LA Beer Week, part II

Ok, here are my suggestions for the last 5 days of LA Beer Week, I hope you all have been enjoying yourselves so far.

Wednesday, Oct 13

Stone Archive night @ Tony's Darts Away

Stone is bringing a load of their aged and old releases (i.e. limited) to this one night only event.  Those familiar with the Vertical Epic series will note that they are releasing their latest on 10.10.10 so I'm guessing there's a good chance it may be here.  Should be fantastic!

Thursday, Oct 14

Allagash Brewer's Dinner @ Tin Roof Bistro

I've never been to Tin Roof Bistro in Manhattan Beach, but judging by their menu and their pairing with Allagash, it's long overdue.  I'm guessing this will be a fancier event, but if you've never been to a beer pairing dinner it's really a great experience.  Check out the exquisite menu for this beer pairing dinner that promises to be well worth the money.

Hot Knives/Bruery pairing @ Surly Goat

Hot Knives again (make their own cheese), this time pairing their cheeses with beers from The Bruery.  Both brewer and cheese maker (is there are word for that?) are incredible artisans and this should be a great event.

Friday, Oct 15

Stone night @ Lucky Baldwin's

This is more Stone archive and goodness featuring some of their limited and current releases.  Probably similar to the other Stone events going on all week, but if this is closer to you or you miss the other ones, stop by here.

Drake's Denogginizer @ Library Alehouse

This is an awesome double IPA from Drake's.  I just found it in the bottle last week at Beverage Warehouse, but I'm yet to see it on tap.  Should be pretty epic.

Schneider and Cheese Impressario pairing @ Surly Goat

This should be vastly different from the Hot Knives cheese pairing and is well worth checking out.  Personally, I'm not familiar with the Cheese Impressario (Barrie Lynn), but based on Surly Goat's reputation I'm betting it will be pretty awesome.


Firestone premiere of Dark Knights @ Blue Palms

Somehow this slipped past me when I was initially reading the list.  There will be red carpet photos and food and cheese Pairings. Taste the delicousness of their brand new beer, The Dark Knights... 2010 Black Xantus, 2010 Parabola, Cask~Velvet Merlin, Walker's Reserve, also available, Double Jack, DBA, Pale 31, and Union Jack!

Saturday, Oct 16

Schneider Beer Brunch @ Wurstkutche

I half debated leaving this one off my list cause now it's gonna be absolutely packed.  But this is just too good to ignore.  Schneider and Aventinus paired with Wurstkutche Snausages!!  You don't get much more Oktoberfest than this.

Great Divide @ Naja's

You missed Great Divide at Congregation?  Lucky you, they're back again at Naja's.  Check last week's post for info about the Great Divide Brewery, but the short of it is they have some incredible beers that you won't get elsewhere.

Firestone Night @ Tony's Darts Away

Firestone is bringing a whole range of styles for you to try and Tony's is doing different flights so you can try all different varieties.  I'm betting they'll have their new beer, Dark Knights available as well.

Sunday, Oct 17

Union Station Beer Festival

This is actually the only event of the day and I'm sure it will be epic.  70 breweries, $40 entry for unlimited 4oz tastings.  The unlimited tastings is a pretty unique feature for a beer festival.  I haven't been able to find the list of breweries in attendance, maybe someone can comment if they know, but nonetheless, it should be great.  See you there!

Where to Drink in LA - Part 4, The Valley

This is the final week of my four part series, "Where to Drink Craft Beer on Tap in LA."  This week we finish the series with a region that can only be summed up by two words...

The Valley

Verdugo

This is Ryan Sweeney's original LA bar, and while it's tucked away on a dark street in Glassell Park, it still serves the Craft selection that made it a success.  With their 22 taps of diverse selections, it's dark, moody, and there's some sort of beer for everyone.  There's no food, but there's usually a truck, and they have a big outdoor patio for you to enjoy it on.  I especially like all the different room choices you have to enjoy a beer in, gives you some options to stay out of the crowd or be in the thick of it.  More spacious than some of the crowded Hollywood and Westside spots.

Tony's Darts Away

Sorry guys, I still think this is the worst bar name ever, maybe the nickname "Tony's," can catch on somehow.  To be fair, the name is inspired from the original name of the bar, Tony's, which they took over last year.  Apparently, the old Tony's was a bit of a landmark, however, wasn't kept up well at all; the new Tony came in and changed all that.  They make up for any confusing names with GREAT beer selection and awesome events every night of the week.  These guys do an awesome job of loading all their 36 taps with only California beers as they are dedicated to fostering the local economy.  I personally enjoy the entire page dedicated to IPAs.  Enjoy a fine meat or vegan sausage with your beer and check out their website for events that they have, pretty much every night.  Tony is working on a new restaurant/gastropub in Echo Park that sounds like it's going to be amazing.  I wish this place was closer, I would go there every night.

Boneyard Bistro

This place recently rennovated and I was lucky enough to have time to swing by last week.  The idea is a lot like Beechwood, except a whole lot closer: BBQ and beer.  With 42 beers on tap, an extensive bottle list, and tons of BBQ, what's not to love here?  It's an interesting selection of classics like Avery, Russian River, and The Bruery, mixed with smaller local breweries like Coronado, Ladyface, and Hangar 24.  Their menu has a laundry list of different meats, including a few combo plates meant for 8 to 12.  A must try is their appetizer, Kobe Beef Chili Filled Donuts.  They're pretty tasty and have a real SoCal signature to them.  I loved the Fried Mac and Cheese and the pulled pork was good, but the real highlight of the evening was their burgers; they list 6 in all, each with their own style and set of toppings.  I tried The OMG, which, true to it's name was definitely worth mentioning.  Perfectly cooked, great meat, unique toppings which showed both quality and character, this was an unbelievable burger.  But probably my favorite part of this place is all the space you get.  So many beer bars around town feel really packed in, but this place is spacious and you can relax comfortably.

Eagle Rock Brewery

While it is slightly outside of the referenced area, Eagle Rock to be exact, it is certainly worth mentioning on this list for being the closest Craft Brewer around (no one better write back asking about Angel City Brewing).  They have a tap room that is open Friday, Saturday, and Sundays, serving their 5 different beers, and yes, you can fill your growler here!  There's no food, but you can bring your own or visit a nearby food truck, and they give tours of their brewery on Sundays.  Rumor has it they're working on a soon to be debuted IPA.

The York on York

Also not technically in this area, but close enough to be considered, The York on York, or just, "The York," offers up 13 taps of carefully selected Craft Brew from 3pm to 2am every day.  In addition to a tasty menu of food items, they have a fine selection of bottles for you to choose from.  This can sometimes become an Occidental Student hangout, but like Boneyard, they feature my favorite gastropub interior of brick walls and chalkboard menus.  They also have a jukebox.

8 1/2 Tavern
This place was just recently brought to my attention, so I haven't had a chance to check it out yet.  Located in Studio City, this place makes for a great beer stop after your studio pitch.  From what I can tell it seems to be a fusion of relaxed slightly upscale dining and gastropub.  The menu skews Italian, with a fair amount of pizzas to choose from.  The beer list features 12 taps with names like Allagash, Ballast Point, Alesmith, and Stone, they also have a small, but excellent bottle menu.

Laurel Tavern

With 16 beers on tap and plenty of burgers and good food to be had, Laurel Tavern seems to be a hot spot among the Valley locals.  It can be hard to grab a seat here on the weekend, but the wood interior bar makes for a nice venue if you can find a seat.  My favorite thing about this place is their $5 and $6 beer menu, a nice change of cost for Craft Brews.  Taps include labels like Lost Coast, North Coast, Rogue, Coronado, and Craftsman.  While I haven't eaten here, I did take a look at the menu which features simple items with no need for description.

And that's my list!  My apologies to South Bay and Inland for leaving some places out that fall in the "father east or south than I'd like to drive," category, most notably: Beachwood, 38 Degrees, Lucky Baldwins, Stuffed Sandwich, Ladyface Alehouse, and Naja's Place.  But for the most part these are some of the best places in and around town to hang your hat and have a cold one.  If you'd like to stay on top of what's on tap at some of these places, make sure you're subscribed to the weekly Beer Blast, an email that updates you to tap changes around town.

Blind beer tasting with Lee Chase

I recently made my first visit to Tony's Darts Away to have a beer with fellow Beer Blogger, Sean Inman.  Of course, it was just my luck that Tony had scheduled an event to kick off Craft Beer Week.

Hosted by Lee Chase, former head brewer for Stone, brewing consultant, and current head brewer for Blind Lady Alehouse, Tony's' had blind tasting of some of their beers selected by Lee.  Our job was to guess what beer it was we were drinking.

The theme of the night was "hybrid-styles challenge", in which each beer has a twist to it from the "traditional" style making it particularly hard to place the beer to the brand/ "style."  

I was hyped and ready for the challenge.  Even had my Blazers Rip City shirt on.

Here was the list of beers and order he chose:

1. Ballast Point, Yellow Tail.  A Kolsch that tasted a lot like a lager.
   
2. Anchor Steam.  A lager that tasted like an ale.
   
3. Craftsman, .5 IPA.  The little IPA, brewed as a revolt to the double IPA craze
   
4. Stone, Cali-Belgique.  IPA fermented with belgian yeast.  I thought I would have recognized this beer immediately having drank it a lot, but it when put to the blind taste test, I thought it was too floral to be the Belgique.
   
5. Mate-Veza, Black Lager.  This was a really interesting mate infused schwarzbier.  You can totally taste the mate infusion, it really grew on me as I drank it.
   
6. Alesmith, Speedway Stout. A coffee infused Russian Imperial Stout.  Dangerously drinkable at 12% alc.

And here's me, doing my best beer discerning to guess the correct answers.

smelling...

examining...

drinking...

smelling sideways...

studying...

and finally, doing this...

But for all my finely perfected beer discerning skills, I was a miserable 1 for 6.  The Stout was the one beer I actually guessed right; I guess I know my stouts.  But despite my miserable skills at beer identification, it was a great time and Lee taught us all a lot about identifying characteristics of different beers.

Good times had by all, Brian and Paige from Blue Palms along with Sean Inman and a girl I didn't get the name of.. sorry!

Fellow beer blogger, Norm from My Beer Quest.

An artsy shot of Lee where his head seems to be merging with the sign.

Tony enjoying the tasting.

And that's it.  Be sure to check out Tony's, they've got some great beers on tap and awesome meat and vegan sausages for eating.