LA Beer Week culminated with a tasting event at Union Station and yours truly was there to revel in the festivities. I woke to a gloomy rainy Sunday and thought it might turn out to be a day of drinking beer while drenched, but mother nature helped out and we only experienced scattered drizzle. I took the train into downtown with @NuttyAroma (he has a new beer blog btw), it was perfect as I don’t condone drinking and driving and the train made it all easier.
Before the event we stopped at a local favorite, Philippes.
Gates opened at 12:30 pm and it was all good times after that, not that many people there which meant you didn’t have to wait long for a pour. It was the usual for me, I started with full pours, then ½ pours and in the end, it didn’t matter what was poured, my taste buds were shot and I couldn’t discern a thing. Now you really can’t sit there and break down each and every pour, but I did take notes; take a look below at some pictures and brief impressions on what I tasted.
Great Divide, Titan IPA: bitter to the extreme, super hops; loved it!
Stone, Smoked Porter with Chipotle: served too cold, did not enjoy it, took two sips and dumped the rest. It was as if you licked a spoon with chipotle paste, this of course was from the beer being too cold.
Koning Hoevin Trappist: Learned it’s the only wheat Trappist; smooth with citrus bready notes.
Cuvee de Trolls: light body with orange finish.
The Bruery, Seven Grain Saison: I had this but did not write anything about it.
Deschutes, Jubel 2010 Once A Decade Ale: don’t have notes for it.
Nibble Bit Tabby, Uncle Ernie Irish Red: smooth with tart aftertaste and faint cherry notes; it was good. We now have three breweries in Los Angeles, this was the second that opened within the city limits; we love beer in this town, but we don’t have that many brewers.
I like the tap handles for their beer (below), and they look just like Brian Letchoe (above).
Borrowed image from DrinkEatTravel.com; click on picture for site link.
Ladyface IPA: bitter start with citrus finish, bold bitterness.
Ladyface, Cerise: citrus cherry, light body, with a wood flavor at the end, it was a nice finish; I was told the flavor came from the oak wood barrel. Spoke briefly to David Griffiths the brew master for Ladyface about the Cerise, he said this is going to be ready next year, so the beer wasn’t quite there yet but he had a small tank to share.
Brouwerij West, Belgian Style Blond 5: strong citrus flavor with a dry finish.
Moyland’s, Kiltlifter: strong molasses and a hint of carrot, that surprised me; I’m starting to get buzzed at this point.
Unibrou, Trois Pistoles: dark ale, smooth light body with dark fruit notes.
Strand Brewing Co, 24th St Pale Ale: it was served very cold, not much character other than bitterness.
Craftsman, Fireworks Saisson: carbonated, citrus, light peppery finish.
Oskar Blues, Little Yella: I grabbed this out of the bucket and it was warm, too warm; will try again some other time.
Of course it wouldn’t be a beer event without people acting a fool due to alcohol. The lets freak, the drunk, and the I’m not moving from this tree ‘cuz I’ll fall.
Beer + Friends = Buenos Tiempos!
One Adam 12, alert all units; good beer being served at Union Station.
Although so many people turned out it wasn’t overcrowded, I’m not sure if it was by design as it could have been a bad situation especially with a small location. At the end of the event, we were able to stay behind and hang around with some of the brewers and eat some BBQ that was there for the volunteers; this was fun. There were lots of average beers at the event and I’m sure some great ones, but at a setting like this it’s hard to fish them out with my rookie palate, and it doesn’t help that they pour the beer at a temperature above it’s recommendation. I drank about 30 different beers, I took notes on half of them, and it turns out my favorite beer was the very first one they poured for me, Titan IPA by Great Divide; the punch of hops was perfection and I’ll be looking for it to give a detail review. At the end of the event, by around beer tasting #25, my taste buds were shot and I didn’t care what I tasted, but I was happy to be among the good drinking beer crowd of Los Angeles.
Cerveza Please 