Lookout SoCal – ColLAboration Beer Garden and Events Is Taking Over
A month or so ago, our friends at Tony’s Darts Away, 38 Degrees, Blue Palms and Verdugo/Surly Goat made a bold announcement that they would be teaming up to provide a traveling beer garden as a means of getting out and enjoying craft beer.
So the way this was layed out, beer enthusiasts in LA bought a commemorative ‘ColLAboration’ glass at one of the organizers bars, and would be granted entrance to the April 9th event in Burbank, and all future ColLAboration events. Once you gain entry, you can buy tokens that will get you pours of beer.
At that point, it was still a mystery to me what a “pop-up tent” beer garden was, or how this would be any different than any other outdoor beer festival. While the organizers were fairly tight lipped, they assured me that event would be like none other, and quite possibly change the landscape of the LA craft beer scene. I’m happy to say this just might have.
The Scene
So Jonny Fullpint and I rolled up two hours after the gate opened, and we grabbed our glasses. To our immediate surprise, they were tall, picture-esque beer glasses you might find at the Hard Rock Cafe. We were greeted by some of our regular beer fest pals with “They are doing large pours of Lost Abbey Red Poppy, come get some before it runs out.” Jonny and I laughed as we knew how the rest of this day was going to go. Unlike every other beer festival I’ve been to in Southern California, not only was the format ‘pay-as-u-go’ rather than a set amount of taster tickets, they were also pouring 8-12 oz. of the best beer you could get in the world averaging at $5.00 a token. With the exception of Nibble Bit Tabby and Eel River’s Buttered Popcorn Double IPA, every beer was not just good, but top notch. During the course of the day, I got a hefty pour of Red Poppy, Russian River Supplication, The Bruery’s Marron Acidifie and Brandy Barrel Aged Angel’s Share just to name a few.
We were told there was about 700 glasses sold before the event, and 100 more at the gate, but the great thing was, there wasn’t 7-800 people jammed in this large, tented parking lot. People came in and out in dribs and drabs, and there was no waiting in long lines. Everyone was happy and chill. The crowd was of all ages, and there was an unusual amount of females at the event. From my experience, craft beer fests can be quite the sausage party. One funny observation was that while some of us seasoned beer fest veterans were SHOCKED at the large pours of strong ale, some of the beer fest newbies were dissapointed that they weren’t getting full 16 oz. pours. I assured them that they got plenty, and if they don’t know now, they will no later, when it finally hits them.
As the event neared the end, you could tell how much fun every one was having. People were buzzing, smiling, and the obligatory dropping of the glassware began. The event organizers apologized they didn’t have a permit to play music, but honestly, I don’t think it detracted from the event whatsoever. There wasn’t any onsite food preparation, but there were a few vendors popping in and out of the beer garden with hot dogs and such for sale. The local restaurants also gladly delivered right to the festival, so we saw folks ordering up pizza right there.
The Bottom Line
This is hands down, the best format for an outdoor beer festival I’ve ever seen. I’ve been to plenty festivals in Southern California, and this was the most organized, well thought out execution of a craft beer event. Great beer selection + great weather + generous pour size + room to spread out and socialize = a big win for Los Angeles and team ColLAboration. It was also nice meeting some of the fan’s of TheFullPint as well as new friends we made that day. You can be sure you will be seeing us at future events. Cheers!
