Comments (0) Best Contrarian Brewery - 2011
Nibble Bit Tabby - CLOSED
When every other brewery in town is making hopped-up IPAs, you can be certain it's the one beer you won't find in the tanks at Nibble Bit Tabby. Other brewers cater to the established thirst of craft-beer fans. Brian Lethcoe seems doggedly intent on pleasing himself. Located in the still-unglamorous gut of south downtown's tittie-bar district, Nibble Bit Tabby isn't easy to find. The microbrewery produces only 600 gallons a month. The locale isn't pretty, and the brewery suffers from a lack of marketing finesse. It does not suffer from a lack of great beer. Even as competition for craft-beer handles grows increasingly fierce in Los Angeles, Uncle Arnie's Irish Red is worth seeking out. If you're lucky, you can find this mellow, earthy Irish ale with a slightly sweet finish at some of the better beer bars in town. Or you can pop into Nibble Bit's recently opened tasting room on Friday and Saturday nights, where you can chat with Lethcoe himself about plumbing, painting, muscle cars, L.A.'s hidden beer history and the subtle differences between London ale and San Francisco lager yeast. 2001 S. Santa Fe Ave., dwntwn. (213) 244-9626, facebook.com/pages/Nibble-Bit-Tabby-brewery/64283749980.
—Elina Shatkin
