Category Archives: Beer Stores

Once We Got to Echo Park It Was All Downhill

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Beer Ride ‘007

Welp, the first annual Great LA Beer Run came and went and I think everyone involved agrees it was a great success.

We started off at the Highland Park Gold Line stop. After a bit of meet and greet, name tags, and sunscreen, the first place we hit was the Rock ‘n’ Roll 7-Eleven on Figueroa and Avenue 52.

Rock ‘n’ Roll 7-ElevenI had driven right by it when I was getting off the freeway and was impressed with their banner advertising Rogue, Chimay, Duvel, Delirium and so forth. But when we got there, what really blew me away was their selection of glassware sitting behind the counter. Too bad I wasn’t in the market for any Chimay goblets or Affligem tulips.

My first purchase of the day was a bottle of this year’s Stone Vertical Epic. I had picked up a couple bottles back in June on a trip to the Wine Expo in Santa Monica, but they are still sitting in my closet and I’ve really been wanting a taste.

In today’s McWorld, it warms my heart to see this kind of selection from such an oppressive convenience store franchise. Unfortunately, Charles the manager wasn’t there to greet us, but someone definitely spent some time preparing for our arrival.

We hopped back on the bikes and cycled over to Galco’s, a mom and pop-type soda pop shop on York and Ave 57. This place was really amazing. Aisle after aisle of bottles. Tons of soda that you’ve never heard of and one of the best beer selections I’ve seen in all of LA.

Nothing is refrigerated, but this worked out well because the beers were going straight into my backpack anyways. I adopted a single St. Bernardus Abt 12 from a litter of 4, and a bottle of North Coast Old Stock 2006. And just for good measure I grabbed a miniature glass bottle of Dublin Dr. Pepper, which John, the proprietor, commented on while ringing me up.

John at Galco’s

It suffices to say that all the liquor stores on our route were incredible. Red Carpet in Glendale, the beloved Cap’n Cork in Silverlake, special guest store Vendome on Olympic, and the illustrious Wine House in Culver City.

Here’s a picture of my haul, taken outside of the Cap’n Cork:

My haul

The ride from Wine House back to Echo Park went by much quicker than I expected. I guess having all these beers waiting for us when we got home was a good motivator.

Hacker-Pschorr is a great bananay hefe, one of my favorites. Butte Creek Christmas Cranberry Ale was not Christmassy enough for me, and frankly a little watery, but I really enjoy Butte Creek’s Organic IPA and Porter. Stone Vertical Epic ’07 is fantastic, will I actually be able to save the one in my closet for 5 years? Don’t know about that. Old Stock 2006 is heavy, sweet, and great for savoring. I actually didn’t get to try the Abt 12. Loterbol Bruin hit the spot, subtle and highly sessionable. He’brew Origin Pomegranate Ale is an imperial amber. Interesting style, but a little too boozy for the pomegranate to shine through. Tasty beer though, I will definitely try some of their others.

The great thing about our tasting afterwards was all the sharing.

Highlights of the evening included the Allagash Curieux, a tripel that’s aged in old Jim Beam barrels, Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter, a coffee-caramelly dark beer brewed in honor of Hunter S. Thompson, and Duchesse de Bourgogne, a deliciously sweet and sour Flemish Red Ale that I could drink all day every day.

Ninety nine bottles of beer on the wall

Special thanks to Hot Knives for hosting and providing some incredible nuts, which you can now enjoy in the comfort of your own home.

Viva La Grand Crew ’007!

La Grand Crew ‘007

The Great LA Beer Run: Le Grand Crew Tour ’007

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When was the last time you rode your bike to go beer shopping? Probably been a while. Admit it, you never walk anywhere in LA. Well this Saturday, August 11th, you have the opportunity to get off your duff and visit not one, not two, but five of the best beer stores in LA, just as long as your little legs are up for it. Yes, it’s the first annual Great LA Beer Run, brought to you by Hot Knives.

I am ridiculously excited for this event since it incorporates two of my all-time favorites, bikes and beer.

See below for details.  Be there or be square.

Le Grand Crew ‘007

For no good reason at all Hot Knives is hosting our first (annual?) bicycle tour of L.A.’s best beer stores on Saturday, August 11. We know we’ve been eluding to this thing for months, since we first started reviewing our favorite brew purveyors for this site. But now the date is set and the details are fermenting. La Grand Crew ‘007 is here!

So, bike buddies, we invite you to tear yourselves away from watching Tour de France reruns at the Yard House and come join us and our closest alcoholics on an overly ambitious beer adventure! Hitting all five stores FEATURED HERE, we plan on traversing L.A. side streets to collect a wide array of bombers and six packs with the express purpose of throwing a tasting/swigging/gulping/retching party at the finish line. We’ll be starting at the Gold Line Metro Highland Park station and end at Echo park lake for a hot nuts & cold beer party. Maybe that’s reason enough to be doing this. In between we ask only that everyone 1) make new friends 2) buy a beer at each stop 3) drink lots of water.

Every store has generously offered to give us discounts and to not comment on our god awful August-heat stank. This event is, obviously, free. You just need some spending money for beer and a bag, sack, fanny pack or pannier. All the details are on the above flyer thanks to Meanstreetz Industries, our co-conspirator ) or contact us with other questions. If you’re down please RSVP ASAP to hotknivez@gmail.com, tell a friend and feel free to let us know if you’re a bike expert or a beer expert with any special skills you can lend to the team! We will post an estimated schedule and map next week in case anyone wants to join the ride partway, which is only very mildly frowned upon. La Grand Crew!!! Whose in?

Mr. Dave Goes to BevMo!

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I’ve always been a bit wary of stepping foot inside of BevMo! First of all, they seem like an evil franchise, like the Wal Mart of booze or something. On top of that, I’ve become wary of exclamation points after my negative experience with Eureka! Amber. But somehow the stars aligned that day, and I gave it a go.

I had just come back from the Bicycle Casino, where my friend Sean Bill* and I destroyed the competition at our single-table sit-n-go tourney. This is important to the story, so that you know I had a wad of cash burning a hole in my pocket. Because I don’t want you to think I go and drop $45 dollars on beer on a regular basis. Usually it’s never more than $10. But when you’re at a place like this that’s at least a 30-minute drive from home, sometimes you need to stock up on beers you don’t see that often.

For the first ten minutes, I didn’t touch a thing. Just did a cursory examination to inspect their selection and variety. If I had been better prepared I would’ve had the digital camera with me to document their inventory. They’ve got two big racks of unrefrigerated beer, and one long row of freezers, making two and a half aisles of beer. They do a great job organizing by country of origin, which is kind of neat. Like a United Nations of beer, all sitting around with a little placards in front of them that say what country they’re from.

I picked up a couple bottles of Bear Republic that I don’t see too often, the Big Black Stout and their Red Rocket Ale, both selling for $2.99. I had never seen Lost Coast’s 8-Ball Stout ($3.49) before, and seeing as how I’m a big fan of their Great White, I thought I’d give it a go.

Then I thought I would go for some more expensive beers, figuring I would get a better deal. Avery’s The Reverend and Anderson Valley’s Brother David Triple both set me back $4.99, and so did a 750mL bottle of Jacobsen Saaz Blonde. The bottle is very distinctive, I had seen it before at The Farms where it was selling for $8, so I had to get it.

Also in my basket were a couple of organic beers, Santa Cruz Mountain’s Organic Dread Brown Ale, and Mateveza, a California-made pale ale infused with yerba mate. The label caught my attention, it had a gourd and bombilla sitting on top of a map of South America. Who would put yerba mate in beer? I’m betting dollars to donuts that the guy behind this is Argentinian. Seemed strange enough that I couldn’t not give it a try. Both of these beers were just under $4.

Lastly, I picked up some Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen for $4.39. I must admit, I bought it solely based on it’s badass label, but when I looked it up on Beer Advocate, I realized what a great beer I had picked. Reviews will come eventually.

Overall, there are way too many beers to list. They really shine with their selection of craft beers. Most of the 22oz. bottles are unrefrigerated, while most of what’s kept cold is in six packs. You can NOT break up six packs, which is always a real disappointment. But if you’re looking to try something new, BevMo! is a great resource. Too bad its in a huge shopping center with a Target and a Best Buy. If you’re lucky, you can snag a meter across the street or around the corner on La Brea.

Also, if you’re in the area, it’s worth stopping by the Formosa Cafe or Jones if you’ve never been there before. They’re not good places for beer, but fun bars nevertheless.

BevMo!

BevMo! Beverages & More
7100 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90046
(323) 882-6971

* Name has been changed to protect the innocent. He ditched work that day to play cards. What a swell guy.

Pagliari’s Liquor, On the Corner Across From Library

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Seeing as how its right across the street from Library Alehouse, I guess its no surprise that Pagliari’s has a great selection of beer.

Right now they have 5 different six packs of New Belgium; Mothership Wit, 1554, Skinny Dip, Springboard, and of course, Fat Tire. Three types of Sierra Nevada, which is two more than you usually see, Pale Ale, IPA, and Summerfest. Widmer, Pyramid, Franziskaner, and Spaten Lager all share a shelf, and there are six packs AND bottles of Rogue Dead Guy, Stone IPA, and Stone Ruination IPA. They round out their six pack selection with some Northern California brews: Anchor Steam, Humboldt Hemp Ale, and (believe it or not) Mad River Steelhead Double IPA and Extra Pale Ale.

But don’t even think about breaking up those sixers cause they won’t sell individual bottles. Fortunately they’ve got a good selection of 22 ouncers and larger bottles. Delirium Tremens and Nocturnum, Chimay Premiere (red), Boont Amber and Paleeko Gold, Sam Smith Lager, Oatmeal Stout and Nut Brown, Lost Coast Downtown Brown, Bear Republic Racer 5 and Hop Rod Rye.

Prices are reasonable, figure about 8 to 10 dollars for a six pack and 3 to 5 dollars for a bomber. It’s really a shame you can’t break six packs, though. It’s like AM/PM, “too much good stuff.”

PAGLIARI’S LIQUOR
2916 Main St.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
310-399-8757

Ralph’s on Lincoln, Across from Bay Cities

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Its overwhelming how much beer they have here. I guess its not that surprising considering the overall size of the store. I would hate getting groceries here, its just too big. Helpful hint: the beer is in the front, to the right.

Great for picking up a six pack of something new for yourself, or a 30 pack of Bud to take to a party. They’ve got your Pyramids, your Pete’s Wicked Ales, a couple Redhooks (IPA and ESB), some Widmer, some Gordon Biersch.

Glad to see they’ve got Firestone Double Barrel and Pale Ale. It’s also nice to see beers like Anchor Steam and Shiner Bock hitting the mainstream here in LA.

ALSO, in addition to the cans, they have Modelo in the bottle. I am a huge fan of Negra Modelo, and obviously la Negra es mucha mejor, but still, I don’t know where else you can find Modelo Especial in bottles. (UPDATE: Nevermind, I’m seeing it all over town now)

More interesting 6 packs: Lost Coast’s Downtown Brown and Great White, Deschutes’s Mirror Pond and Black Butte, Oregon Honey, Karl Strauss, Flying Dog’s Old Scratch and Road Dog, Mendocino Red Nectar, North Coast’s Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, Spatin Pils and Oktoberfest, and Warsteiner.

Not a bad place for 12 packs, either. Blue Moon, at least 4 types of Sam Adams; Boston Lager, Light, Black Lager & Winter, plus all the other stuff you’d expect – Newcastle, Guinness, Heineken, Sierra Nevada. They’ve even got a little love for Canadians, with twelvers of Molson and Moosehead (Moosehead? When was the last time I saw this stuff?)

Single Bottles: A little disappointing, but to their credit, they have Franziskaner, Chimay Premiere (red) and Grand Reserve (blue), and Fischer Amber.

While they don’t score huge on obscurity points, they’ve got several beers you’ve probably never heard of, dozens that you’ve probably never tried, and a ton of your favorite go-to beers. Definitely check this place out.

Ralph’s on Lincoln, Across from Bay Cities