LA Beers big weekend

After working in LA for 10 days and trying a beer here and there I decided to take the weekend and cover as many places as I could. A big shout out to Tommy for being my host for the weekend and for getting us around. A note about consumption. I am not super human. Many of the reviews are from a taste or small pour.

I may leave out some details because of the quantity of locations and beers. Excuse my brevity.
The 1st stop was at a new beer bar in Hollywood, Stout. It is on Cahuenga and Selma. A small place with a large semicircular bar in front of a large selection of taps. Cool decor with beer bottle chandelier and copper bar back. Firestone Walker makes some great beers so I started with their Union Jack IPA. It is well made and revered among beer snobs as one of the best IPAs. It has a great citrus aroma from the Hops but it is too sweet in the body for my taste. It has a nice bitter finish.
Telegraph Cal Ale is a steam beer from Santa Barbara. It was too sweet for the style. Maybe the esters from the yeast were overpowering.
Black Phoenix from Bootlegger's Brewery in Fullerton is an interesting beer. A coffee chipotle stout just doesn't sound right but it tastes fantastic. It starts with a nice coffee aroma followed by a delicate chocolate malt and ends with just a hint of chipotle spicy finish. Excellent beer.
Hop 15 from Port Brewing is a super IPA. It is beyond a double so I don't know what to call it. Based on its reputation I expected to love it. It starts with an excellent hop aroma foretelling the giant hop flavor to come. This is rare for me to say but I felt like the hops were too heavy. The hops were so strong that the flavor was almost acidic. I will try it again but I was disappointed.
I finished with a taste of Allegash Curieux. This Belgian tripel is an excellent sipping beer. It starts with clove spicy flavor followed by a sweet malt middle and finishes with a subtle bourbon flavor. Excellent beer.
On Saturday after brunch and planning our route for the day we headed out to the Surly Goat. We were disappointed to find that they don't open until 6pm. The brief glimpse we got of the taps was enticing. I will have to make a return trip. Undeterred we headed to Lucky Devil's on Hollywood. Although it is in a tourist area the place was fairly empty.
Ballast Point Yellowtail is Kolsch German style ale. This beer is considered a pale ale but it is very light on the hops. Despite this I really enjoyed this beer. It has a nice citrusy flavor in the front but finishes crisp and dry. It is very drinkable and would excellent on a hot day.
Craftsman 1903 is a pale lager made in Pasadena. It is an interesting beer. Slightly sweet with a hint of vanilla but still malty and crisp. I don't generally like lagers but this is a good one.
Oskar Blues Old Chub is a Scottish Ale that is deceptively strong. At 8% many Scottish Ales are too sweet but this one is not. It has a complex malt flavor and bit of a spicy finish.
Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA-I know this is a great beer but since I don't see it on tap that often I had to have it. Great hop aroma. great hop bitterness but still smooth.
After Lucky Devil's we made our way over to Melrose for some lunch. Along the way we discovered Melgard Public House. They have a great tap selection and outdoor seating. We were greeted by a European bartender with a special Belgian ale. Kwak is a Belgian specialty ale that is served in its own specially designed glass. It is similar to a Saison with a bit more spice. This is an excellent beer and I highly recommend it.


After lunch and a nap it was off to the highly anticipated Blue Palms. Blue Palms has the reputation for being one of the best beer bars in LA. They often have special releases and even have some classes on tasting. On Wednesdays they have a Randall available to pour any beer through. I will have to make it back on a Wednesday to try it.
I started with the Blue Palms IPA. I didn't expect much from the house beer and that is what I got. Mild hop aroma and lackluster hop flavor.
Porto Mongo is double IPA that has surprisingly little hop aroma. It does have a nice smooth flavor in the beginning but the hops overpower in the end and the finish is too acidic.
Coronado Idiot IPA is another double IPA and is very similar to Porto Mongo
Bear Republic Apex is a great double IPA. It has a enough sweetness to balance the hops. It has a big hop bitterness flavor but still balanced.
Eagle Rock Libertine is an Imperial Witbier
Interesting fruitiness and a little sweet for a wheat beer. Nice esters from the yeast.
Lips of Faith Wild Ale is a smooth malty ale. At over 8% it is a little sweet but still very good.
Oskar Blues Gordon is an Imperial Red with a huge malt flavor. This is a very good beer but I would prefer it a little more hop flavor to balance out the the big malt.

That was all I could do this weekend. Soon I hope to have a review of the newly opened Beer Revolution much closer to home in Oakland.