LA Beer Week Festival Re-Cap and Photos
After two glorious weeks of beer dinners, tastings, and exclusive events, this year’s L.A Beer Week wrapped up at the historic Union Station to a sold out crowd of over 1,500. Summery weather with not a cloud in the sky warmly greeted guests who were taken aback by the magnitude of this year’s turn-out. The event started at noon, but at 12:30 there was still a significant line around the entire station with anxious ticket-holders in tow. However, after finally walking through event gates, there was nary a complaint in the house.
Despite the overwhelming crowd in line, there was ample opportunity for beer lovers alike to grab unlimited 4-ounce pours from the likes of locally-based faves like Beachwood BBQ and Brewing and The Bruery.There was also a great selection of international brews including fan favorites from Unibroue, Chimay, and Samuel Smith among countless others. We made it a point to walk through each booth taking note on some special pours that were released throughout the day including the Eagle Rock Brewery & Craftsman latest collaboration, Unity– tamarind saison (the official beer of L.A Beer Week) and newcomer Golden Road’s Burning Bush smoked IPA.
Although there wasn’t any live entertainment, festival-goers were able to take advantage of three informative break-out sessions discussing the history of beer and breweries in the Los Angeles. Food was available from three of the city’s popular food trucks (Grill ‘Em All, The Cheeseball Wagon, and The Flatiron Truck) as well as downtown’s very own Spring St. Smokehouse who dished out classic pork brats with all the trimmings.
Organizers did a great job with making sure there weren’t many long lines inside the festival and that there was copious amounts of beer for all. I also enjoyed that aside from a bunch of helpful volunteers, there were also a lot of folks from the actual breweries present to talk shop and represent their creations. The folks over at Ladyface Ale Companie left quite an impression with their spicy cask ale while heavy-hitters like Stone and Dogfish Head were on hand to pour some of their most popular brews. I was glad I was finally able to try Sudwerk Brewery from Davis, CA and Smog City Brewing Co.
Overall, the event was a great way to punctuate a successful series of beer week(s) events. There was something for every type of beer drinker from the lightest hefeweizens and ciders to the darkest stouts and sours. We were able to meet and chat with beer-lovers from all around the globe as well as get to know passionate brewers from just outside the city’s reach. After the afternoon’s festivities, many people mosied on over to Little Tokyo’s Far Bar for a casual little after-party worthy of such a festival. With great beers available including the new La Citrueille Céleste de Citracado collaboration from The Bruery/Stone/Elysian Brewing and Bootlegger’s Barrel Aged Imperial Black Phoenix, Far Bar once again proved that in LA, every week is beer week.
