Category Archives: Los Angeles

Blogunitas: When Big Gets BIGGAR

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Deetle-deetle! Ron Lindenbusch

“When people ask if we’re coming to L.A., we say no way, we’re coming to Azusa because it’s got everything from A to Z in the USA!” says Ron Lindenbusch, Lagunitas director of marketing to our group of media and city officials. And by everything, I assume he means land at the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains that spew mineral-rich brewing water. “We also want to reach out and touch the community, not like to deetle-deetle them,” he continued, making a ball-tickling hand gesture.

I was in a small group that got to “sneaky peek” the freshly-finished construction site (one day before 4/20) and holy hell, the campus is big enough to fill Seaworld’s tanks with beer on a daily basis. Shamu? More like a drunken SHAMWOW. Here’s some stats on the behemoth brewhouse:

  • Three 250 BBL Brewhouses with a Centrifuge for each
  • Ninety 55-foot Fermenters
  • Twelve Big Ass Brite Tanks
  • Community room, Amphitheater, Taproom, Rooftop Bar, etc, etc, etc
  • Cans are coming too…

Tony Magee was absent from the festivities. When asked, “he’s probably playing with his band tonight somewhere around Chicago,” said his sister and director of communications, Karen Hamilton with a smile.

GNAG0738The super-sneaky peek complete, we left the vast packaging hall and headed to the shipping and distribution warehouse to party. Apparently the industry-only event link got out, so it was a little more crowded than anticipated. What would have been a chill couch-trip over beers ended up being a revolving trip in line for beer. As the evening went on, roller derby happened next to live bluegrass. Still fun, but my goal of networking and interviewing was left (mostly) undone. At least I got pics!

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Lost: Abbey

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GNAG0255“Excuse me, you look familiar,” I say to a deadpan bald man with glasses, holding a pitcher of beer with a puffy vest jacket. He pours me three fingers of a cloudy gold beer. “I don’t think we’ve met,” he says as I squint and take whiff. Croissant and a lick of caramel on the nose, I think to myself…where have I had this beer?

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@TheTomme

“I’m Tomme Arthur, pleased to meet you.” I totally knew that. I just get bashful when meeting pioneers of the beer business. “This is Avant Garde, our farmhouse lager.”

GNAG0267On the back patio of Verdugo Bar (a Ryan Sweeney joint), picnic tables are strewn about topped with Delirium Tremens pink elephant umbrellas and beer signs from around the globe. Each table is filled with corked and caged Lost Abbey beers and lit beer label veladoras. Surprising is the total lack of petrichor despite a windy downpour that ended an hour ago.

The evening is hosted by The Lost Abbey for industry publicans and bottle shop big wigs. A few beer writers were sprinkled in for good measure; I’m glad to get the call.

GNAG0258The Lost Abbey, San Diego’s only quality volume sour/funky beer producer (in my opinion), is here to re-introduce themselves and do a tasting of rare beers. L.A. and O.C. have a wealth of quality mixed fermentation breweries, and sometimes a gentle reminder of what the pioneers can do is a breath of fresh air.

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Jon Sanchez receives holy communion

Jon Sanchez, owner of Native Son Alehouse in downtown Santa Ana, noted, “Lost Abbey kegs are reasonable compared to the competition.” From my standpoint, It seems like pints of Lost Abbey beers cost more. He went on to add that one L.A. brewery raised the price of their kegs to keep cost in line with what some establishments charge for pints. The perception that wild ales cost more isn’t always the case.

GNAG0269Over three hours, we rifled through nine beers, pouring faster than consumption. Veritas 17 with Blackberries was my absolute favorite, noting it smelled like fresh linens stained with fresh berry jam, and was super soul-refreshing. I do hope we see some of these showing up on tap handles soon, as it seems the most storied barrel programs in the U.S. needs to get back on the front page.

Beers sampled:

  • Avant Garde – farmhouse lager
  • Devotion – dry hopped Belgian blonde
  • Hop 15
  • Red Poppy – sour with cherries
  • Veritas 17 – sour with blackberries
  • Cuvee de Tomme – 15
  • Cuvee de Tomme – 09
  • C-9 – barley wine with peaches aged in conjac barrels
  • Ad Idem – sour with peaches.

The Geeks Flock to Shelton Brothers ‘The Festival’

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super normal photobomb by average beer drinker

Out of all the beer fests I’ve attended throughout my life, I thought I’d seen it all. I’ve witnessed  a bj in the bushes at a fest in Irvine, mouth pours of rare beer in Paso Robles and even watched a guy projectile barf on his girlfriend while sharing a moment on a kid’s teeter-totter in Indianapolis…seriously. At The Festival hosted by the Shelton Brothers in Los Angeles, I’m seeing something I hope to see more of: an extraordinarily normal crowd of festival goers among the best line up of beer, really…ever.

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Nicole Dreier, in rare form, does the booty bump in the blinding light.

At The Festival, there are no pretzel necklaces, dirndl-hos or Where’s Waldos. The only German fashion to be seen are lederhosen worn by a guy pouring funky beers from Cologne, Germany. The closest thing to a ‘Where’s Waldo’ is the lovely Nicole Dreier from Mission Viejo, complete with a stand-out red-striped dress and tan ankle boots. This a different set of fest goers amongst a wild set of beers.

“It’s not about the beers that you will drink, it’s about all the beers that you won’t drink at this festival,” says Jay Price of Orange County. “I feel bad about leaving without trying them all…I may come back tomorrow!” he added.

I’m giddy with my first beer of the day: 3 Fonteinen’s (pronounced dree font-an-in) Oude Gueuze (pronounced yum) sipped next to their blender Armand De Belder of Brussels. The fact that Armand is here at all is somewhat of a phenomenon. In 2002, a warehouse full of his aging beer shattered when a thermostat broke. “It was what I call ze catastroff,” Armand says in his Flemmish accent.

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Westy on ice. Isn’t it nice?

Back with a new brewery with bi-level coolships, Armand is able to create two different beers from each brewday by boiling the second batch longer before allowing to cool. “With a longer boil, I can get a more concentrated sugar for a higher alcohol lambic,” he adds. The gueuze he brought to the Festival today is 100% his creation, adding that he used to blend different lambics from the region with the old smaller brewery set up.

A few steps away from Armand is a short line for a private tasting of a beer brewed in 2004 from Brasserie Cantillon with blender Jean van Roy. I’m shocked to hear that there’s “a freshness” with a thirty-year old gueuze (see vid below). After trying the ten year version, I’m in agreement. It’s shocking that a 5% ABV beer can be this light, bright, bubbly and full of flavor.

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Barrleworks SLO-Lambic

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No mas lambic

At this point I’m a fat kid lost in an ice cream factory. Beer from Italy, Switzerland, Holland and Germany call for my attention. Even the local breweries manage to pull me in for a sample. Firestone Walker blew the lid off their table by accidentally bringing a keg of unreleased SLOambic that is due to be “liberated” on 11/15. In true festival fashion, word gets out quick and the funky plastic bladder keg is dusted. Beachwood BBQ & Brewing’s Sadie even crossed my tongue, despite self-hypnosis to not drink any Bourbon Barrel anything. It’s also great to see two Orange County breweries amongst the abundance of whales. The Bruery and Bottle Logic pouring unreleased or hoarder only beer gave a reason to visit other than to cuddle/crotch grab like other festivals.

The Festival’s location is another highlight. Situated near San Pedro’s docks at CRAFTED, some 25,000 square feet of tasting room space is bright and airy. Although hot at times, the geek sweat wasn’t too awkward.

The Gripes, there were gripes.

  • Lack of food. At 2pm, there were two food trucks with 50+ people per line and a pizza vendor that “ran out of dough”. “Can you throw toppings in my mouth?” one hangry person yelled. That person was me.
  • One water station. Look, I realize there’s a drought, but some brewers were embarrassed pouring their light beer on top of whatever beer is still lingering in your glass. Were we supposed to get a pour, sip it, run to the water thing, then run back to the next table? After tasting the water, I skipped it altogether…it tasted like it was dry hopped with sun-dried plastic shards. Clean water should be available for glass rinsing/drinking at every other table.
  • I managed to pay for parking whereas others didn’t. “Take this ticket to somewhere and spend $5 at the CRAFTED thing then give this ticket to some random drink table to get reimbursed,” I was told. I’m usually game for a fun side-quest at a festival, but I felt this was unnecessary and I felt ripped off of $5.
  • I heard major complaints on how slow the line was to get in. I’ve seen more check in booths at smaller scale beer festivals.
  • Raffle style drink tickets. I had the sudden urge to play skee ball with Taylor Hanson! I seriously haven’t seen raffle tickets at a beer fest since I was a child. Isn’t the new standard wrist bands with tickets attached? Lanyard with hole punches? Retinal scan with a database in the cloud?

Aside from the gripes, I still give this festival an A. It’s all about the beer, the brewers and a great crowd. I hope they work out the kinks to make it an A+ next year.

Note, I attended the first session.

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Blog Hard – BBC14 Wrap up

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This dump bucket contains Kosmic Mother Funk.

Blogging about blogging is probably the dumbest snazziest thing I’ve ever done. Why would I attend a conference devoted to blogging about beer? Because you read this stuff, that’s why. Get up and grab a towel because a healthy dose of amaze-juice is about to be doused all over your computer/phone screen (ewww).

<cracks knuckles> Going back to 2011 when I started this dumb awesome website, I wrote silly stuff about beer with no fucks given. When I saw there was an actual conference for like-minded people, I registered and went. My mind was blown. After BBC12, I networked, set goals and promised myself to still write with no fucks given (for this site at least). I also travelled to Boston for BBC13. Since that conference a year ago, here’s some crazy shit I did that was pretty awesome:

I don’t think I would have done any of that had it not been for the Beer Blogger’s Conference. By going, it helped me understand that anything is possible. So here I am, typing on my couch with my cat curled up next to me in the wee hours of the night, thinking back on BBC14, with some fucks given. Here’s a brief look at some photos and fun stuff we did. It really was a blast and can’t wait for next year in Asheville, NC. Highlights:

Stop 1: Golden Road previewed here. 

Stop 2: Taking the freight elevator to Angel City Brewery’s roof, only to be greeted by hop vines and a spectacular LA Sunset. My beercamp 94 brew-bro Keith McEly manages the tasting room there, which is rad. Their IPA, Angelino was fun on cask (dubbed Dirty Angelino) as was their Avocado beer, which tasted like a pils with a slick mouthfeel.

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Stop 3: Bruery Terreux. Lets just say I got a mouthpour from a Sour in the Rye barrel; squirted in my mouth like a cat on a farm while the cow is getting milked. It tasted like Pinocchio’s pee; slightly woody and acidic, yet still somehow delicious. The Bruery is classy as fuck, putting out a table of all the cheeses and charcuteries with all the super rare beers. I went nuts on the Oude Tart w/ Cherries, stopping mid-sip to order my maximum allocation via the Reserve Society.

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*sound of barrel peeing*

Stop 3 and 4: Smog City and Monkish Brewing in Torrance. Arriving at 11 PM or so, someone quipped, “Smog City is like the Motel 6 of breweries, they’ll leave the light on.” Indeed. One car in the parking lot and the lights on inside, 45 bloggers were treated to Smog City’s Coffee Porter and other delicious treats. From there we walked a few minutes to Monkish Brewing and was treated to even more awesomness. If you haven’t been to these breweries, make plans to go this weekend. Both are doing some really great beer.

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Late night Trousdale chinrest action.

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Laurie Porter and Chris Walowski talk about Smog City’s history at 11PM.

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I watched Henry Nguyen of Monkish Brewing crawl in here and go to sleep. It was after midnight, after all.

Friday morning, the actual conference started with a keynote from Julia Herz of the Brewers Association. The first panel of “San Diego Craft Brewers” couldn’t have been better! From left to right is Tomme Arthur, Chuck Silva and Peter Zien, arguably three of the worlds top brewers and pioneers for craft beer.

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For dinner, we went to Karl Strauss‘ original brewery for street tacos and super fresh Tower 10, Red Trolley and Wreck Alley Stout. Every time I rediscover a Karl beer I’m more and more impressed. I think Karl Strauss is one of California’s most underrated breweries.

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Co Founder of Karl: Chris Cramer explains in detail the difficulty of opening SD’s 1st brewery.

Day two: Breakout Sessions. Shit got real when people read this quote from Modern Times’ Jacob McKean. Being in a room of pros, nobody’s feather’s got ruffled. It was an informative panel and happy to hear this blog doing things the right way: legit as fuck.

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We ate at Yard House for lunch and got a slathering of various food bites. I had to beg some guy to get a half yard of Firestone Walker Easy Jack with all of my drink tickets. Most out of towners picked The Bruery’s Oude Tart instead of the hundred taps of San Diego beer which was awesome. Their house beers were a thing as well, the Belgo Tripel being my favorite of the bunch.

beer bloggers conference bus tour through san diego

credit Cambria Griffith @thebruery

We picked up Ken Grossman along the way. He gave the keynote speech; highlighting their summer Beer Camp tour and new brewery in NC. I could listen to him speak all day. He was cool enough to sign my Beyond the Pale book and my last bottle of beercamp 94. I want to try and get all the brewers to sign it at some point.P1080490

Beer Speed Dating is a thing at the Beer Bloggers Conference. Brewers have five minutes per table to sell their wares. Highlights were Kosmic Mother Funk Grand Cru from Samuel Adams and Deliverance from the Lost Abbey. Rogue brought a Pepto Bismol Braggot, which aided everyone’s hangovers .

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I sat at the blonde table.

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I pictured Jim Koch dancing to funk while sipping this, which made me smile.

Meanwhile, at Stone Brewing World Gardens & Bistro – Liberty Station: More small bites and super delicious beer was served. I chatted with Head Brewer Mitch Steele while inhaling fried olives, ribs and various flatbreads. Not only did the BBC get treated to a special roped off area, we also had dibs on guest taps. I drank a Black Wit. I had a Board Meeting from Port Brewing. I had fresh Ruination. I also got a private tour of the “hot-chicks room” above the dining area. Wooden abbey-doors open up to this view:

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Kip Barnes, Brandon Hernandez, Jemma Wilson, me and mister Zephyr Adventures himself!

Various bottles in the ‘hot chicks room’.

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Photo roll!

Blog Hard Part 1 | Beer Bloggers Conference 2014 – Precon at Golden Road

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IMG_6880Glendale, 1:02 PM in the home of Randy Clemens (blog sponsor —->)

A dripping wet Randy “Sir Racha” Clemens is probably the best way to kick off the 2014’s Beer Blogger’s Conference. “Here, try one of these and shoot the other”, he says handing me a small plastic foil-topped cup reading “K+ probiotic drink” and a glass of (fully legal) B-Vitamin dietary supplement. “Do I get a colonic too? You fucking LA dudes are hippies,” I reply, swinging my Pabst-glasses to the top of my head and swallowing it all down in one nervous gulp.

“I find it ironic we’re doing shots of health food made with lactobacillus and a fermentation process similar to beer.” I say, burping loudly. “Can I get you a beer Mr. Nagel?” “Nah, I’m waiting to see if these shots explode my butt.”

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first beer of BBC14: 329 Lager and a Carry On Taster

The conference pre-excursion that kicks off at Golden Road is a short walk from Casa de Clemens, but my baggage has ‘UBER’ written all over it. Just on the other side of the train tracks, we arrive at a packed ‘Pub at Golden Road’; many people dining al fresco under the blue summer sky. Beer happens quickly as two cold 329 Lagers arrive frothy, yet head-scraped. I admire its clarity, take two whiffs and get my mustache frothed. This beer is effortless to drink, lightly floral with a wisp of grass and LA sunshine.

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credit Anne Marie who texted me this pic from LAX

I order the messiest BBQ Chicken sandwich ever and a new beer called Carry On – Citrus Ale; a beer made and sold for Airport terminals. The bitterness seems surprisingly arrogant and the orange flavor brings me back to my childhood when I actually enjoyed Flintstone Vitamins. “Is this infused with Airborne®? That would actually be quite handy pre-flight,” I mutter while using every napkin on the table to clean my sauce-covered digits. I seriously look like I bathed in a vat of BBQ sauce. Thankfully LA has no bears.

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@brewdad and I are admired by the bartenders at Golden Road

After lunch, I identify the first blogger speed-walking up the ramp to the pub. A busload of beer bloggers is possibly the easiest thing in the world to observe in their natural habitat. Their plumage includes cargo shorts, brewery shirts, glowing smiles and cameras held up past their heads as they snap photos of whatever. Someone should compile all of the bloggers shots and make a David Hockney-style photo mosaic. I greet a few familiar faces and join the gang on the side patio near the defunct Aunt Sally court; taken down thanks to subsequent baby seal clubbings, or perhaps bad parenting.

P1080384P1080389Co-owner/President of Golden Road Meg Gill steps out to greet the gang with her curly blonde hair pulled back, snappy black dress and flats. “Welcome to Los Angeles! We’re really excited to have you guys come from all over the county to be here!” she says as I sip beer three: Berliner Weisse with raspberry syrup. After the speech, I chat with Meg and compliment her dress. “Thanks, it’s easy,” she says, blinking her deep grey-blue eyes grinning a surfer-girl smile. “We’ve got a new beer on the canning line right now I’m excited for you to try, it’s our new seasonal India Pale Lager called Might As Well IPL,” she says smiling bigger, batting lashes a few more times. I opt for the first tour while the other half works through a tasting flight of the core beers, 329 Lager, Hef, Get Up Offa That Brown and Point the Way IPA.

P1080394The tour starts off in Chloe’s, a clean yet divey-type speakeasy in back of the pub. “Is this where Boogie Nights was filmed?” I ask. “This is the pub, behind the pub, behind the pub,” someone replies in their best Vince Vaughn voice. Laurel Brooks, coolest chick ever (and Marketing Coordinator), smiles and takes the group through the history of how Meg met Tony Yanow, owner of several LA beer bars including Tony’s Darts Away; a pub serving only California-brewed craft beer and many vegan delights.

P1080396Golden Road has three brightly colored buildings; yellow, red and blue. Yellow is where you eat, drink and pee, red is for the office-types and cold storage, blue is where the sausage is made. I spy several interesting things in the cold box, one of which nobody can comment on, even though it’s been printed in the LA Times.

P1080397The brewery has changed vastly since my last visit only five months ago. The first thing I notice is the pilot brewhouse sitting deconstructed outside between buildings. “If anyone knows someone looking for a 15 bbl brewhouse, let us know!” says Laurel. Outside we’re greeted by brewer Tim Harbage, recent recipient of the Matt Courtright Memorial Brewing Scholarship. Pink laces flopping about on his brew-boots, Tim escorts us in past a 200 bbl fermenter named Phil as the smell of beer being brewed fills the nearly Yuma-hot air on the brewdeck.

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P1080407The new canning line is the pièce de résistance. Before: one can at a time was filled, sealed and hand-packaged. Now: a modern canning line zooms through a pallet of cans in minutes. As production is up from 15,000 to an expected 30,000 barrels this year, it’s only a matter of time until this new system will need a friend.

P1080398Taking a can of the new IPL off the line had me singing the theme to Laverne & Shirley, and the ultra bright hoppyness of the beer had me sniffing the can-hole like a weirdo. With all the beers we are about to embark on throughout the day, one more surely won’t hurt. “Should I drink the whole thing?” Might as well, motherfucker…Might as well.

Thanks for the hospitality, hugs and awesome beer, Golden Road. See you soon.

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This post is part of Greg Nagel’s Beer Blogger Conference coverage. Check back for more posts! #bbc14

Blazing Saddles | Los Angeles Vegan Beer & Food Festival – 4th Edition

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el segundo breweryWith the sun’s death rays beating down on the Sunset strip, beer-drinking vegans take to the streets for some free supplemental vitamin D…but mostly for the fourth annual Los Angeles Vegan Beer & Food Festival. Mainly meatless since March, I’m all about getting in on this action. As a vegan beerfest virgin, I’m looking forward to grazing the bazaar of LA and OC’s best vegan food plus great local beer choices produced without any cow, fish, bee, or bull testes.

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“I want it NOW” – Bridgette “Veruca Salt” Kominek with Husband Brad of Noble Ale Works pulling out all the money.

Many types of Vegans made it out for the fest: the beegans, then gleegans, veganics, v-sluts and the v-curious…all here with one thing in mind – eat, drink and be merry. With such an abundance of food, Bridgette Kominek tweeted, “I plan to run around singing the Veruca Salt song from Willy Wonka.” Indeed, she wants it NOW. The fest is laid out like the replica town in the movie Blazing Saddles, complete with hay bales, dirt, and a festive maze to get to the restroom. Food trucks and tents sandwich in the central beer garden and seating area neighboring the stage/music venue. Goers were encouraged to BYO chairs and towels, which makes the middle area look like Florida’s South Beach on a 90 degree day. I will say that this festival has an overall better-looking-than-average clientele than a typical beer fest. The stereotypical beer belly’d Pliny shirt/bearded dudes didn’t make it out for this one, sadly. Untappd only had around 300 checkins during the event.

TDA_Chef RandyTony Yanow, owner of vegan friendly craft beer bars Tony’s Darts Away, Mohawk Bend and part owner of Golden Road Brewing spurs the vegan/craft beer scene in LA. He, along with power vegans Quarrygirl (vegan blogger) and Nic Adler (owner of the popular Hollywood venue The Roxy) blaze this annual festival. The best part about about this fest is vegans can safely eat and drink anything without asking questions. Food options range from inventive menu options like beer battered avocado tacos (a local favorite of mine from Seabirds Truck), meatless tamales, desserts and even a French dip sandwich from Tony’s Darts Away chef Randall St. Clair complete with Au Jus (Randall is pictured in green above, grub pictured below with a Maui Brewing Mana Wheat).

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Bootlegger’s Jose and super lovely wife served up one of OC’s best hef’s with a kiss.

The beer choices on hand aren’t that much different from any other beerfest. Brewers towed typical summery IPA’s, wheats and pilsners. Some of my favorites of the day were Monkish Brewing‘s Oblate (Belgian Blonde w/Chamomile), El Segundo Brewing’s White Dog IPA (Nelson hopped and super fresh), as well as Firestone Walker’s Pivo Pils (described in this blog post).

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Golden Road Brewing brought an Almond Milk Stout. The whole point of a milk stout is to have a mid to high level of sweetness that carries the roastyness. Traditionally, milk stouts use lactose sugar (not vegan friendly, moo) that is unfermentable by yeast to add sweetness. The problem with almond milk is that it’s largely sweetened with sugar cane juice which is ‘edible’ to yeast. I perceived GR’s Almond Milk Stout as fairly dry, tasting and finishing similar to a sessionable dry Irish stout, which is strange for a beer finishing above five plato. I would have expected more hints of creamy nuttyness and a little bit more sweetness. I’d like to try the beer in their pub on nitro. Fun beer though, and I applaud their experimentation. I would have thought Coconut Milk would have been the obvious choice.

veggie-lovers-sriracha-cookbook-144(sponsored) Click to pre-order noted author and vegan handyman Randy Clemens The Veggie-Lover’s SRIRACHA Cookbook! Release date is July 12, just in time for all those backyard summer sizzles with your veggie-crazed buddies. Seriously, the book costs the same as like four bottles of Sriracha. You should buy it with four bottles, then squirt ropes of the cockish Huy Fong goodness all over your eggplant!

food area near 3pm

Normally, live music at a beerfest is a sub-par list of cover bands. Not today! I actually sat through an entire set of The Janks. This is the first beerfest I’ve actually discovered new music. I actually bought their album for the ride home! During other bands, people are actually shaking their groove things. I’m smiley. Great times are being had! The people watching here is also top notch.

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I tried to talk her down to $2.

Overall, I can’t really knock this fest as it’s the only vegan beer fest in the world. Pretty much, if you’re vegan (or v-curious), you should go. The food and beer options are aces, but a few logistical issues should be addressed next time. (see bottom) I had a fantastic time and the great far outweighed the issues. If you’re a fruit and vegetable murderer, it’s well worth the trip up to LA for the vegan food and revelry. If you’re not…well, save it for another fest. Cheers! May the fourth be with you.

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Gripes: Being in a field on Sunset Blvd looked like a nightmare for brewers to haul stuff in, grab ice and such. Flavored vitamin-type water bottles were handed out at one point, but ran out a couple hours in. The hand wash stations were also out of water…I saw a girl wash her hands with beer! That’s a first. I’m also not sure if the grounds were 100% handicapped friendly. There was no circular flow to the grounds, making a trip to the bathrooms a bit of a task if you were near the entrance. Brewers were given scarlet letter DD armbands even though they weren’t pouring. Harsh. Some people complained about parking as well but I can’t really speak to that. Maybe a better location next year? I hope so.

LA Beer Week Goes Out with LA BANG!

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Even Emma Watson gets the beer farts in her cute British tushy.

Hopping a train for LA Beer Week’s festival makes me feel a tad “Harry Potterish”. L.A.’s Union Station is set to be full of magic potions, beer goggles, and hopefully a hundred Emma Watson lookalikes simultaneously casting the “Dongus Penetratio” spell at my crotchal region. My train is pregnant with pretzel-necklace wearing beer types, pre-lubing their gastrointestinal tracts with Gatorade.

Squeeking into Union Station an hour early gives me the chance to romanticize about this building’s past. The pre-WW2 architecture seduces me into absorbing the ambience and to snap a few shots. A young lady in 4″ heels walks nearby on the travertine marble floors. As her walk echos, every man and woman near me watches the show. Being inside this space feels dramatic and perhaps a bit historically glamorous.copyright 2012 OCBeerBlog.com

Briefly continuing my self guided tour, a homeless man having a nap in the wooden throne-bench style chairs looks like a work of art. The only thing corrupting the space is the wafting aroma of Subway Sandwiches and Wetzles Pretzels bread ovens. I check my watch as hot sunlight pours through the windows and warms the station. Outside, festival goers ripen in the hot high noon sun, ready to be revived with revelry and perhaps a cold craft beer or two twenty.

The clock strikes twelve as festival goers head to the nearest jockey box. My main goal of the day is to sample as many of the LA Beer Week themed-beers as possible. I can’t say that I’ve ever had Prickly Pear in a beer, but I’m sure the odd fruit will lend some earthyness and a beautiful violet hue. With a Noble Ale Works Tall Dark & Handsome in hand, I head out for a little beer-fest cartography.

The Fest is laid out into two sections, blazing hot sun and a covered hall. Outside, most people cram into the shady area, only running out to get a beer like a Meerkat at the zoo running to fetch a peanut. Bravery Brewing, despite the name, is stationed in the cool comforts of the covered area; whereas most Orange County breweries were sentenced to the confines of the sun’s evil death rays. Anthony of Coronado Brewing Co. may break out the Geneva Convention next year if he doesn’t get an umbrella! Poor fellah!

Anthony Levas of Coronado Brewing Co. trying his best not to melt.

Among all the Prickly Pear beers offered, the festival’s flagship beer, UNITY, (Rye Berliner Weisse brewed with the cactus fruit) was one of the most interesting of the dozen or so offered. Not knowing anything about it before I took a drink, I had a full on shart face trying to figure it out. For a 3%ish beer, there’s a lot going on in terms of yeast/bready/fruityness. It’s tart, super pale and a light, yet bubbly effervescence that makes it super drinkable.

Local OC guys from Cismontane Brewing Co. brought up Nopal de Trigo (Hef brewed with hand-pressed prickly pear juice). I’m impressed how many breweries brought a theme beer! I was shocked the Bruery didn’t have something, it seems right up their alley. I was surprised there were no porters or stouts done with the pear. To test the theory, I got a 1″ pour of Deschuttes Black Butte XXIV and topped it off with Haven Brewing’s Hef with Prickly Pear. To my surprise, it tasted like a watermelon Now-N-Later!

The Weinberg Quartet. Bourbon Barrel Aged ‘Blacks Nocturne’ is Heaven in a glass.

Aside from all the Prickly Pear business, nobody held back with their standard lineup. I had beer after beer on my wish list, Untapping each on my quest for the Legendary badge. New Belgium/Alpine Beer Co’s Super IPA, Bootleggers Brewing Co. Knuckle Sandwich, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing Co’s System of a Stout with Portola Coffee, Cismontane’s Black’s Nocturne, four solid beers from Logsdon, Hangar 24’s Fresh Hop IPA, Stone Brewing Co’s Suitable for Cave Aging and many more were savored in the hot sun!

Bootleggers pouring Knuckle Sandwich, right in the kisser, you sorry son of a bitch.

Food Options are a little thin without a long wait in the hot sun. Sticking with a liquid lunch in this heat isn’t a great idea, so I insta-chug three Coconut Waters (free) and an Iced Coffee from Portola Coffee Lab’s table. Their coffee totally ruins all other coffee! I can see why many brewers prefer their beans. Revived, I stalk Hallie Beaune of the Beer Chicks to say hello. She’s the only person wise enough to bring an umbrella to this hootenanny. I also run into David Logsdon and rave in his ear for several minutes. His Saezon Bretta is hands down my favorite beer of this summer. His Wit? Yeah, he’s pretty witty.

Beachwood BBQ & Brewing’s System of a Stout is brewed with Portola Coffee Lab’s beans.

Late in the day I use my fest-cartography skills and touch upon some breweries I’ve never sampled. Ritual Brewing, Kinetic Brewing Co, Monkish Brewing Co, Smog City Brewing Co, Figueroa Brewing, and Surf Brewery all have some nice unique beers. Smog City’s Weird Beer and Quercus Circus with Citra Hops floored me…How do I get this again? I look forward to trying more from this crop of brewers!

Overall, everyone I spoke with said they were loving it! LA Beer Week is on the map and should be treated seriously. The festival to cap the week off is super classy! Having a beer festival in a historic train station is even classier.

As LA Beer Week claims OC as part of it, I’d like to see way more participation from restaurants and Gastropubs in my neck of the woods. Haven Gastropub and Beachwood BBQ were on board with special nights, whereas most breweries displayed their wizardry well out of Orange County. Why not have some LA Breweries come down to OC for some special events? If we’re all in the same family, we should act like it.

Yams? Yep. Prickly Pair? Nope. – with the Bruery (but still awesome)

So, I head back home…perhaps a bit ripe from the festivities. Lady next to me offers a squirt of her body butter and gladly accept.  Now feeling a bit “Buffalo Billish” ala Silence of the Lambs, I had a great time! See you next year, LA Beer Week!

Shout outs! Great to meet ‘Social Spitfire’ Cambria Griffith at Golden Road Brewing, Anthony Levas from Coronado Brewing Co, David Logsdon from Logsdon and Kevin Kansy from Artisan Ales, Jeff Clinard and Jeff Duggan from Portola Coffee Lab, Serena Montenegro, and the always lovely Randy Clemens. Stay classy, you sexy sons of bitches.

Imagine if the airport was this classy.

 

Haven Gastropub +Brewery = Smiley Face (Closed 2014)

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It’s a rare day when I find myself up in LA. When friend and food writer Richard Manning simply stated, “you’re going, that’s final”, I knew I had no choice but to hit Haven Gastropub‘s new northern spawn. I got my haircut. I manscaped. I washed my car. I even cooked pizza for the babysitter. My wife dolled herself with a mini skirt, thigh high boots and a black cardigan. Rich and wife Heather arrive at our house, punctual as ever, looking fresh-faced and ready to party. Magic is happening tonight, folks!

Order by the number if you don’t know how to pronounce Haven Brewing’s “Sosigenes!”

As we arrive, winter’s last gust blows us into Haven’s foyer and a nearby open table sweeps us off our feet. The electronic tap list of forty beers seduces me into a lengthy starting contest. “Can I get you started with a beer or wine” says our waiter, an older gentleman looking like a mix of Harvey Keitel and Wolf Blitzer, but with a German accent. A mild version of stage fright overcomes me. “I’d like a flight” I say like a kid at 31 Flavors. “Hello World, Victory At Sea, TAPS Irish Red and Humulus Lager sound good.” I scan the differences between Haven in Orange and Pasadena; most notably the “addition” of the +Brewery screams for my attention off to the side of the main dining area.

Haven’s stainless steel brewery sits behind sheets of glass; steam bellowing over the top into the pub. There are few aromas in life that can tap directly into my soul: freshly made tortillas, lighter fluid on a charcoal barbecue, or the smell outside after a fresh rain. To a brewer, the smell of freshly mashed grain, boiling wort, and hop additions tack on to that list. Haven’s aura is all that. I found myself inhaling deeply through my nose as if a beautiful stranger passed close by. I moan the word “GRAINS” like a creepy vegan zombie as my wife predictably rolls her eyes.

As my flight is delivered, I immediately suck down ‘Hello World’. Dubbed as an American Pale Ale, this beer quickly grabs my attention with a full body and pleasant, yet “not-quite-IPA” hop character. It’s damn close to an IPA. Hell, if this beer and an IPA walked into a bar, the barkeep would promptly ask, “Is this some kind of joke?”. Indeed. Be careful, as ‘Hello World” is also right on the cusp of IPA-land at 7%. Note that Ballast Point Sculpin IPA, arguable one of the finest IPA’s available anywhere, is also 7% ABV. $5 for a pint of Haven’s first beer makes this an easy choice.

Hello World (left) and Sosigenes.

The stars must have aligned perfectly as Wil Dee, Haven’s beverage manager, hand-delivers a flight of their second beer, ‘Sosigenes’ Double IPA (8.7%). “You’re the first customers to taste this, cheers!” Historically, Sosigenes (pronounced soh-SIJ-uh-knees) was an astronomer noted for creating the Julian calendar that incorporates a leap day. Brewed on leap year day and the fact Pliny the Elder (not the Russian River beer) actually named Sosigenes, makes this a perfect name! The beer is bright golden in color with a lively yet creamy carbonation. Boasting many of the big ‘C’ hops along with Warrior and Glacier give it a notable but pleasant earthy aroma. The maltyness is there as well, similar to Avery Majaraja; although it was tough to nail down with a 4oz taster. I grabbed my wife’s to be sure (she drove).

credit Haven's blog

I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.

Head brewer Dave Larsen stopped by table-side in a Cismontane shirt and a tell-tale brewers beard. “I was a home brewer and sous chef at Haven in Orange. They decided to promote within.” David’s new office is an ample 15bbl brew system that is sufficient for keeping up with Haven’s needs. During my tour, Dave is cleaning up after a Breakfast Stout brewday. Grains strung about with random buckets full of sanitizer. “I brewed with Evan at Cismontane, Victor Novak at TAPS, and Tyler at the Bruery to learn the ropes of a big system” says Dave. I’m curious if having Chef Greg Daniels in the kitchen is going to drive some crazy and inventive beer recipes. “We shall see, however Greg gives me full creative license”.

I see keg, people.

Furthering our tour into the depths of the kitchen and dual cold storage rooms, Wil Dee shows off one of the most revolutionary beer delivery draft systems I’ve ever seen. One keg can be delivered to multiple taps. When a keg is dusted, it flushes on the fly. Quick disconnects allow kegs to be changed in four seconds flat. Cellared beer, cask and draft wines are delivered at a different temp than the regular cold storage. Bottle list? Very similar to Haven Gastropub in Orange. One of the most impressive things to me is the well balanced and thought out tap list. Not too much style overlap with sufficient seasonals and a good representation of local breweries. This Wil guy…he’s a keeper!

I fought for foie and the foie won.

It might be a while until Haven beers make their way into Orange County. Haven has to get a special license to have their beer distributed and do growler fills. With our three tier system (brewer > distributor > consumer); brewpubs cannot simply throw a keg in a van and put it on tap wherever they want even if you own each location. I’m sure this is a priority for Wil and gang and we will start to see their beer in OC soon.

I highly recommend the drive up either way. Parking was a snap with a garage across the street. Like the Orange location, Haven Gastropub +Brewery in Pasadena has plenty of shopping and people watching in the local area. I’m jealous Pasadena has a better Haven! At least we have a Taco Asylum. Hah, LA!

If you must know, I ate a lamb burger, brussels sprouts, house olives and nibbled on a charcuterie plate. They were all great. This isn’t a food blog, ya’ know.