Beer

4th Annual L.A. Vegan Beer and Food Fest Celebrates Animal-Free Food and Drink

Meat and cheese-lovers were out of luck on the Sunset Strip this Saturday, as 40 animal-free breweries and 30 vegan food vendors took over an empty lot for the 4th annual L.A. Vegan Beer and Food Festival -- an event that is quickly proving itself to be one of the city's biggest and best for craft b ... More >>

Q & A With Eagle Rock Brewery's Jeremy Raub: Session Fest The Beer Community Grows Up

There's a common misconception that craft beers are exclusively high-alcohol beverages and that the world of microbrews only includes boldly flavored and anti-macro styles like IPAs and imperial stouts. But spend a whole evening washing down full servings of these big beers and you'll soon realize t ... More >>

Top 4 Weekend Events: Tacos & Beer 5K, Vegan Beer Festival, Gluten-Free Festival Cinco de Mayo Block Party

Tacos & Beer 5K Tacos & Beer 5K will be taking place in Long Beach, sponsored by Exitos 93.9 FM MC Raq-c and MC Nachin, Bud Light Lime, TeQava, and East Los Angeles Tacos. Participants who finish the race will receive a taco and a beer in addition to a finisher medal, goodie bag, and t-shirt. Food t ... More >>

Women and Beer: The Ladies at Ladyface and Women's Beer Forum Celebrate 2 Years of L.A. Beer Education

Are you a woman in Los Angeles who loves -- or wants to love -- craft beer beyond Lindeman's Framboise but don't know where to begin? Don't worry. You're not alone. In fact, as this sprawling metropolis has been slowly changing its beer-drinking habits away from the fizzy yellow stuff, both men and ... More >>

More Events: A Beer Pairing Dinner, Family Fun Day Spring Cocktail Launch

5-Course Beer Pairing Dinner at Mohawk Bend Chef Erick Simmons and brewmaster Jesse Houck have put together a five-course dinner menu complete with beer pairings. The meal begins with mini pizzas matched with Carillo Kolsch. The first course of potato gnocchi is served with Emil's Special Beer. The ... More >>

New Faces of Targeted Beer Drinkers: Joe College and Hipsters

From Joe Six-Pack to Joe College, the face of the desired beer drinker has changed in the past few years with growing sales of craft beer brands and fruit flavors. Joe College, unlike his older and more blue-collar counterpart Joe Six-Pack, is a "lot more experimental than [he] used to be, sampling ... More >>

Q & A with Sam Adams Founder Jim Koch: Loan Program for Food & Beverage Business, Advice on Opening a Brewery Beer in a Can

It's a familiar story in the beer world: well-educated guy leaves stable or lucrative job to make his homebrewing hobby a profession. Jim Koch's history set the precedent for that narrative. Koch, who comes from a long line of brewers, founded The Boston Beer Company in 1984 with two friends he met ... More >>

What to Eat and Drink at This Weekend's Chinatown Festival

Chinese New Year officially began last Sunday, and the Year of the Snake promises change, contemplation, preparation, and perhaps most importantly, lots of good beer. That is, of course, if you're planning to spend this traditional time of reflection with a pint (or two, or three -- what the heck, i ... More >>

Lucky Baldwins Pubs: New Custom Beer in Today, 96 Kegs of Beer in the Bar 14th Annual Belgian Beer Fest

On the eve of its 14th annual Belgian Beer Festival, Lucky Baldwins Pubs (plural because there are three of them) announced that they will be tapping a special new beer for the first time tonight -- Lucky Baldwins Red, a house Belgian amber brewed exclusively by Brouwerij Van Steenberge in Belgium. ... More >>

Tickets On Sale: Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest

The 2nd Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival will take place Sat., June 1, 2013 in Paso Robles, rain or shine (expect shine) for adults over 21. Tickets go on sale for $75 Feb. 1 at 12:01 a.m. (that's tonight for those who begrudge the 12-hour clock.) Anticipated as one of the best craft be ... More >>

Ladyface Ale Companie Celebrates 3 Years as a Top L.A. Brewery

Though Ladyface Ale Companie will be celebrating its third anniversary this week, it was this time eight years ago -- during San Francisco Beer Week 2005 -- that salt-and-pepper-haired Cyrena Nouzille first thought about opening up a microbrewery in the unlikely L.A. suburb of Agoura Hills. Back t ... More >>

Top 5 Triple IPAs of 2012: Pliny The Younger Be Damned

It seems that every year, brewers across the country align on some psychic wavelength that motivates those with adventurous spirits to expand on a new, emerging beer style. Last year, anniversary beers and specialty one-offs became double black IPAs -- roasty, hoppy, boozy guys that warm the soul wh ... More >>

Happy National Lager Day A Beer Venn Diagram

Today is National Lager Day, a grassroots holiday started as a way to celebrate the many faces of the world's most produced type of beer. But what the hell is a lager anyway? Is it an ale? Is it a style of beer? Is it a corporate marketing term expertly concocted to roll off the tongue so perfectly ... More >>

Top 5 Beers of San Diego Beer Week: Barrel-Aged Brews, Political Beers Pasadena Sours

A wise San Diego brewer once said, "Every week in San Diego is beer week," an undeniable truth for a county with more than 60 breweries and two decades of beer culture to its fame. And still, the ten-day festival officially known as San Diego Beer Week continues to amaze palettes, concluding its 4 ... More >>

San Diego Beer Week: Top 5 Events Worth The Drive South

To most Angelenos, San Diego is the kid sister of SoCal cities. But to beer lovers, San Diego is Mecca. Ten years ago, when L.A. was still trapped by endless Bud and Miller tap handles, San Diego brewers were over-hopping their suds, blowing palletes (and minds) and defining an entirely new west coa ... More >>

Golden Road Unveils Burning Bush Debuts at the GABF

Golden Road Brewing Co. unveiled their latest commercially available beer on Thursday, at the Kitchen in Denver, CO. Partnering with Oskar Blues (Longmont, CO.) they're kicking off the first day of the Great American Beer Festival with a joint tap takeover and paired tasting menu. We got the latest ... More >>

Win Free Beer for a Year

Want to win free craft beer for a year? So do we! LetsPour, which leads the web in craft beer sales, has a current promotion if you sign up for its website. On Nov. 5th they will announce the lucky registrant who will receive six bottles of craft beer (including shipping) every month for a year, bec ... More >>

Your Oktoberfest Round-Up: Beer, Brats, Pretzels More Beer

L.A. Oktoberfest -- October 20-21: Bust out the lederhosen for this one, because it's likely to get a little crazy. This two-day festival at the Vanguard in Hollywood sounds like a scene from the movie Beerfest: busty Bavarian babes, beer song sing-a-longs, roving accordion players, stein-holding co ... More >>

Q & A With Haven Brewing's Dave Larsen: L.A. Beer Week, New Zealand Hops Stone's First Local Collaboration

The fourth annual Los Angeles Beer Week might have officially ended with Sunday's festival at Union Station, but there's still one more special LABW brew that has yet to be released. Too bad it's not even ready to drink yet. That's because early in the morning on Thursday, Sept. 20 -- while many e ... More >>

L.A. Beer Week Event Picks: Ballast Point, Bacon and Beer, Beer Floats 'Beer University'

In the last four days, LA Beer Week has brought a Stone Brewing takeover to Old Town Pasadena, run brewery tours to every corner of the county and treated drinkers at beer bars citywide to rare selections from Dogfish Head, Kern River and Russian River breweries. But now that we've survived opening ... More >>

L.A. Beer Week: More Local Breweries Bring Shuttles and Tours

There are many ways in which the fourth annual Los Angeles Beer Week, which began last night, represents a major milestone in the city's craft beer scene. In addition to the dizzying number of events this year (the official calendar lists at least 20 separate events happening each day through next ... More >>

Project 12: Los Angeles Beer Among Winners in Budweiser's ZIP Code Beer Series

Back in June, Anheuser-Busch announced "Project 12", described thusly: "Twelve Anheuser-Busch brewmasters at Budweiser's 12 geographically dispersed breweries worked together to create their own "tribute" beers to fit the Budweiser brand's reputation for quality and consistency." The idea was that o ... More >>

Q & A With Australian Brewery Mountain Goat Beer: Surfboards as Collateral The Influence of American Craft Beer

Australia doesn't just produce enviable beer commercials, as we learned last week, they produce beer equally worthy of our interest. One such brewery, Mountain Goat Beer of Melbourne, Australia, is kicking off a launch party for extended distribution at Rock & Brews in El Segundo tonight, and Congre ... More >>

Q & A With Paige Reilly of Mohawk Bend: Mohawk Bend's Role in L.A. Craft Beer, Back to School Beer Classes Paying It Forward

When someone's business card says "Beer Champion," it's hard to know what to expect. But Paige Reilly -- who is in charge of keg ordering, education and events at Mohawk Bend, Tony's Darts Away and the Golden Road Brewpub -- just might define the term by her fast-talking love of beer and passion to ... More >>

5 Things I Learned About Beer at the 3rd Annual L.A. Craft Beer Crawl

5. Wandering downtown LA streets in the mid-afternoon sun, giving off a hoppy scent, carrying a small pilsner glass still sudsy from the last visit, mildly lost, mildly dazed, is totally normal on the Saturday of L.A. Craft Beer Crawl. Never mind the stink-eye from the cops, never mind the regal bea ... More >>

The L.A. Craft Beer Crawl: Rare Beers, A Speakeasy A Slideshow

With a steep ticket price for a relatively new event, there was a knot of anticipation about whether this year's L.A. Craft Beer Crawl would prove worth its malt. By every measure, it most certainly was. On Saturday, Aug. 18, two thousand eager beer nerds and bar regulars received their wristbands ... More >>

Q & A with Henry and Adriana Nguyen of Monkish Brewing Co.: Opening a Brewery in L.A., Feminist Beer Gambling in Vegas

Monkish Brewing Co. feels like the best kept beer secret of the South Bay. Located in a modest business park along Western Avenue in Torrance, you won't find the usual bells and whistles that alert you to the presence of fine, craft beer: The beer is speaking for itself. Open just over three months, ... More >>

L.A. Craft Beer Crawl Returns

If you're looking to experience what some of L.A.'s best breweries have to offer in one whirlwind night, make sure to mark your calendar for the third annual Los Angeles Craft Beer on Saturday, Aug. 18. "Beer Chicks" Hallie Beaune and Christina Perozzi, along with 213 Nightlife proprietor Cedd Moses ... More >>

Budweiser Magnum Soon to be the Costliest Beer in India

Last week Anheuser-Busch InBev announced that the new Budweiser Magnum will become the highest priced super-premium beer in India, Economic Times reports. The strong, American-style lager will debut in a 650 ml bottle (22 oz. bomber) for 150 rupees. Is that a wildly high price? While 150 Rs comes in ... More >>

8 Craft Beer Bars in the San Fernando Valley Happy Hour Specials

The glorious San Fernando Valley. Spatially vast, heavily populated, and wildly lacking in proper places to drink. Or so we thought. Today, it's time to put your ignorance to bed and minimize the attitude long enough to see the truth -- that from Burbank to Agoura Hills you can always find a decent ... More >>

Thanks for Drinking: Craft Beer Sales Rise Despite Sluggish Overall Market

The Brewers Association has just released this year's numbers on U.S. beer sales. If you prefer Manifesto Eagle Rock Wit to Blue Moon (which is owned by MillerCoors) the news is good. Beer sales slowed overall, slipping 1.3% by volume. Within the craft beer industry numbers continued to rise with a ... More >>

L.A.'s Craft Beer Revolution Has Golden State's Jason Bernstein Raising His Pint Glass

10 Best Beer Bars In Los Angeles

With craft beer L.A.'s current unyielding obsession, it seems crazier than a 55% ABV beer that four short years ago that we were celebrating, along with dozens of tube sock-clad homebrew club sorts, the first local bars to land coveted cask-conditioned ales on tap. My how that fedora-topped draft be ... More >>

Top Hops: Best 5 New Craft Beer Bars of 2011

Over the past few years, sales of mass-produced beer (Bud, Miller, Coors and the like) are down along with housing, investments and other barometers of economic growth. Guess what is not down? Craft breweries. Craft beer bars. Craft beer sales. According to the Brewers Association, which represents ... More >>

Far Bar in Little Tokyo: 2011 Most Improved Craft Beer Bar in L.A.

Far Bar Little TokyoSample glasses of craft beer​In a sign of the craft beer times, Far Bar opened in 2006 as a cocktail bar. Over the ensuing five years, it has morphed into a beer and cocktails bar and, in 2011, thanks to the commitment of co-owners Don Tahara and Mike Gin along with manage ... More >>

Q & A with David Larsen of Haven Gastropub Brewery: Beer Geeks in Pasadena, Adventures in Dry Pork Your Brewmaster as Ukekele Player

Orange County's Haven Gastropub has a reputation for rather maniacally obtaining their mercurial selection of craft brews. On one occasion, Beverage Director Wil Dee took a Smokey and the Bandit-style run up to San Francisco to bootleg a vanload from 21st Amendment Brewery, which has no wholesale d ... More >>

Top 5 Beers from L.A. Beer Week 2011

Far Bar2011 L.A. Beer Week ​ L.A. Beer Week was a 14-day nonstop party that required four days of recovery. But what a blast. Dozens of events at beer bars across Los Angeles were packed with beer fans, new and old alike. After some reflection, we made our picks for the five best beers we tast ... More >>

The Phenomenal Finish to 2011 L.A. Beer Week: Kern River Brewing Company at Far Bar L.A.B.W. Closing Festival at Union Station

Cambria GriffithOfficial 2011 L.A. Beer Week Souvenir Glass​ The spectacular closing weekend of the 2011 L.A. Beer Week features Far Bar hosting gold-medal winning Kern River Brewing Saturday, followed by the L.A. Beer Week Closing Festival featuring over 70 brewers at historic Union Station o ... More >>

Q & A With Far Bar's Jimmy Smith: Little Tokyo's Craft Beer Scene, How Beer Brings People Together Little Tokyo's Beer Week Coming Out Party

Far BarJapanese craft beers available at Little Tokyo's Far Bar ​For decades, Little Tokyo has been a destination for its history, food and art venues alike. But in the last year, Little Tokyo has put itself on the radar for another, more unlikely offering--craft beer. And as the second half o ... More >>

How to Deconstruct a Beer: Firestone XV Anniversary

Firestone Walker Brewing Company, three-time World Beer Cup champion and just named "Mid-Sized Brewery of the Year" at the Great American Beer Festival for an unprecedented third time, is hosting the most innovative event at this year's L.A. Beer Week: "Deconstructed LA." Sean Z. Paxton (aka the H ... More >>

LA Beer Week 2011: Opening Night Kicks Off at Naja's

We love the fact that LA Beer Week is actually two weeks. From the kick off party at Naja's Place on tonight, October 10, through the closing beer festival at Union Station on Sunday October 23, this is an L.A. beer lover's dream month. Each and every day, multiple bars will be hosting "Event Nigh ... More >>

BAM!!! Beer, Art & Music Festival in Santa Monica This Sunday

Brewing craft beer is an art. That's why the name changed from microbrew to craft brew. The Second Annual BAM Fest (Beer, Art & Music Festival) will be held in Santa Monica on this Sunday, October 9, from 1-6 p.m. BAM celebrates the trifecta of locally produced art, music and, most importantly ... More >>

The Top 5 IPAs in the World

Here is the Cliffs Notes version of the three sweetest letters in craft brewing: IPA. The Brits, loving themselves some pale ale, would load up a big, slow ship full of the country's favorite liquid, and send it off to that not-so-tiny colony known as India. Problem was, the beer would go bad by ... More >>

Two Local Brewers Win Big at the Great American Beer Festival

Jason E. KaplanThe crowds converge on GABF​ Over a dozen L.A.-area craft brewers traveled to Denver last week to compete in the 30th annual Great American Beer Festival -- arguably the oldest and most prestigious national beer competition outside of Europe. This year, 526 breweries submitted 3 ... More >>

4 Places to Celebrate Oktoberfest This Weekend

Tim Sheerman-ChaseMunich's Augustiner Beer Hall during Oktoberfest​ With just over a week left of Oktoberfest, it's time to don the lederhosen, bust out the bierkrug, and hop on a redeye to München (Lufthansa will fly you there and back this weekend for $2,079.22). Or if that's not an option, ... More >>

Beerpalooza! Blue Palms Brewhouse 3rd Anniversary Outdoor Beer Festival

Matt OleshTap handles at Blue Palms​ Seems like just yesterday, Brian Lenzo opened Blue Palms Brewhouse in the historic Henry Fonda Music Box Theatre. Now Lenzo is about to unleash an outdoor beer festival that will accommodate 1000 beer drinkers to celebrate Blue Palms 3rd Anniversary. The ... More >>

Beachwood BBQ and Brewing Opens in Long Beach

Southern BBQ and Craft Beer at Beachwood​ Beachwood BBQ of Seal Beach, rated as one of the Top 5 Beer Bars in America by Beer Advocate magazine, is opening a second location on the Promenade in downtown Long Beach on Tuesday, July 5. Beachwood BBQ and Brewing is easily one of the most anticip ... More >>

38 Degrees Ale House & Grill: Beer Lover's Paradise... in Alhambra

Daniel DrennonClay Harding, co-owner of 38 Degrees with 38 taps​ Apparently the economic downturn has not hindered craft beer drinkers. They say, even in a recession, folks will still seek an escape from tough times at the movies. The same can now be said of beer bars. Despite dozens of ho ... More >>

IPA Beer Fight: Ladyface Ale Companie vs. Bootlegger's Brewery

B. MesirowBootlegger's Rustic Rye IPA​ Much has been made lately of L.A.'s beer revolution, from hilarious and awesome drunken rants by Greg of Stone to posts on this very blog and well beyond. However, the true measuring stick must be the beer itself, and what better stick than the West Coas ... More >>

National Homebrew Competition L.A.-Area Finalists

JgarbeeHomebrews At Pacific Gravity's Annual Party​If you've heard a lot of homebrewer buzz at your neighborhood pub the past few weeks, it's likely because the National Homebrewers Conference (NHC) is being held in San Diego this year. Hoards of home brewers will be descending upon Southern C ... More >>