Jason Bernstein

Most of the ink in the craft beer world seems to be dedicated to the extreme beers: triple IPAs, barrel-aged stouts and the like. And these beers are certainly impressive; they push the envelope of the norm. But at the end of the day, you probably just want a beer......

On Feb. 21, a polite yet serpentine line spilled out the doors of the Surly Goat onto Santa Monica Boulevard, as people queued up for the opportunity to sip Russian River's Pliny the Younger Triple IPA. If successful, they would all tell the tale that they were there, and they......

Much has been written about the macro-issues plaguing our fine Los Angeles baseball team. Contentious divorces, mismanaged funds, bankruptcy. But when you're relaxing in the stadium, basking under the warm sunlight and watching the game, all of those issues become penumbral. And there's only one gripe left: the price of......

On October 29th, 1929, stocks fell 13% in one day. This was generally considered the start of the Great Depression. This day was called "Black Tuesday." On October 29th, 2009, The Bruery, a relatively new brewery in Orange County released a beer of the same name. A 19.5% Imperial stout......

It was pretty much a regular birthday for me. It will likely stay in my friends' minds more than mine. My friend and business partner brought a rare bottle of beer: Lost Abbey Veritas VII. It was a beer that I tasted a few months back. I was blown away......

A well informed diner generally knows how to read a wine label. They can extract quite a bit of information. Maker, Year, Alcohol Percentage. The average wine label also usually indicates the type of grape OR the region (wherein the type of grape is a product of the region --......

We are perennially wondering what to do on Saturday. It has to be special. It has to be great. But it also has to be relaxing. It should feel like a vacation. On August 8th, 2008, (08/08/08), the Blue Palms Brewhouse opened on Hollywood and Gower and immediately vaulted itself......

When putting together a beer list for a restaurant, the resulting product should read something like an endorsement, even an imprimatur. So that when a customer comes in, I'm able to wholeheartedly recommend anything on the list as being a superb example of its style, be it a Helles-Bock, a......

Smells and our discussions of them are a bit of a shell game; we're constantly moving things about. An almond might smell "apple-y." "This apple has undertones of vanilla." "And Tahitian vanilla contains elements of almonds." A shell game to be sure, but it's all we have. Somehow, it seems......