L.A. Beer Blast B6

Craft Beer Los Angeles

Eagle Rock Brewery brews Eagle-Goat Bock exclusively for The Surly Goat.

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.

“Unless you are a Level 7 beer geek with your own private Huggy Bear who will give you the word on the street, there will always be beers, breweries or events that will go unnoticed for years before you hear about it through the hop vine. And then, after you have drunk that A+ beer or toured that new brewery or attended that brew event, you wonder how your beer life existed back in the Stone Age.” So says Brew & You columnist Sean Inman, who just had that revelatory experience at Stone Brewing’s Winter Storm. He wrote about the experience in a post titled “Storm Watch at Stone Brewing Co.”

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

New draught options at Gabriel Gordon’s noted Seal Beach beer bar include Ballast Point Sea Monster Imperial Stout, Bootlegger’s Rustic Rye, Sierra Nevada Golden Ticket Baltic Porter, New Belgium Wild Ale and Grand Tetot Sweetgrass IPA. Track changes to Gordon’s 24-tap blackboard menu via HOP CAM.

BLUE PALMS BREWHOUSE
6124 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, 323 464 2337

According to Blue Palms proprietor Brian Lenzo, new beers include Pliny the Elder, Old Rasputin 12 and Shipwreck IPA. You’ll also find bottles of Russian River Consecration and Supplication. Russian River Pliny the Younger goes on tap on February 17 at 7 PM.

BONEYARD BISTRO
13539 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, 818 906 7427

According to chef-owner Aaron Robins, “Avery Dugana is flowing through the tap now and we should have Oscar Blues Gordon back on draft by next week. Next week should bring a few new surprises.”

CITY SIP LA
2150 West Sunset Boulevard, Echo Park, 213 483 9463

Nicole Daddio and former BottleRock LA beer expert Alex Macy are hosting a “To Hell With Valentine’s Day Beer Tasting!” on February 14 at 4:30 PM, featuring Belgian beer, cheese and chocolate. The cost is $35 per person, with $5 benefiting Haitian earthquake relief.

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

The tap selection at Phil McGovern’s Santa Monica bar now includes Abbot Ale, a cream ale, Rogue Chocolate Stout, Big Sky Powder Hound winter ale and Green Flash West Coast IPA. On cask: Ballast Point Sea Monster Stout with whiskey oak chips. On deck: Stone Smoked Porter with American oak. Tomorrow, Russian River Pliny the Younger goes on tap at 7 PM.

THE GOLDEN STATE
426 North Fairfax Avenue, Fairfax, 323 782 8331

According to The Golden State co-owner Jason Bernstein, “We just got The Bruery Melange No Sechs, their Valentine’s beer, plus Port Mongo IPA” He also grabbed a five-gallon keg of New Belgium Fall Wild Ale, which will go live for The Golden State’s first anniversary party, which is still being finalized. The Golden State opened on March 1, 2009.

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

According to Ladyface rep Robyn Britton, “Cask & Cassoulet Wednesdays have arrived at Ladyface Alehouse & Brasserie. Chef Ray has started us off with a traditional, slow-cooked, slightly smoky, duck, sausage and bean country stew that paired beautifully with the Ladyface IPA. The Cask of the Week is our own Picture City Porter infused with Star Anise. The porter’s coffee and chocolate characteristics, with a hint of spice, make it a great companion to our Bread Pudding with caramelized Vanilla Bourbon Sauce. Or try it in a Beer Float. Really.

The ladies of Ladyface also swear by the Blonde Ale sorbet and the Cherry Kriek sorbet, both custom-made in small batches for us by Fosselman’s, a wonderful old family-run ice creamery. It’s our four o’clock pick-me-up of choice!

Sunday is Valentine’s Day and we’re featuring a sophisticated prix fixe option (check it out at ladyfaceale.com) as well as our regular menu. Part of the special menu includes an ale and chocolate pairing, brought to you in partnership with our neighbors, the fabulous Tifa Chocolates. Your sweetheart will be impressed and you can still enjoy a beer and a burger if that’s your thing. You’ll both happy and that, my friend, can only lead to romance!”

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

According to the update from Library Alehouse Sustainability Manager Thomas Kelley, “We have Transatlantique Kriek, Green Flash West Coast IPA, AleSmith Bloody Valentine and BASHAH on right now. In bottles we have Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Alesmith Decadence 09, and just brought in 375ml Supplication and 750ml Consecration bottles.

Next Tuesday, the 16th of February, we will be releasing our keg of Pliny the Younger at 4PM. In addition we will have 5 other Double IPA’s on draft including Pliny the Elder from Russian River, Mongo from Port Brewing, Dugana from Avery Brewing, Hopsickle from Moylan’s Brewery and Ruination from Stone Brewing. A 10-ounce pour costs $6, a flight of 3 runs $9 and a flight of 5 costs $14. Come on get HOPPY!

As far as the 23rd, we will have 10 IPA’s on draft, with flights available. Definitely on the list are. Racer 5, Union Jack, Blind Pig, Ranger, Stone, AleSmith, and Avery. I have not yet confirmed the last few spots. 15% of sales will be donated to Santa Monica College Foundation.

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

The latest beers on tap at Lucky Baldwin’s Old Pasadena flagship are Gulden Draak, Maredsous Blonde and Foret, a Belgian Saison. Belgian Beer Fest runs from February 13-28. Saison Dupont is the sponsor. Expect a glass, T-shirt and beer special, with discounted refills.

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

Belgian Beer Fest runs February 13-28 at Lucky Baldwin’s eastern outpost. Saison Dupont is the sponsor. Expect a glass, T-shirt and beer special, with discounted refills.

THE SURLY GOAT
7929 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, 323 650 4628

Ryan Sweeney, Brandon Bradford, Alen Aivazian and Adolfo Suaya launched The Surly Goat on Monday. The bar currently features kegs of beers like Stone Old Guardian ’08 (aged in red wine barrels), Kern River Just Outstanding IPA, Sierra Nevada/Dogfish Head Life & Limb, New Belgium Tart Lychee, Ballast Point Sea Monster Stout and Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws ‘08.

38 DEGREES ALEHOUSE
100 West Main Street, Alhambra, 626 282 2038

Here’s last night’s update from 38 Degrees co-owner Clay Harding, who oversees the beer program: “Getting hoppy again with (Bear republic Apex, Union Jack, 90 min. IPA, Port Mongo) I will feature a Valentine Flight with Magic Hat #9, Melange No Sechs, Lindemans Frambois and Youngs Chocolate Stout. My session beer will be Point Reyes Porter.”

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

According to co-owner Ryan Sweeney, you’ll now find kegs of Pliny the Younger (tonight at 7 PM!) and The Bruery Melange No Sechs. You’ll also find bottles of Black Tot, the second beer in Avery’s barrel aged series, an Imperial Stout.

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

According to The York manager Mary Drenthe, “Today we’re getting a keg of Craftsman Honesty Ale, which is their sour cherry Belgian style fruit beer. It’s tart and delicious. St. Bernardus Prior 8, a Belgian dubbel, Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA, and Franziskaner Hefe Weizen are also new additions to the lineup. In bottle we added Lost Abbey Devotion Ale, which is a tasty Belgian pale style. In addition to Honesty Ale, Craftsman will be bringing two 5-gallon cask ales.”

On February 24 at 6:30 PM, The York a Firestone Walker 5-course beer dinner. The dinner costs $40 per person and features pairings from chef Dimitri Stephenson and Firestone Walker rep Jace Milstead. The includes Unfiltered Double Barrel Ale on Cask (Hors d’oeuvre), California Pale 31 (Creole and Pale 31-boiled shrimp served with house-made cocktail sauce), Union Jack India Pale Ale (Mixed green salad with pepitas, Calabasas red onion, Chèvre, and sherry vinaigrette), Walker’s Reserve Robust Porter (Robust Porter braised baby back ribs with porter infused barbecue sauce, parsnip puree, and radicchio di Treviso) and Velvet Merkin (Oatmeal stout float with crème fraîche gelato and chocolate covered cherries). It’s limited seating and reservations are filling up quick. Call (323) 255-9675 or email [email protected] to reserve your space.

Tags:

Joshua Lurie

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

Leave a Comment