We’re Doing a Burgers + Beer Tour with DineLA & Burger Trek

LA Beer Hop x dineL.A. Burger Trek

Click Here for Tickets

Burgers + Beer… together… forever. In celebration of dineL.A. Burger Trek, dineL.A. and LA Beer Hop are offering an exclusive tour that gives participants the unique ability to chow on burgers from three dineL.A. Burger Trek locations expertly paired with beer by a Certified Cicerone®

What’s included: you’ll visit three top burger destinations around DTLA and includes 1/2 a burger, sides, and beer at each destination, along with bottled water and a professional Burger/Beer Guide. The entire event takes about four hours.

Where are We Going: Badmaash for the Spiced Lamb Burger, Fundamental LA for a restaurant burger, and Everson Royce Bar for the smash burger.

Date: Sunday, May 19th

Time: 12:00pm

Location: Tour departs from Union Station

Tickets: $99/person

dineL.A. Burger Trek celebrates Los Angeles’s diverse burger scene by highlighting 32 locations and the must-order item at each spot. For more information and to access the ever-green guide, visit dineLABurgerTrek.com.

Click Here for Tickets

Cheat Sheet to LA Beer Week 2017

The 9th LA Beer Week (#LABW9 for all the social media) starts on Saturday, June 17th. And as to be expected, it’s chock-o-block full of events aimed to pack you more full of beer than an Arizona State frat party. The full event list is posted here at the LA Beer Week website, but here’s a cheat sheet to some of the events that we’re most excited for… including two that we’re a part of!

Saturday – June 17

LA COUNTY BREWERS GUILD PRESENTS
1:00PM4:00PM
Los Angeles Center Studios – DTLA
$25 – $70

Saturday – June 17

MIKKELLER DTLA PRESENTS
MEXICAN CRAFT BEER CELEBRATION
2:00PM – 2:00AM
Mikkeller Bar – DTLA
Free


SUNDAY – June 18

MACLEOD ALE BREWING CO. PRESENTS
3RD ANNIVERSARY AND CASK ALE FESTIVAL
12:00PM – ??
Macleod Ales – Van Nuys
$20


SUNDAY – June 18

SMOG CITY BREWING PRESENTS
RAREST OF THE RARE
11:00AM – 9:00PM 
Smog City Brewing – Torrance
Free


Monday – June 19


LA CICERONE BEER PAIRING AND MEETUP
5:30PM – 9:00PM
The Cannibal – Culver City
Free


Monday – June 19

BEER VS. WINE! A FIVE COURSE CHEFS DINNER FEATURING CELLADOR ALES 
The Local Peasant – Sherman Oaks
7:00PM10:00PM
$75

Tuesday – June 20

BREWYARD BEER COMPANY
7:00AM6:00PM
Brewyard Beer Company – Glendale
$40

Tuesday – June 20

LOS ANGELES ALE WORKS PRESENTS
7:00PM10:00PM
LA Aleworks – Hawthorne
Free

Wednesday – June 21

LA COUNTY BREWERS GUILD & NAJA’S PLACE
6:00PM
Naja’s Place – Redondo Beach Pier
Free

Thursday – June 22

LA Beer Hop
LA BEER HOP PRESENTS
6:00PM10:00PM
Downtown LA
Free

Thursday – June 22

5:00PM10:00PM
Phantom Carriage Brewing – Carson
Free

Friday – June 23

6:00PM10:00PM
Wolf Creek Brewery – Santa Clarita
$15-45

Saturday – June 24

12:00PM 
The Queen Mary – Long Beach
$40 – $75

Sunday – June 25

2:00PM4:00PM
Craft Beer Cellar – Eagle Rock
$15
And there are many, many other events featuring sour beers, tap takeovers, food and beer pairings so check out the full list here at the LA Beer Week Calendar.

Your Guide to Oktoberfest in Los Angeles

Wilkommen Los Angeles!

It’s that time of the year again: Oktoberfest 2016. The leaves are starting to turn the same golden hue as a delicious German Lager giving you a craving to head to a beer hall to consume as much beer as possible with a bunch of strangers while you claim you can speak German because you studied it for one year in high school. Men, grab your lederhosen. Ladies, grab your dirndl. Here’s your 2016 guide to the best places to celebrate Oktoberfest around Los Angeles:

South Bay

Alpine Village Oktoberfest
Place: 833 W Torrance Blvd. Torrance, 90502
Date: September 9  – October 29 2016
Link: http://www.alpinevillagecenter.com/oktoberfest/

LA Oktoberfest
Place: 1600 Rosecrans Avenue, Manhattan Beach, 90266
Date: October 22: 1pm – 5pm
Link: http://www.laoktoberfest.com/


Central Los Angeles

Vegan Oktoberfest 
Place: LA Center Studios – 450 S. Bixel Street, LA, 90017
Date: October 15, 2016
Link: veganoktoberfest.com

Wirsthaus
Place: 345 N La Brea Ave. LA, 90036
Date: Every Friday and Saturday
Link: wirtshausla.com

Iron Triangle Brewing Oktoberfest
Place: 1581 Industrial St. LA, 90021
Date: October 1
Link: irontrianglebrewing.com

Pershing Square Oktoberfest
Place: Pershing Square – 532 South Olive St., LA, 90013
Date: October 22
Link: OktoberfestDTLA.com

PPOA Oktoberfest
Place: The Standard Rooftop – 550 South Flower St. LA, 90071
Date: October 15
Link: eventbrite.com/e/4th-annual-ppoa-oktoberfest-tickets-27589579174?aff=es2


Orange County

Old World Oktoberfest
Date: September 11th – October 30th
Place: Old World German Village – 7561 Center Ave. Huntington Beach, 92647
Link: oldworld.ws/oktoberfest-orange-county

The Phoenix Club Oktoberfest
Date: Every Weekend until October 30th
Place:1340 S. Sanderson Avenue Anaheim, 92806
Link: thephoenixclub.com/oktoberfest/


East of Downtown

Slater’s 50/50 Oktoberfest VIP Dinner
Date: Thursday and Friday, October 13 & 14
Place: Slater’s 50/50 Pasadena – 61 North Raymond Ave. Pasadena, 91103
Link: eventbrite.com/e/oktoberfest-vip-dinner-tickets-27670991681?aff=es2

Oktoberfest at Fairplex
Date: October 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22, 28 and 29th
Place: Fairplex – 1101 W. McKinley Ave. Pomona, 91768
Link: oktoberfestatfairplex.com

Montrose Oktoberfest
Date: October 1
Place: 2400 Honolulu Ave, Montrose, CA 91020
Link: oktoberfest.montrosechamber.org

Or you can pickup a bunch of Firestone Oaktoberfest, Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest, a growler of Iron Triangle Brewing’s Oktoberfest or Eagle Rock Brewery’s Anton (it’s a Vienna Lager, which is very similar)  and make your own party. Just make sure to include pretzels.

The St. Patrick’s Day Brewery Guide

St. Patrick’s Day is tomorrow. So here’s a quick guide to what breweries you can let your inner Irish out at.

MacLeod Ale Brewing Co. – Van Nuys

This one’s obvious. They make true British Cask Ale run by a Scotsman and they have a Dry Irish Stout on cask all day.

Arts District Brewing Co. – DTLA

They have a Dry Irish Stout on nitro, but the real kicker is that they’ve got Jameson as well… (Because they have a full bar license).

Smog City Brewing – Torrance

This week they released three new beers: Double IPA, Dry Irish Stout on Nitro and Dry Irish Stout on CO2. And if you have any luck of the Irish, they’ll have something sour in bottles to take home.

Angel City Brewery – DTLA

Live music, food trucks and both Imperial Irish Ale and an Irish Red Cask Ale on tap and they’re open till Midnight.

Mumford Brewing – DTLA

Well, this one is cheating, but their wonderful nextdoor neighbor The Escondite (Hideout) is having their 5th Annual St. Patty’s Extravaganza: Corned Beef, Cabbage, live music, Guinness will be flowing and Jameson will be slammed.

Friday Tours

We’ve added Friday public tours to our calendar! We’ve added Friday public tours to our calendar! South Bay, East & Central and Long Beach all starting at 6:00pm. That gives you just long enough for you to get off of work and come join us at one of our meeting locations – El Segundo Metro, Union Station or Downtown Long Beach on 3rd.

Thirsty? All beer tasters are included at the three locations we visit.

Hungry? At least one of the locations we’ll be visiting will be serving food.

Traffic? Don’t sweat it. Our itinerary avoids traffic, we promise. And you’re not driving anyway.

Come join us to make new friends, meet new beers, and have a great time on our Friday evening tours.

Father’s Day Gifts!

This Father’s Day treat your old man to something you can enjoy together – A Beer Hop. All he wants to do is spend time with you. All you want to do is give him a gift to try and repay him for all of the horrible things you did as a child that caused all of his hair to turn gray (or fall out entirely). We’ve got Gift Certificates that never expire or you can purchase tickets for any of our Public Tours. But if that’s not enough, here are 20 other things you can get him…

There ya go, 20 Things (and 1 more for good measure)! Happy Father’s Day.

PS. Just brought to our attention is a real hole in one gift idea for the beer-loving golfer (which I imagine is every single golfer): Father’s Day Gift Set from Enegren Brewing

New Tour Alert – Greenbar Distillery

We’re adding to our East & Central Tour! Which isn’t crazy considering how much brewery growth there has been already in 2015. What is crazy is that it’s not beer. It’s liquor.

Greenbar Organic Distillery has been crafting an insane array of liquor in Downtown Los Angeles for over 10 years, but they were only recently able to operate a tasting room. They have every imaginable spirit is in their arsenal: vodka, whiskey, tequila (real tequila made with agave), rum, and as much brandy as you would ever want (which is a lot). And it’s all organic. And it’s all delicious. And it’s all yours. Well, not yet. But if you come on one of our East & Central tours it can be yours.

At each visit to Greenbar, you will taste a flight of five of their spirits, tour their distillery and learn as much about distilling liquor as you like. That’s right. Try five different liquors, but don’t worry… the liquor is before beer.

For the time being, we will be adding them to just one East & Central tour at the end of every month, with plans to expand that over time. We’ll be adding their distillery to our private tour selection as well.

If you have any questions about how you can visit Greenbar with us or even on your own, feel free to shoot us an email at contact@labeerhop.com.

What we’re drinking right now: Greenbar Organic Distillery Poppy Brandy (not kidding and it’s amazing).

Cheese & Beer Pairing! – October 5th

Beer & Cheese share an incredible amount of similarities. They both have flavor profiles like tangy, funky, musty, nutty and earthy. They’re both made using historic methods employing microflora to do a lot of the heavy lifting. And most notably, there is a massive gap between what’s readily available to the public and “The Good Stuff”. On October 5th we’re going to take you on a special Food & Beer Hop where we’re going to examine exactly what the good stuff is in both cheese and beer and how they can work together to make mind-blowing pairings.

There is a cheese made by Chimay (those Beer & Cheese making Monks have the best job) and a Hereford Hop cheese that’s encrusted in toasted hops and those will pair incredibly naturally with beers. But how about a Humboldt Fog with a Saison Dupont to complement both the creamy nature of the cheese and the light spice, fruit and grass notes of the beer.

Mimolette

Or some local fresh burrata paired with the amazingly tart and crisp Hottenroth from The Bruery to bring out it’s natural fruit flavors of green apple and lemon? Maybe we’ll bring out Smog City’s Coffee Porter with notes of rich espresso, dark chocolate and coffee to pair with a Bleu Cheese. Or get really funky and pair Mimolette, a cheese that achieves its flavor from aging with “cheese-mites” with a St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition which gets it’s flavors from aging with equally strange wild yeast and bacteria. It’s gonna get weird folks, so come prepared to dive into the deep end with us and learn something along with way. 

The Cheese & Beer Pairing is hosted by Hal Mooney of the LA Beer Hop and John Verive, a cheese enthusiast, beer writer for the LA Times and Beer Paper LA, a Certified Cicerone and a general man about town. The tour is on Sunday, October 5th and will include beer and cheese along the way. We’ll be visiting Sunset Beer Company, Surly Goat and finishing off at Beer Belly where you’ll be able to purchase a cheese inspired dinner if all of the cheese, bread and beer that we give you isn’t enough. Tickets are available on our website on our SCHEDULE.

See you soon!

PS. If you’re a woman and this kind of thing interests you, check out the Women’s Beer Forum at Eagle Rock Brewery on September 17th. They’re doing a class on Cheese & Beer pairing and it’ll be great. I’d be there, except I’m not a woman, but you’ll probably see Cindy Mooney there.

PPS. Due to Cindy and my ability to consume cheese rapidly, the cover photo of the Lucerne Mexican Cheese was the only cheese I had in my fridge at the time of posting.

Beer and Jam Pairing Event!

You know beer pairs with pizza, burgers, and baseball, but what you don’t know is how well beer pairs with jams, jellies, and mustards. On May 25th, you can come find out exactly how delicious those pairings can be at our Jam and Beer Pairing.

What’s the Event?

We’ll be doing the normal Beach Cities Beer Hop, which visits Smog City Brewery, Monkish Brewing, and Strand Brewing Co, but at Monkish we’ll be doing a featured beer and food pairing with M. Greenwood Jams.

What’s the beer?

Monkish is an entirely Belgian inspired brewery with some of the most delightful and creative beers you can imagine. A single with elderflower, a tripel with pistachios and vanilla, a single-hopped galaxy beer, and a dubbel with sichuan peppercorns are but a few of the offerings made by brewer and owner Henry Nguyen.

What’s the jam?

We’re talking fig, meyer lemon ginger, apple butter, craft beer mustards, strawberry, strawberry-balsamic, summerberry, lime, and just about everything else that you ever wanted to spread on toast. 

Anything else?

Sure. There will be some cheese, bread, crackers, nuts and pretzels to even further highlight the jam and beer.

Why?

It’s delicious, don’t overthink it. We’ll have some suggested pairings but you’ll be free to pair your own and pave your own culinary destiny.

How much does it cost?

It costs the same as any other public tour – $65. It includes visits to three locations, a flight of beer at each location, bottled waters, knowledgeable beer guide, all jam tastings, and fond memories.

Where can I purchase tickets?

Right on our Public Tour Schedule.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Your Invitation to the Pants Party

Don’t act like you’re not impressed. We’re doing a Ron Burgundy tour this Saturday night and it’s taking you to pleasure town.

Sponsored by Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues and Paramount Pictures, we’re going to have a hell of a night this Saturday on our East & Central Public Tour.

If you come join the tour you’ll get free t-shirts, mustaches, posters and a whole lot of beer tasters. We will be going to Angel City, Eagle Rock Brewery and Golden Road Brewery. The tour includes visits to those three locations, a brewery walkthrough, and all beer tasters. Pickup will be at Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles at 7:00pm.

On top of all of that we will be giving two lucky guests VIP Tickets to an early screening of the film!

So hop on down to the Pants Store, slap on your finest suit, and kick the vermouth to the side with a bair of steel-toed boots cause it’s gonna be a big night.

– Stay Classy Los Angeles