE to Food GPS and you’ll receive the L.A. BEER BLAST by e-mail.

In the past three years, Los Angeles has experienced an unprecedented beer-fueled growth spurt, with some passionate proprietors offering highly curated menus of seasonal craft brews. At the forefront of the movement you’ll find people like Ryan Sweeney, a dedicated craft beer advocate who co-owns Verdugo Bar in Glassell Park and oversees the beer list at BoHo. Now he and fellow Verdugoan Brandon Bradford have partnered with Adolfo Suaya and Alen Aivazian on The Surly Goat, a neighborhood bar with a high-profile West Hollywood address and a commitment to beer education. CLICK HERE TO READ THE SURLY GOAT PRIMER , which documents a training trip to San Diego breweries.

Russian River brewmaster Vinnie Cilurzo has become a beer industry giant, but he started out making wine. It wasn’t until he grew impatient with the fermentation process that he embraced beer. The self-taught brewer helped launch Blind Pig Brewing Co. in Temecula, but sold his share in 1996 and moved with wife Natalie to Sonoma County. He caught on with Russian River Brewing Company, a new brewery founded by Korbel Champagne Cellars in Guerneville. In 2002, the Cilurzos bought Russian River and moved into a Santa Rosa brewpub, where they became known for their barrel-aged beers and IPAs, including Blind Pig IPA, a remnant from Cilurzo’s SoCal roots. CLICK HERE TO READ THE Q&A

This week, Brew & You columnist Sean Inman discusses the idea that “The big industrial brewers are trying to cash in on the growing craft beer market by conspicuously NOT using their name on some beers.” Inman peels back the curtain on beers from big brewers and smaller craft brewers. Click here for Inman’s post, titled “Who brewed this?.”

BEACHWOOD BBQ
131 Main Street, Seal Beach, 562 493 4500

New draught options at Gabriel Gordon’s noted Seal Beach beer bar include Port Brewing Santa’s Little Helper, Russian River IPA, Black Diamond Winter Ale, Santa Cruz Aleworks Dark Night Oatmeal Stout, New Belgium La Folie, New Belgium Biere de Mars, AleSmith X, Allagash Curieux and Port Brewing Mongo IPA. Track changes to Gordon’s 24-tap blackboard menu via HOP CAM.

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

On January 20, Blue Palms proprietor Brian Lenzo is rolling out the red carpet for The Bruery. Meet Patrick and Rachel Rue, Tyler King and Jonas Nemura from the 2009 Food GPS Brewery of the Year. The night begins at 6:30 PM with a private VIP Tasting. For $25 (or $30 at the door), you’ll get to hang with The Bruery crew, experience a four-stage beer and cheese pairing, and taste two limited-edition beers, including the first pint of Mischief. The VIP tasting is limited to 25 people. General admission starts at 7 PM. A four-beer/four-cheese pairing costs $14. On tap, you’ll find Orchard White, Hottenroth Berliner Weisse, Rugbrod, Humulus XPA and more beers TBD. There’s even a raffle at 9 PM for a two-night, three-day stay in Vegas.

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

The tap selection at Phil McGovern’s Santa Monica bar now includes Ballast Point Sculpin IPA, Victory Yakima Twilight Ale, Deschutes Red Chair amber ale, Russian River Damnation, and on cask, Stone Ruination Double IPA.

THE FIFTH AMENDMENT ALEHOUSE
129 Broadway, Santa Monica, 310 386 1428

According to resident beer expert Dave Watrous, new beers on tap include Ballast Point Brewing Victory at Sea (arriving tonight), Speakeasy Brewing PayBack Porter, Speakeasy Brewing White Lightning, Port Brewing Shark Attack Red, Lost Abbey Red Barn Saison, Avery Czar (Imperial Stout, arrives early next week), Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA and Alaskan Brewing White Ale< New promotion is as follows: Monday night from 5:00 P.M. - 10:00 P.M. All Draft Beers $5.” THE GOLDEN STATE
426 North Fairfax Avenue, Fairfax, 323 782 8331

According to The Golden State co-owner Jason Bernstein, you’ll now find kegs of Port Mongo IPA, Harvest wet hopped IPA, Avery IPA, Lost Abbey Devotion and Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi. Another keg of Deschutes Abyss might go on this week.

LADYFACE ALEHOUSE & BRASSERIE
29281 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills, 818 477 4566

According to owner Cyrena Nouzille, “We just tapped Anderson Valley’s Poleeko Gold (a lovely little pale ale) which will replace the Mamma’s Little Yellow Pils on the tap line-up. Otherwise everything is the same.”

LIBRARY ALEHOUSE
2911 Main Street, Santa Monica, 310 314 4855

According to the update from Library Alehouse Sustainability Manager Thomas Kelley, “We still have Blind Pig on, and have now tapped the Alaskan Smoked Porter. Plus the two La Trappe beers, the Quadruple and Isid’or will run for at least one keg. We should have a Green Flash Le Freak on by the weekend. We will be phasing out the Delirium Noel, probably by next week, so come get your fill before its gone till next Christmas.”

LUCKY BALDWIN’S
17 South Raymond Avenue, Pasadena, 626 795 0652

New beers on tap at Lucky Baldwin’s are all from Koningshoeven Witte, Quad and Isid’or.

LUCKY BALDWIN’S DELIRIUM CAFE
21 Kersting Court, Sierra Madre, 626 355 1140

According to Jamie, a staffer at Lucky Baldwin’s eastern outpost, the current draught line-up now features Craftsman Poppyfields Pale Ale.

LUCKY DEVILS
6613 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, 323 465 8259

According to Lucky Devils rep Stacy Failing, “Here’s the update of what we’re pouring on tap at Lucky Devils – Duvel Green, Craftsman 1903, Craftsman Hefeweizen, Stone Pale Ale, Victory Prima Pils, Bear Republic Racer 5, Lost Coast Downtown Brown, Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, Craftsman Smoked Black Lager, Chimay Triple, Blanche de Bruxelles, St. Bernardus Abt 12 and Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin. Plus we’ve got a few bottles left of the Old Rasputin XII – come and get them while they last!”

STOUT
1544 North Cahuenga Boulevard, Hollywood, 323 469 3801

According to Alex Kagianaris, the co-owner of Hollywood’s newest burger-and-beer joint, “Some of our new beers that we have on tap right now are Moylan’s Hopsickle, Braumeister Pils, Spaten Optimator, and Brother David Double. We just tapped the Delirium Noel also as it was a favorite.”

VERDUGO BAR
3408 Verdugo Road, Glassell Park, 323 257 3408

According to co-owner Ryan Sweeney, you’ll now find kegs of Kern River Just Outstanding IPA, Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin and Port Brewing Mongo IPA, a tribute to the brewery’s fallen brewcat.

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Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

Blog Comments

@Joseph – First of all thanks for the cool mention, Joseph. I just found this post today while exploring external links to my site. Nice surprise.

@Joshua – Yep, in January we were pouring the Duchesse de Bourgogne. We fell in love with it and couldn’t wait to put it on our taps. We do change our 4 beers on tap regularly and you can visit our beer page to see an updated and current list of beers:
http://www.vinaterowineshop.com/beer.html
In this posting you mentioned some of our favorite places to grab a great beer. We look forward to following your future posts!

Ernie & Lisa Ceja
Vinatero Wine Shop
6531 Greenleaf Ave.
Whittier, CA 90601
(562) 464 – WINE
(562) 464 – 9463

[…] … Vinnie thinks it’s time for beers like Pliny and Blind Pig to be treated with the respect …Food GPS L.A. Beer Blast B2: The Surly Goat Primer, Russian …Beer Blast B2: The Surly Goat Primer, Russian River brewmaster Vinnie Cilurzo, Brew & You, […]

Hey I was just wondering if The Bottle room owners ever got back to you? I forwarded the e-mail you sent me to them.I still believe it should be on this list. Oh and there is a small place called Vinotero that i would like to mention. It’s mainly a wine shop but the few taps they have are usually pretty amazing. Right now they have Gulden Draak Dark Triple Belgium Ale Belgium,Buffalo Belgian Stout
Belgium, Duchesse De Bourgogne Belgium, Skyscraper Brewing Company Bulldozer Honeweizen to name what they have right now.

Joseph, thanks for forwarding my e-mail, but the Bottle Room owners were unresponsive. This is the first I’m hearing about Vinotero. The fact that they’re pouring Duchesse de Bourgogne caught my attention.

[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Marketing Beercast, Beer is King. Beer is King said: Food GPS » L.A. Beer Blast B2: The Surly Goat Primer, Russian … http://bit.ly/5k99eO […]

i will go wherever there is mongo. best dipa ive had in quite some time… love the beer blast for the info! and the q and a with vinnie was great too! keep up the awesome work.

Thanks for the support, Ted. More Mongo and brewmaster Q&As to come.

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