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 meet industry leaders. The L.A. BEER BLAST normally arrives 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.
Q&A WITH BRASSERIE D’ACHOUFFE FOUNDER CHRIS BAUWERAERTS
Chris Bauweraerts founded Brasserie D’Achouffe with brother-in-law Pierre Gobron in 1982. They used a methodical approach to develop a limited number of beers and it paid off in 2006, when they sold the Belgian brewery to Duvel Moortgat. Bauweraerts is still with the company and travels the world on their behalf, preaching the Chouffe gospel. We recently caught up with him at Library Alehouse, where the opinionated beer pro shared some insights about his background and philosophy. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE.
BREW & YOU
This week in Brew & You, Sean Inman takes you to a beer bar tucked between downtown and Echo Park in a post, titled, 1642 is the Magic Number.
Beachwood chef-owner Gabe Gordon currently features draught beers like Moylan’s Apple Brandy barrel aged Double Kilt Lifter, Port Brewing – Carlsbad’s Ralphies Bock. There is also growing taps for Deschutes Night. Scheduled for tonight! Track changes to Beachwood BBQ’s 24-tap menu via HOP CAM.
Tuesday, January 18 is a special event with a special beer for the occasion, Siracha Cookbook release with Author Randy Clemens. “There will be a special Sriracha beer on hand, made just for us thanks to my friends at Eagle Rock Brewery!”
Blue Palms is currently pouring beers from Temecula’s Black Market, Drake’s Alpha Session, Ballast Point’s Victory at Sea as well as two new brews from Montana’s Big Sky: Cherry Golden and All Souls Imperial Saison. Track changes to Blue Palms Brewhouse’s 24-tap menu via HERE
BoHo
From Chris Sobolewski, the beer dude at BoHo: “This week we have The Abyss, Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti, Anchor Porter and Port Wipeout IPA new on tap. The Lagunitas Undercover from last summer has aged wonderfully and is now back on tap as well. And as a reminder, Happy Hour is 4-7pm Mon-Fri and 1-5pm on Sat featuring our entire draft lineup for just $5.”
BottleRock
Here are the new drafts at each BottleRock locations:
Culver City has Allagash/New Belgium Vrienden and Lost Coast Winterbraun.
Downtown LA has Allagash Black.
The Bottle Room
According to Tuesday night’s update from chef-owner Tony Alcazar, ” Ahem,…as far as new beers this week: We have a bunch of RRBC,…IPA, Blind Pig, Pliny the Elder and Consecration. (Our cup runneth over) Also among the 24 taps is Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti, Lucifer, Samiclaus and Hennepein (apparently for the last time).
As far as events, we have our second anniversary coming and have a few events. March 1st our 2nd Annual Winter beer dinner with Mark Jilg from Craftsman brewing, March 6th is Taco Extravaganza with Eagle Rock brewing as well as our 2nd Annual IPA fest. All happening in the beginning of March.”
Broadway Alehouse
From co-owner Eden Noe, “We have Sculpin IPA, St. Bernadus Noel, Affligem Noel, Fat Tire, Duvel Green, Racer IPA, Brother Thelonius, Arrogant Bastard, Lagunitas IPA, Dogfish 90 minute, The Bruery 7 Grain saison, Young’s Double Chocolate, Curieux, Hoegaarden, Chambly Noir, Judgement Day, New Belgium and Allagash Vrienden.
According to Tuesday night’s update from General Manager Matthew Kaner, Covell is now pouring Bootleggers Rustic Rye, Big Sky’s Slow Elk, Aventinus Eisbock, Green Flash’s Le Freak and a special Winter Ale from Beer Valley.
And check out Matthew on the podcast of The Tasting Room with Tom Leykis where he talks about his strategy for recommending wine and beer.
Since last Thursday, Phil McGovern’s Santa Monica bar has added draught beers like New Belgium Sahti Ale, Firestone’s Velvet Merlin, Deschutes The Dissident and Green Flash Double Stout.
Having thrown a successful 1st Anniversary party, Eagle Rock is back to bringing great food trucks to the brewery with the Gastrobus, Mandoline Grill and Grill ‘em All scheduled for this weekend.
The Factory
According to co-owner Eric Gutenkauf, the current draught beer list includes Bootleggers Knuckle Sandwich Double IPA, Bootleggers Anniversary Strong Ale, Ballast Point Sculpin IPA, Ballast Point Tongue Buckler, Port Brewing Mongo IPA, Stone Double Dry Hopped Arrogant Bastard, Angel City Abbey, Rock Bottom Woodford Reserve Barrel Aged Brown Ale, Strand Atticus IPA and New Belgium/Allagash Vrienden.
Also, tonight until midnight is the monster BEER FESTIVAL. According to Gutenkauf, “There is no entrance fee. Each attendee will purchase their first beer for $6 and receive the glass to take with them. Refills in that glass are only $4. FULL PINT GLASSES will be used. Other glassware may be purchased as we will have a variety of choices from represented brewers! Confirmed Brewers in Attendance: Bootleggers, Ballast Point, Strand, Angel City and Rock Bottom. Glenn Sawada of the Long Beach Hopheads will be guest-bartending! New Brew Thursday will be filming their show live at The Factory!!!”
According to The Golden State co-owner James Starr, new draught beers include Firestone Union Jack, Victory Helios, Drakes Jolly Rodger, Anderson Valley’s Black IPA, Old Rasputin, Russian River Consecration, Bootleggers Knuckle Sandwich, Ballast Points Yellowtail pale ale and the New Belgium/Allagash collaboration Vrienden.
According to Ladyface rep Robyn Britton, “The Cask of the Week is named for Brewer Dave’s famous sense of humor. “Wicked Wit” features our La Blanche Wit infused with basil, freshly toasted fennel and chili flakes. The freshly tapped firkin joins La Blanche Wit, Blind Ambition Amber, Ladyface IPA, Trois Filles Tripel, Picture City Porter, Midnight Special Strong Scottish Ale, and Chesebro Imperial IPA. La Blonde should be back by the end of the weekend. Port Wipeout and Old Viscosity, Drake Alpha Session, Coronado Golden Ale, Marin Brass Knuckle, Grand Teton Coming Home, St. Louis Gueuze, Val-Dieu Grand Cru, and St. Feullien Noel round out the tap lineup.
Get ready – it’s going to take a whole week, January 23-29, to celebrate our first anniversary. We’re hosting our Quarterly Brewmaster’s Dinner, and releasing new brews almost every night including our Anniversary Ale (a huge Belgian Quad), a Russian Imperial Stout, Cabernet barrel-aged La Cerise, Cabernet barrel-aged Weizenbock and Chardonnay barrel-aged Oude Blonde. Every tap will be pouring Ladyface ale with all 22 of the regular, seasonal and special brews we’ve created throughout the year rotating through!
Finally, a reminder that every Tuesday is now “Bottled Beer Tuesday”. All bottled ales in the Ladyface cellar are 20% off every Tuesday. It’s a great excuse to try that special import or domestic you’ve been curious about and bottled ales are available to-go.”
Lucky Baldwin’s eastern outpost is now pouring amongst many fine foreign brews Bear Republic’s Racer 5 and Anchor Brewing’s Old Foghorn Barleywine.
According to Tuesday night’s update from assistant manager Josh Salinas, “This week we are pouring Nibble Bit Tabby ESB, Eel River Organic Porter, Eagle Rock Manifesto, Flying Dog “Doggie Style” Pale Ale, Craftsman 1903, and Hanger 24 IPA.On deck we will have Napa Smith Pale Ale and Beer Valley’s Rosebud IPA.”
Sidebar
According to yesterday’s update from Jace Milstead, a certified cicerone who’s consulting on the beer list, “We at SideBar are pleased to announce we are open 7 days a week now 6pm-2am. Plus, we’ll be having a working person friendly happy hour 6-8pm M-F, with $4 Draft and $3 Well. Beer wise, we have some amazing things on. Now up to 8 taps, we still want to point out we are the best beer list in Glendale. Take that, Coco’s! Bootlegger’s Knuckle Sandwich, Class V Stout on Nitro, and Three Philosophers on now.. Yeti, Avant Garde, and Ommegang Belgian Pale on deck…and more…”
According to manager Micah Schiesel, “We will be tapping into the Deschutes Abyss Imperial Bourbon/Pinot Noir Barrel aged stout on Thursday at 5pm sharp! We also are pouring Ale Smith’s Speedway Stout, oh you know just for when you are looking for a 12% Imperial Stout with loads of rich malty flavor and heaps of coffee mixed in for good measure. Just to appease all the TV watching crowd we have Dogfish Head’s Burton Baton and 90 Minute IPA, and for those who are brave we will be tapping Mikkeller’s Warrior IPA, if you never heard of this beer then you best stop by to see what all the fuss is about. ”
Track changes to Simmzy’s tap list HERE.
For the month of January, Marlene Samaniego and husband Sam are featuring Porters and Stouts on tap, including Victory Storm King Imperial Stout (2009), Avery Out of Bounds Stout (2009), Dogfish Head Chicory Stout, Abita Vanilla Porter, North Coast Old #38 Stout, Gentleman Scholar Requiem Espresso Vanilla Stout, Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence Stout (2009), BrewDog Tokyo Imperial Stout and Stone Smoked Porter brewed with vanilla beans.
According to today’s update from Surly Goat rep Andrew Kelley, new draft highlights: Lucky Bastard – Stone (American Strong Ale), Chocolate Indulgence – Ommegang (Belgian Stout) and Ewe-96 – Sierra Nevada (Dark Lager) – Beer Camp beer brewed by the owners of the Surly Goat among others in the local beer industry.
On Deck: Lil’ Sumpin Sumpin – Lagunitas (Wheat IPA), Curieux – Allagash (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Triple) and Vrienden – New Belgium & Allagash (American Wild Ale)
According to today’s update from general manager Paige Reilly, “Tony’s currently has Cismontane Double Rainbow IPA, Ballast Point Sextant Stout, Lost Abbey Judgement Day, Stone Smoked Porter, North Coast Red Seal and Nibble Bit Tabby’s Irish Red on tap! We are also gearing up for a Meet the geek event with Sudwerk Brewery this Tuesday, January 18th, at 6pm. Hope to see you there!”
Vendome Toluca Lake’s weekly Beer Tasting is from 2-5 pm and will take us on a scenic tour of Scandinavia and a taste of their beer culture.
Ryan Sweeney gave us the lowdown on what is coming to taps soon (Ballast Point Sculpin and Longfin Lager), what to find now (Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, Russian River Consecration and a special Sierra Nevada Beer Camp torpedoed schwarbier by the name of EWE-96.
The Craft Beer Chronicles
This week, Brand X contributor Steven Armstrong shared his latest installment of The Craft Beer Chronicles, titled Sips in the city with Alex Macy, a man who “hosts regular beer tasting and pairing sessions at CitySip, and also teaches a homebrewing class.”
On January 15 from 1 p.m., West L.A.’s Olympic Collection is hosting a winter beer festival. Buy a $35 ticket in advance – there are none available at the door- and get a 16-ounce souvenir mug. Fill it as many times as you like with more than 65 beers, including options like nstadt Brauerei and Weihenstephaner from Germany, Schlagl and Rieder from Austria, and local German-style beers from Beir Bitzch and Bootlegger’s Brewery, to name just two. Eric Hulme (Tender Greens West Hollywood executive chef), Rich Marcello (Strand Brewing Company co-owner) and Alex Puchner (brewmaster of BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery will crown a Winter Beer Champion, and everybody who attends helps to decide the People’s Choice Champion. Proceeds of Bock Fest benefit the Children’s Tumor Foundation.
L.A. Beer Blast compiled by Food GPS Beer Editor Sean Inman
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