Whole Foods is Looking to Hire Beer Specialists

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

Verdugo Bar Officially Open

Verdugo Bar Beer To Go

Time to add another amazing beer bar to your drinking repertoir.

After many months of building code snafus and limited business hours, Verdugo Bar is officially opening tonight.

God bless ‘em for their sense of humor, they’ve got Delirium Tremens and St. Bernardus Abt 12 on tap right next to Miller High Life. Click on the picture above to get an idea of their bottle selection (available to take home!), but keep in mind their selection has probably changed since this picture was taken a couple months ago.

Ryan, the resident beer geek, loves to rotate special beers through as they become available. I spoke with him yesterday and he mentioned they were working on getting a keg of Harviestoun Ola Dubh Special Reserve 30, which is aged in oak barrels previously used for maturing 30-year-old single malt Scotch.

I’ll believe that when I see it!

Verdugo Bar
3408 Verdugo Rd
Glassell Park, CA 90065
323-257-3408

Open Tuesday thru Sunday, 8pm til 2am.

New York Times: Long on Beer, Short on Pretense
Urban Daddy LA: Brew the Right Thing

It Was All Stouts at Stuffed Sandwich

Stuffed Sandwich Exterior Sign

Dropped in at Stuffed Sandwich a couple weeks ago for lunch, and they had nothing but stouts on tap. Old Rasputin, Stone Russian Imperial, Bison Chocolate, Moylan’s Dry, Barney Flats, and Speedway (yum yum) were still flowing while I was there, but once they dry up, they’re gone (*update: they are on to Barleywines. See more below).

AleSmith Speedway Stout

The funny thing about Stuffed Sandwich, if you’ve never been there before, is that they only serve beer in paper cups. Sam doesn’t like foam on his beer, so you always get a full pour right up to the rim. But before you pick up your beer to take it to your table, Sam and Marlene always make you bend over and take a sip off the top, so when you pick up the paper cup, you don’t squeeze any beer over the side.

The first time I went, I thought it was a little silly, but this being my second visit, I guess there’s a little charm to it.

I went with a small cup of the Speedway and their French Dip sandwich and OH YES, it hit the spot. Last time I was in I had the pastrami and that was pretty money too.

Another great thing about Stuffed Sandwich is their To Go License.

Sam Samaniego behind the taps at Stuffed Sandwich

Sam has an amazing bottle selection, with tons of beers hiding in his cellar in back. If you know what you are looking for, and you get on his good side, you might just walk away with some real treasures. Continue reading

Vendome Toluca Lake

Vendome Toluca Lake

I have very few reasons to ever go to the valley, but today I add one very good reason to the list, Vendome Toluca Lake.

This Vendome stands apart from it’s sister stores in Beverly Hills and Studio City because the staff here actually cares about beer. They are knowledgeable on their selection, frequently holding weekend beer tastings, introducing customers to new choices.

6 packs are refrigerated in their long aisle of beer. Across from the fridges is a mind-bottling selection of Belgians, Brits, Germans, you name it. Much of the stuff you wont find anywhere else in LA.

Val-Dieu Beers

If you’re still looking for your Christmas beer fix, Vendome Toluca Lake has an impeccable selection. Pictured below: Blaugies La Moneuse Special Winter, Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza (reviewed at Summer of Beer), Nogne-O Winter Ale, Hook Norton Twelve Days, Goulden Carolus Noel, Blue Frog Big DIPA (hmm, not so Christmassy), and Serafijn Christmas Angel.
Vendome Toluca Lake

They are also one of the first places in LA to carry Mikkeller, the Danish microbrew sensation from brewers Mikkel Borg Bjergsø and Kristian Klarup Keller, who were named the 5th best brewers in the world by ratebeer.com

Mikkeller at Toluca Lake Vendome

Right now they have Mikkeller’s Christmas Porter, To/From, and Santa’s Little Helper 2007, an 11% Belgian style winter warmer.

Make the trip over to Vendome Toluca Lake, and you might still be able to pick up a couple bottles of De Ranke’s very limited Pere Noel in the green paper wrapper.

Vendome Toluca Lake
10600 Riverside Dr North Hollywood, CA
(818) 766-9593

Beverage Warehouse: The Place To Go To Buy Celebration and Anchor Xmas

Its hard to believe. When I was at Wine House the other day I found a great selection of Christmas beers, but they seemed to be all out of Sierra Nevada Celebration. Not a problem for Beverage Warehouse, they are rolling in the stuff.

Anchor Christmas and Sierra Nevada Celebration 2007

Needless to say, Beverage Warehouse is a great place to go when you are buying by the case.

Great selection of domestic six packs. They take pride in the beer they choose to carry, and most of the time, it shows. But sometimes, it doesn’t show. If you are browsing in their 2nd aisle, a lot of the time you have to reach into the case and pull out a bottle to see the label.

French Noel

My only problem with Beverage Warehouse is they waste a ton of floor space with boring macros. But other than that, you can count on these guys to have a few hidden treasures. Continue reading

Christmas Beers at Wine House: Get Them While You Can

Wine House

If you are looking for your Christmas beer fix, get over to Wine House as soon as possible, their Belgians are selling like hot cakes.

Pictured below: Affligem Noel, Val-Dieu Winter, De La Senne Equinox, Slapmutske Kerstmutske, Kerkom Winterkoninkske, Scaldis Noel, La Choulette De Noel.Christmas Beers

I picked up some Equinox and La Choulette, but I’ve heard the Kerstmutske is really fantastic this year.

Speaking of really fantastic this year, Wine House received a very limited shipment of Scandinavian beers from Danish micro superstar Mikkeller. Their Santa’s Little Helper sold out in two days, and only a few bottles of Mikkeller To/From were left on the shelf. They’ve still got a good amount of Nogne-O’s Winter Ale if you’re looking for some nutty, chocolatey Norwegian beer. Good luck getting ahold of Jolly Pumpkin’s Noel de Calabaza, there might be a bottle or two left.

Mikkeller

They’ve got a good collection of the Ridgeway Christmas beers, Bad Elf, Santa’s Butt, and Warm Welcome. Brittany, the House beer expert, told me she is especially fond of Hook Norton’s Twelve Days.

English Christmas Ales

Rounding out their selection are some great domestics like Deschutes Jubilale and of course the Anchor Christmas Magnums priced at $14.99.

I promise you will go home happy.

Wine House – 2311 Cotner Ave, WLA, 90064 – 310.479.3731

More pictures after the jump… Continue reading