Category Archives: News

How Sweet is the Beer Chick?

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Pretty freakin’ sweet!  Beer Sommollier Christina Perozzi, local beer sommollier and founder of www.beerforchicks.com, was just awarded the Daily Candy Sweetest Thing award.  The category?  Best Advice.

Now I don’t know what the prize is, I would assume a years worth of candy, but the real prize is getting a beer advocate like Christina in front of the 2 billion eyes that read Daily Candy every day.  This is beer evagelism at its finest, and it’s cool to think about legions of Daily Candy readers putting down their wine glasses and ordering a 750 of Duvel.

Congrats Beer Chick, and thanks for raising the bar for craft beer in Los Angeles!

Whole Foods is Looking to Hire Beer Specialists

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Do you love beer?  Do you live in Westwood or Tustin?  Does the idea of a lifetime supply of granola really turn you on*?  Well if you’re looking for a beer job, boy have I got something for you.  From the Beer Industry Jobs Blog:

If you keep an eye on the Beer Job Boards, you’ll see that Whole Foods jobs come up pretty often.  Often times, they will just say something like Specialty Team Member.  Their specialty department encompasses beer, wine, and cheese, so its more than just beer.  BUT, if you see Beer Specialist in the job title, that would be the point person in the beer department.

It looks like Los Angeles is a hot spot in need of more Beer Specialists right now, since there are 3 listings up on the Beer Job Board.  There is one at their Westwood location, another in Tustin, and then a more generic listing that just says they need a Beer Specialist in Los Angeles.  Possibly a double listing?

Who knows if this represents some sort of trend in a city that has long been a wasteland for beer.  Maybe Los Angeles is starting to catch up to the rest of the country?  Or maybe Whole Foods’ recent merger with Wild Oats has created more beer job openings?  Who knows.

*lifetime supply of granola may actually be a ficticious job perk

21st Amendment to Obama: Yes, We Can

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Brew Free or Die - 21st Amendment IPA

21st Amendment, a great brewpub and restaurant in San Francisco, recently announced they are expanding production.  They are joining the ranks of craft brew superstars Oskar Blues and Surly Brewing by putting great craft beer into cans.  Normally only available at the pub, 21st Amendment is now receiving wider distribution, available throughout California at BevMo, and soon making their way into supermarkets in the Bay Area, Sacramento, Tahoe, and Alaska (what, no LA love?).

Their two beers are Brew Free Or Die IPA, and Hell or High Watermelon Wheat, both of which are quite tasty.

Right now on their website, there’s a note up that congratulates President Elect Barack Obama with a tasty little slice of double entendre:

Yes, We Can

Find out more about 21st Amendment at 21st-amendment.com

Things Are Looking Good for Stone

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Stone Needs a New Building

12 years in business and no signs of slowing down.  Just three years ago they moved into their new building, and already, they are outgrowing it.

Along with a lolcatted picture of their current location, their newsletter also had this to say:

Do you know of a friend’s second cousin with a father-in-law who knows a guy who has a building really close to our brewery that he hasn’t put on the market, but might consider selling to us in exchange for a lifetime’s supply of Stone?*

Continue reading →

First Look: Blue Palms Brewhouse

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Blue Palms Brewhouse Chalkboard

It’s not quite official, but the Blue Palms Brewhouse opened its doors for business last Friday night.  Word of a new craft beer bar in the heart of Hollywood has been spreading like wildfire over the last few months, and the rumor mill had been working overtime.

Founders (!) in LA?  Proximus (!!) and Russian River on tap?  A firkin of Firestone’s Parabola (!!!) for the opening?

The official opening is this Saturday the 16th, so you will have to check it out then, because I can not confirm or deny anything that might have been mentioned. All I know is that owner Brian Lenzo is a huge beer fanatic, and he definitely has some tricks up his sleeve.

Beer geeks were out in full force for the soft opening, and there were plenty of big beers to be had.  Hair of the Dog Fred was on tap, probably for the first time in Los Angeles (west of Stuffed Sandwich, that is).  Other heavy hitters included St. Bernardus Abt 12 and Ola Dubh 30, which first reared it’s delicious head at Verdugo Bar a few months ago.

Blue Palms Bar

photo credit: flickr user lesbal123

Contributing to the opening day excitement, there were several new beers that made their LA debut at Blue Palms.  I was excited to see the Black Sour from Craftsman, a new beer that I hadn’t heard of.  Mark Jilg and Head Brewer Todd Peterson were in attendance, but I didn’t get a chance to ask them about this new creation.  It’s definitely not a puckeringly sour beer, but like all Craftsman beers, it’s worth your money. Continue reading →

New Beer Site: California Beerzine

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Perhaps you’ve noticed, “Hmm, there hasn’t been too much going on on the ol’ Hair of the Dog Blog. I wonder what happened to Dave?”

Well, I’ve been busy with another project, consulting and helping to build the fantastic new California Beerzine, which just launched last week.California Beerzine First Issue

This site is a great resource for anyone who lives in California, and even for those out-of-staters who are planning a trip to the west coast. There is a California Beer Events page for keeping up with beer tastings and festivals across the state, a California Beer Blog Aggregator for quick digestion of all your favorite Golden State beer blogs, and even a job engine for finding beer-related jobs in California.

But probably the most exciting feature of California Beerzine are the California Beer Forums, a venue for California beer enthusiasts to connect and share local beer info.

Behind the project is an old friend of mine from my Santa Barbara days, Ed Westin. Ed is a great guy with a love of all things hoppy, and I wish him the best with his awesome new site.

In launching the beerzine, Ed is bringing together great beer bloggers from across the state, and giving them a platform to promote their writing and to elevate public awareness of all the fantastic beers that are being made in California. In the first issue, I’d say so far he’s done a pretty successful job.

So far, there are some great articles up, my favorite being Blessed Are the Beer Dorks by Jay Hinman of Hedonist Beer Jive. Jess, the Thirsty Hopster, contributed a great piece about converting your friends into craft brew drinkers, and Steve Sage of Summer of Beers wrote up a piece on his recent trip to the Russian River brewpub.

Head on over and check out the brand new California Beerzine, and tell them Dave sent you. Bookmark them, subscribe, and check back frequently!

Firkin Friday x2 at the Daily Pint

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Google Firkin

I have great news.

Phil brought back 2 beer engines from the UK, and tomorrow at 6pm, the Daily Pint is having another Firkin Friday.

The first experiment with cask ale was a huge success.  Firestone brought in a loaner beer engine and some Unfiltered Double Barrel Ale, and the keg was drained in 15 minutes.

Tomorrow they are bringing back more of the Unfiltered DBA, plus a cask of Stone Vanilla Bean Porter, which made it’s first LA appearance at Verdugo Bar a few weeks ago during their Stone tasting.  (For the record, as much as I love it, I don’t count Naja’s Place as “LA”)

Is cask ale going to be a permanent fixture at the Daily Pint?  With two new beer engines on hand, my guess is yes.

Angelenos have finally gotten a taste for fresh, delicious beer.  At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if Firkin Friday started becoming a weekly institution.

Tomorrow, June 6th, 2008 at 6pm SHARP

Daily Pint
2310 Pico Blvd.
Santa Monica

Daily Pint Official Site