LA beer help

I’m headed out to Westlake Village with the family on Friday for a few days. I think I can sneak in a beer adventure or two if all goes well. I usually go to Wade’s upon arrival to get some wine and beer for the stay and have found their beer bar to be a nice addition. We’ve been to Ladyface and the Lab Brewery which I like but I’m ready to branch out. I read a lot about Beechwood and Naja’s but I’m guessing they are both an hour plus if traffic is flowing. Not out of the question but wanted to canvas for other ideas.

that’s pretty much it in a 20 mile radius. If you want to head into west hollywood/santa monica it opens up significantly, but that’s a bit of a trek. Looking at least 45 minutes each way. Tony’s darts away is a lil dive bar with a bunch of taps in Burbank. Also you can try Surly Goat in west hollywood. Father’s office in Culver City (as well as City Tavern).

Beachwood/Najas is probably a 1.5 hour trek each way.

This might be helpful

Here is a fairly-recent thread on beer in LA:

There are a few options in the Valley that wouldn’t be so far out of your way. The Local Peasant in Woodland Hills might be a close option for you.

Do yourself a HUGE favor and go down to Beachwood in downtown Long Beach. Great food and arguably the finest beers being made anywhere. Amazing selection of house brews as well as a crazy guest tap list.

Cheers,

Bud

BeerAdvocate just had LA as their featured destination in the most recent magazine. The article isn’t online that I could find but I’m sure they derived the locations they published from the list here. Click the names for reviews but I’m pretty sure the highest rated locations in each category are on top. Either way, post where you end up visiting! I also have heard great things about Beachwood

Thanks for all the great comments. It is much appreciated. I may just have to fight the traffic to Long Beach. Sounds like a real winner.

I remember the time before kids when we would make plans to head up into the Santa Rita Hills area to do barrel tastings with some great winemakers. Now it’s a quick beer and off with the kids.

Tonys Darts Away in Burbank is a great beer spot but not exactly on your way to Westlake Village…not beer related, but Baron Herzog Wine Cellars has a terrific restaurant in Ventura- Tierra Sur.

I live in Calabasas and go to Ladyface and the Lab a lot. Local Peasant beer wise is lame. The Six is an ok bar in downtown Calabasas, across from the Cantina, they just opened…

We only went to Local Peasant once when it first opened. The list seemed ok, but not great. We were with the baby though, so I wasn’t paying all that much attention. I really liked the atmosphere though. Good to know about the other places!

James, when are you planning on coming down to LB, I can offer some suggestions traffic wise and maybe meet you there and introduce you to the crew for a better experience and share a beer, that is if you are up for that.

Cheers,

Bud

Beachwood is indeed awesome, but the drive could be ugly. An alternative (and significantly shorter drive) would be to visit Golden Road Brewing Co in Glendale/Atwater. Solid beers and pretty good food. The bonus would be a visit to Eagle Rock Brewing Co only a few miles south. These places are in my hood if you need any further info, shoot me a mssg.

Thanks again for all the great ideas. And Bud, thanks for the offer. I would love to take you up on it but I have no idea what my plans are now. My flight this morning got cancelled so I’m now not meeting up with the family until Sunday evening. With a return flight Wednesday morning, I will have a lot of in-law family events in a compressed schedule. My wife is wonderful about my beer fetish but probably not to the point I can get her to agree to have our belated Valentine’s dinner at a brewpub. Maybe if I can find a great “must try” restaurant nearby we could grab a beer beforehand.

I got in last night and hit Wade’s as soon as it opened this morning. I did OK but wasn’t too excited about my haul. Then a shipment came in and I grabbed some super fresh Noble IPA and some El Segundo hoppy IPAs. Everything looks better. Possibly going to Santa Monica tomorrow with the kids so there is the chance for another visit somewhere. Maybe Ladyface for dinner tomorrow night. We are in Malibu tonight. Wow, what a beer wasteland. Here’s my haul

A year and a half later and I made it to Tony’s Darts Away. Really solid IPA list. They had fresh Swami’s, apparently a sixtel had just arrived. Really solid, trying to find a fresh sixer of cans to take home. While Wade’s had some good fresh hoppies, their Swami’s was from December. Boo. We are headed to Ladyface tonight with the kiddos. Will slowly work my way through the bottles from Wades the rest of the time. I might try to head to Energen’s Brewery. It was recommended by a friend in the area who likes their beers a lot.

All in all, I have been impressed with the beer culture in the LA area. It was a real wasteland not that long ago and now plenty of places have good tap selections.

This place just opened in Encino if you’re in the valley. Haven’t been but the owners are very reputable for quality. http://www.sweeneysalehouse.com

I went there about a month ago. Decent selection on draft (Allagash Curieux). Food was just average. Nice atmosphere though and I’ll definitely give it another try.

Boneyard Bistro in Sherman Oaks is great. And make sure you order the double cured bacon as a snack too.

Gregg, thanks for the idea. Kind of bums me out as we did go to Encino for lunch. Next time. Peter that will be on my list for sure next visit.

The return flight got delayed by several hours so I took an uber to El Segundo brewing. Really like their beers particularly the fresh Mayberry. I didn’t get in to DC until 3 am or so, but what a nice send off. I will definitely go back to visit.