Last weekend, I spent all of my craft beer time (I do sleep some) in El Segundo. The reason is that there are soon to be three great places to have a pint or two.

First on the list is the last place I visited, the El Segundo branch of Whole Foods. Now I like my Glendale Whole Foods beer selection but the one at El Segundo is much larger and you will find it in more places around the store. I picked up Clutch from a New Belgium display in the middle of an aisle and then I spotted Aroma Coma from Drake’s before even hitting the main section near their little bar set-up where you can sample and watch some sports.

Before that, I enjoyed the sun out on the patio of Rock & Brews. As part of Rocktoberfest, they have had a Sierra Nevada night and they will be spotlighting Firestone-Walker and Iron Fist in the weeks to come and on Sunday they hosted the U.S. debut of Mountain Goats Beer all the way from Melbourne, Australia. One of the great joys in life is being able to sit down with the people that make the beer and just talk about the wacky world of craft beer appreciation. To be able to sample new beers brought to us while showing off our California beers is an added bonus.

The third stop on this tour is right across the street in a nondescript building where El Segundo Brewing will open up their tasting room very soon. It is not a big space but like Eagle Rock’s taproom. You will be able to sit and enjoy the Blue House Pale or IPA (or special beers like Citra pale or Nelson pale) while gazing into the brew house.

For the craft Beer of the Week, I recommend two beers from the fine brewers at Mountain Goats that I mentioned above. Both use the Galaxy hop which imparts (at least to me) a light pine aroma and also a pineapple-esque flavor. The Australian Pale Ale really showcases that semi-new hop varietal. But if you are looking for something a little stronger and more in the barley wine category then pick up Hightail. Both “only use malt, hops, yeast and water; no preservatives or additives, no pasteurization.” It is a great way to support the global craft beer movement and a lot cheaper than airfare to Australia.

Your Homework this week is to check out the website for the Musical Beer Crawl that is part of the L.A. Beer Week festivities. I will let the website speak for the event, which is “intent on uniting the numerous extra-fantastic beer and music venues along Echo Park’s Sunset Blvd. for a night of excellence on October 11, 2011.

The crawl is free to attend. Why? Because we want you music fans to love good beer, and you beer people to find good music, but most importantly to learn something and have fun while doing so.”

Find more of Sean Inman’s writing on his blog, Beer Search Party.