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.
Brew & You
This week in Brew & You: Breaking news from L.A. craft beer scene, an “extra” special bitter and a new homework assignment to complete in a post titled EXTRA!! EXTRA!!!.
According to Echo Park bar owner Elizabeth Fischbach, “Here’s what is on tap this week: North Coast Le Merle, Avery IPA, Sudwerk Pilsner and Port Brewing Old Viscosity. We added a couple of new bottles to the list, The Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme and Ommegang Abbey Ale. Join us tonight for Thursday tamale happy hour (one tamale per beer) 6-8, followed by an evening of Country Music, 8pm – 11pm.”
On tap at Barbara’s are Black Market Wind and Sea, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing Black Moon Rising, Stone collaboration More Brown than Black, Mad River John Barleycorn and Russian River Blind Pig IPA.
Beachwood chef-owner Gabe Gordon currently features Sierra Nevada Kellerweiss, Smog City Coffee Porter, TAPS Dopplebock, Stillwater Debutante saison and Stone Ruination on cask in Seal Beach. Track changes to Beachwood BBQ’s 24-tap menu via Hop Cam.
The Long Beach location of Beachwood features Anderson Valley Oatmeal Stout, Sudwerk hefeweizen, Mikkeller Texas Ranger Chipotle porter, Triple Rock Laurel IPA and Eagle Rock’s Vanilla bean Solidarity on cask. Track changes to Beachwood BBQ’s 24-tap menu via Hop Cam.
Beer Belly
On tap at Jimmy and Yume Han’s Koreatown establishment: TAPS Barleywine, Surf Brewery South Swell DIPA, New Belgium, “Lips Of Faith” Fresh Hop IPA, New Belgium “Lips Of Faith” Prickly Passion Saison, Cismontane Smokin’ Santiago, El Segundo White Dog, Craftsman Angelino Weisse, TAPS Cream Ale, El Segundo Blue House Double Dry Hopped Pale Ale, Black Market Anglo-American Brown Ale, Smog City XPA. Hangar 24 and Orange Wheat.
On Deck: Eagle Rock Populist, Smog City Groundwork Coffee Porter, Craftsman Acorn Saison, Goose Island Matilda and Ballast Point Sculpin.
Blue Palms taps are pouring (Yeah!!) Smog City The Nothing Double Imperial stout, Craftsman Citrus Saison, Cosmic Ales Hellhound brown, HeBrew ReJewvenator 2010 and Stone Double Bastard 2011 among many others. Track changes to Blue Palms Brewhouse’s 24-tap menu Here
From bar manager Rory Snipes: “New beers on tap this week include Pliny the Elder, Sculpin, Bootlegger’s Knuckle Sandwich, Blue House White Dog, Green Flash Fizzy Yellow Beer, Dupont La Biere de Beloeil and Avery Maharajah.”
The latest from Wen Yeh at BruHaus: New on draft are Uinta Labyrinth and Alesmith Nautical Nut Brown. Also pouring are Trois Pistoles, Lagunitas Sucks, Blanche de Bruxelles, Flying Dog Raging Bitch, Magic Hat #9, Piraat, Ommegang Rare Vos, Tripel Karmeliet, Hofbrau Original, Pranqster, Malheur 12, Duvel Single, Reissdorf Kolsch, Paulaner Pils, Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock, Shipyard XXXX IPA, Schneider Edelweiss (Organic), Weihenstephan Vitus, Delirium and Lindeman’s Framboise.
Upcoming Events:
1/12/12 Hanger 24 pint night
For Pint night Pugachev’s Cobra, Winter Warmer, Chocolate Porter,and Double IPA. We will be giving away a commemorative pint glass with any flight or pint ordered. (limit one per customer) Our Table Taps will be Hanger 24 Orange Wheat, Helles Lager, Columbus IPA from 1/11-1/25
1/26/12 Lagunitas Pint Night
Cappuccino Stout Stout, Ipa, + 2 more styles. We will be giving away a commemorative pint glass with any flight or pint ordered. (limit one per customer)”
Here is the latest from the Congregation: “For the Chosen One(s): Long Beach, Eagle Rock Solidarity – Azusa, Ballast Point Pale Ale – Pasadena, Ballast Point Sculpin IPA. Cheers!”
Since last Thursday, Phil McGovern’s iconic Santa Monica bar has added New Belgium Lips of Faith Super Cru, Sierra Nevada Northern Hemisphere Harvest Wet Hop and Telegraph Winter ale to its taps.
On tap beer wise Solidarity, Solidarity on nitro, Manifesto wit, Revolution XPA, Populist IPA, Botany Bay ESB, Jubilee holiday ale and a special new bock beer as well. On the Food truck front, Saturday is the Border Grill truck and Sunday brunch brought to you by the Flatiron truck.
Also, on the 18th is the Womens Beer Forum, “Ready to pucker up for the New Year? Well this month’s flight is sure to help you out! We’ll be serving up an entire flight of amazing sour beers! You’re not gonna want to miss this one! These are some beers that we’ve been working on getting our hands on and then saving for just this occasion. Being able to taste all of these beers in a flight at the low cost of $12 is the BEST way to kick off the new year! Mandoline Grill will be serving up some delicious eats that will go great with the kick of the sour beers, so be sure to show up both thirsty and hungry! Please rsvp if you’ll be attending so that we can be sure that we have enough of these very special beers! Hope to see you all there!”
The Factory
The latest info according to Eric Gutenkauf: “The Factory Gastrobar in Long Beach has a great taplist going into the weekend: Bootleggers Knuckle Sandwich, Lagunitas Fusion VII IPA, Drake’s Jolly Roger, Cismontane Cyclone Yasi Pale Lager, Stone Oaked Bastard, Iron Fist Off Hand Saison, Iron Fist Renegade Blonde, and Mad River Jamaica Red. The backup brews portend an epic week of deliciousness with: Avery Maharaja, Napa Smith Hopageddon, Sudwerk Dopplebock, Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA, Beer Valley Judas Yeast, Rogue Dead Guy and Ballast Point Calico Amber!
We are adding new offerings to our cheese program today, and will have a beer and cheese pairing flight on Saturday night!”
From Jimmy Smith at the Little Tokyo bar: “Just Tapped…Eagle Rock Manifesto and Lost Abbey Serpant’s Stout right in time for Happy Hour. All beer draft and bottled, $1 off…yes even those brand spanking new bottles of Cuvee De Tomme and Deliverance. Cheers!”
Draft Highlights at this downtown spot include Craftsman 1903, Brouwerij West 5 Blond, Oskar Blue’s Mama’s Little Yella’ Pils, Cismontane Citizen, Cismontane Black’s Dawn, Cismontane Brut Du Sauvin, Golden Road Hefeweizen, Hangar 24 Orange Wheat, Hangar 24 DIPA, Allagash White, Allagash Black, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Ballast Point Pale Ale, Ballast Point Big Eye IPA, New Belgium Belgo IPA, Bootlegger’s Rustic Rye IPA, Bootlegger’s Winter Ale (chocolate mint porter), Eagle Rock Populist IPA, The Strand Atticus IPA, Moylan’s Dragoons Dry Irish Stout, Anchor Brewing Porter and Lindeman’s Peche Lambic. Bottles and cans also available at the 8th Street Bottle Shop inside the bar.”
“This Sunday, January 15th, Golden Road Brewing is hosting a double celebration to commemorate both the launch of their Pub, and the long awaited reveal of their brand new 16oz cans! From 11am-11pm, the pub will be open, with Chef Adam Levoe grilling up a variety of burger specials (vegan and non-vegan) on the outdoor patio BBQ, served with a can (yay!) of Golden Road beer – either the Point the Way IPA or Golden Road Hefeweizen – for just $10. The full menu will also be available, along with plenty of draft beer options and lots of signature Golden Road swag (including t-shirts, bags, hoodies, and of course, beautiful branded glassware).”
Draught beers on Fairfax include Sierra Nevada Hop Harvest, Cismontane Dead Santa, Knee Deep Citra Pale, Moylan’s Hopsickle, Craftsman Angelino Weiss, Uinta HooDoo kolsch, Avery Maharaja DIPA and North Coast Red Seal.
The LAB
The Lab is holding its first ever 5-course beer pairing dinner (yes, that means 5 beers) on January 24th. The event will feature a discussion about the beer and food led by brewmaster Roger “Dr. Hops” Bott and Chef Moez. The planned courses: 1) a special selection of artisan cheese, 2) Dungeness crab & ahi tuna tower, 3) pan seared salmon, 4) beer braised short ribs, 5) dessert. The cost is $65 and reservations are a must (818) 735-0091. The Lab is also introducing Mixology Mondays. Come put your chemistry skills to the test and see if you can’t discover an incredible multi-beer blend. We’ve been experimenting in The LAB by mixing great beers together to produce unique tasty blends. And we’ve had some success. 60% La Chouffe and 40% Bad Influence IPA resulted in a fabulous tasting beer we called “Good Chouffe Bad Chouffe”. Yeah, coming up with the right beer combos is only half the battle — we need clever names too! If you are up to the challenge, we’ll see you Monday night.”
From Robyn Britton at Ladyface: “The Cask of the Week, “Loch Titicaca”, features our Midnight Special Scotch Ale, infused with Zocolatte Tea, a spicy South American blend of cocoa bits, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and herbs. If you followed us on Facebook, you’d have seen Wednesday’s secret words and know that the first ten folks who said “What’s Peruvian for Nessie?“ to their server, got the Ladyface ale of their choice for only $1.
Next Monday, January 16 begins Sierra Nevada Week with all guest taps pouring SN, including their brand new rye-based Ruthless IPA, the Ovila series (yes, we have them all) and Celebration. The week after is our 2nd Anniversary, when all taps will be pouring Ladyface and we’ll be releasing our 2nd Anniversary Ale, a Belgian quadrupel!”
Here is the latest from Alex P. Davis at the Library Alehouse: “Right now I have Ladyface La Trappistine, Russian River Blind Pig, AleSmith IPA, Dogfish Head Chicory Stout, Scaldis Noel 2010, FiftyFifty Totality Imperial Stout, Heretic Evil Cousuin, Pizza Port Great American Brown, Bruery Cuir, Golden Road Rye on the Palate, Brouwerij West Blond 5, Firestone Union Jack, Deschutes Jubelale, Emelisse Jack Daniel’s Barleywine, El Segundo White Dog IPA, Ommegang Seduction, Surf Oil Piers Porter and Pizza Port Where is my Lightsaber? Stout.”
On deck I have Port Mongo Double IPA, Firestone Velvet Merlin, New Belgium Abbey Grand Cru, Smog City The Nothing Imperial Stout, High Water Hop Riot, Port Midnight Expression, Smog City IPA, Victory Braumeister Pils, Stillwater Stateside, Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye, Grand Teton Bitch Creek, Ballast Point Sculpin and Rodenbach Grand Cru.
On January 26th, “Join us for the release of Tovarish Imperial Espresso Stout with Brewer Julian Shrago, Manager of Sales David Watrous and Owner/Chef Gabe Gordon guesting in the Alehouse kitchen with some special pairings just for this event. On tap we’ll have the following: Tovarish Imperial Espresso Stout, Equalizer Double IPA, Full Malted Jacket Scotch Ale, High Five Saison and Breaker Pale Ale. Stay tuned for pairing details as the event approaches.” Check the Library Alehouse Facebook page for updates.
On tap at this new downtown Belgian inspired bar and restaurant are Red Poppy – The Lost Abbey (Flanders Red Ale w/Cherries), Trois Pistoles – Unibroue (Belgian Dark Strong Ale) and Manifesto – Eagle Rock (Witbier).
On deck: Temptation – Russian River (American Wild Ale), Four Calling Birds – The Bruery (Belgian Dark Strong Ale) and Serpent’s Stout – The Lost Abbey (Belgian Stout).
Mediterraneo
Adam Aro reports these new brews on tap: “These are the beers I currently have on draft: Hop Ruiter, Craftsman Fireworks Saison, Angelinoweiss, & Ruddy Bloke Red, Lagunitas Doppelweizen, Weihenstephaner Kristalweiss, Great Divide Fresh Hop Pale, New Belgium Mothership Wit, Estrella Damm, Stone Dbl Dry-hopped IPA & OAKED and dbl dry-hopped Ruination, Telegraph Oatmeal Stout (nitro), Lindemans Peche Lambic, Belhaven Scottish Ale (nitro), Abbot Ale (nitro), Val Dieu Tripel, North Coast Grand Cru, Cismontane Dead Santa, Brut de Sauvin & Cyclone Yasi, Stone Vertical Epic 11-11-11, Sierra Nevada 30th Ann. Barleywine and Grand Cru, Deschutes The Stoic & Obsidian stout, New Belgium Clutch, Avery Old Jubilation, Bear Republic Heritage, Strand 24th St. Pale, & Rogue John John Dead Guy. Cask is Ballast Point Habanero Sculpin. Casks coming soon from Stone, Cismontane, Golden Road and Ballast Point.”
The latest on tap in Echo Park: Hangar 24 Helles, Heretic Tafelbully, El Segundo Blue House Double Dry Hopped Summit, Bootlegger’s Rocco red and Ladyface Blind Ambition. Many Big Sky Brewery beers on as well.
The latest update from assistant manager Josh Salinas: “This weekend we are pouring Craftsman IPA, Eagle Rock Manifesto, Knee Deep Citra Extra Pale Ale, Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout, The Lost Abbey Red Barn Ale, and Telegraph California Ale. On deck we have El Segundo White Dog WIPA, Cismontane Pandion Pale Ale, and Craftsman Scotch Isle Ale.
Also don’t forget about our sister restaurant Maximiliano in Highland Park. At Maximiliano we only carry a full line of Pasadena’s Craftsman Brews. On tap right now is the Holiday, IPA, Angeleno Wiese, Acorn Saison and of course the Main 3, Heavenly Hefe, Poppyfields, & 1903 Lager.”
From Justin Blake at Dave Furano and Michael Zislis’ El Segundo biergarten: “You’ve heard the rumors and probably seen some of the pictures. Well it’s true. We will be remodeling this winter to make Rock & Brews bigger and better than ever. We began construction right after Christmas and reopen in mid February.”
The latest from general manager Micah Schiesel, “Gold metal winning Three Flowers Rye IPA from Marin Brewing is showing up tomorrow! Sculpin, Pliny both on tap together alongside the Maharaja. Special Alert, next Wednesday @5pm on the dot we will be tapping our keg of Deschutes Abyss, come by and get your fill of one of the finest stouts in the universe!!! If you don’t know pretend you do and show up…”. Track changes to Simmzy’s tap list Here
Steingarten LA
New on draft for Steingarten LA: New On Draft: Bootlegger’s Rocco Red, Stone/Alchemist/Ninkasi More Brown than Black IPA, Bootlegger’s Eliminator IPA, Avery Maharaja, Bootlegger’s Golden Chaos, To Ol Snowball Saison, De Struisse/Deka Westoek X (Belgian Strong Pale Ale), Bootlegger’s Mint Chocolate Porter, Ballast Point Navigator Doppelbock, Lagunitas Sucks IPA, Alaskan Smoked Porter, Evil Twin Williamsburg Hipster American Pale Ale, Port Brewing Santa’s Little Helper and Kern River Class V.
Then at 7:00 PM Monday January 23rd 2012, The Hangar 24 Brewing Company will visit with…7 amazing beer: Pugachev’s Cobra, Columbus IPA, Double IPA, Alt Bier, Orange Wheat, Helles lager plus specialty beer cocktails
• Hangar 24 Estate Hop Infused Gin & Vodka
• Special Hangar 24 beer cocktail flights
On hand will be brew master Kevin Wright to talk about all the beers. We will have a limited amount of keep the glass pints available at the bar *while supplies last. This will be your last chance to try the “Pugachev’s Cobra” which we will tap at 7:00 PM Sharp!”
For the month of January, Marlene Samaniego and husband Sam will be featuring porters and stouts on draft. Here is this month’s line-up: Kona Brewing Pipeline porter, Speakeasy Hunter’s Point porter from ’10, Port Brewing Santa’s Little Helper ’10, Firestone-Walker Velvet Merlin Oatmeal stout, Bootleggers Black Phoenix Chipotle Cofffee stout, Knee Deep Imperial Tanilla porter, Great Divide Chocolate Oak aged Yeti Imperial stout and Uinta Labyrinth Barrel aged imperial stout.
“This Friday is the first of our Friday Brewery nights. We’ll have Bootlegger’s Brewery and Mandoline Grill @ 7pm!”
On tap highlights from Andrew Kelley: Cuir – The Bruery (oak-aged Belgian Old Ale), Knuckle Sandwich – Bootlegger’s (Imperial IPA) and Victory At Sea – Ballast Point (Imperial Porter w/ Coffee & Vanilla).
On deck: The Abyss – Deschutes (oak-aged Imperial Stout), Maharaja – Avery (Imperial Stout) and Indra Kunindra – Ballast Point (Spiced Export Stout)
On January 19th, “Ballast Point Tiki Takeover! Join head brewer Yuseff Cherney for your chance to try the rarest of Ballast Point brews & craft spirits from their own distillery whipped up into exotic concoctions and served in a Ballast Tiki Mug! Full Tap List coming soon…”
Some of the taps you will find in Burbank: Craftsman Acorn saison, Alesmith IPA, Lost Abbey Red Barn, Russian River Pliny the Elder and Hangar 24 Orange Wheat.
Vendome Toluca Lake’s weekly Beer Tasting is from 2-5 pm on Saturday and 12-3 pm Sunday. Each week has a theme and this week it is collaboration ales. “In the spirit of bringing people together, I decided to focus on beers that were jointly made by brewers who came together to discuss and share ideas. With that being said, on to the list! Bruery/Elysian/Stone La Citrueille (ale brewed with pumpkin, yams, toasted fenugreek, lemon verbena and birch bark), Rogue John John Hazelnut Ale (let’s call it a collaboration between the distillery and the brewery, aged in Hazelnut spice rum barrels), The Alchemist/Ninkasi/Stone More Brown than Black IPA, De Proefbrouwerij Signature Ale (a Belgian Strong Ale collaboration between Dirk Naudts of De Proefbrouwerij and Tomme Arthur of Lost Abbey), Baird/Ishii/Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA (a citrusy, herbal DIPA brewed in support of Japanese overcoming the tsunami and earthquake they suffered in 2011), De Proefbrouwerij Monstre Rouge (a collaboration with Terrapin Brewing Company of Athens, Georgia), Nøgne Ø/Jolly Pumpkin/Stone Special Holiday Ale (ale brewed with Michigan chestnuts, white sage from southern California, and Norwegian juniper berries), Jolly Pumpkin/Nøgne Ø/ Stone Collababeire Holiday Ale (brewed with the same ingredients but with different brewing practices), Avery Collaboration Not Litigation (a Belgian Strong Ale collaboration between Avery and Russian River), Samuel Adams Infinium 2011 (a champagne-like beer collaboration with the Weihenstephaner brewery of Germany, following the German Purity Law (Reinheitsgebot)), Struise/Stillwater Outblack (a mix between a Belgian Strong Ale and a Black IPA) and Schneider & Brooklyner Hopfen-Weisse (an 8.2% abv Weizen Bock)
Plus a Few non collaborative goodies: Duvel Tripel Hop (Unique one-off, made with three kinds of hops: Styrian Goldings, Saaz and Amarillo, Allagash Four (a special Quadrupel ale brewed with four different malts, hops, and fermented four times) and Zoetzuur Flemish Reserve Ale (a delicious sweet and sour tasting wild ale).”
From Matt Wise: “A few special rotational handles this week at the =V= + our first craft brew VENICE HI HOP XPA launches at 5p on Friday 1/13. Oaked Dos Cones (Cismontane), White Dog Ale (El Segundo Brewing Co.), Union Jack IPA (Firestone Walker), Cream Ale (Ventura Surf Brewing Company) and Smoked Porter (Alaskan Brewing Company).”
In Agoura Hills: “Wood Aged Beer Flight tonight Thursday, January 12th from 4:30pm to 7:00pm. For this week’s tasting, we are putting on new kegs of wood aged beers. This flight will progress from a barrel aged sour beer, though the spectrum to dark. Come in and taste the effects that wood aging has on beer! Jolly Pumpkin – Noel De Calabaza (Barrel Aged Sour), Telegraph Brewing – Obscura Vieja, Flying Dog – Barrel Aged Gonzo Porter, Allagash – Curieux Bourbon Barrel Aged Strong Ale. Come in for a special $15 taster flight…stay to enjoy the 40 unique beers on taps!!!”
Other Beer-y Events
At the Four Points by Sheraton LAX, aka The Beer Hotel, “Coming right up…New Years! New Beers! with, as Larry James told me, some really good beers. Tomorrow (Friday 1/13) at 6:30 pm. Make your resolution now to come to all of our Beer Appreciation Nights in 2012. Check us out on Facebook. Looking forward to an updated Beer List, new small bites menu, and some live music…all coming soon.”
L.A. Beer Blast compiled by Food GPS Beer Editor Sean Inman
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