A lot of the brewery names on this list will be familiar to beer folks but many may have not made the drive to the actual locale where the beer is brewed. You may have sipped the Belgian influenced ales from Ladyface in Echo Park and had Kinetic beers in the South Bay, but not made the trip to Agoura Hills or Lancaster. But it would be worth your while to point the car north of the City of Los Angeles and visit a few taprooms and a couple other fun craft beer spots. After each summary, I will give you a beer choice that you might not see in L.A. proper, but should be part of your taster tray.
1. Kinetic Brewing Company – Steve Kinsey has built up quite a medal haul from the Great American Beer Festival with Potential Blonde and their Session IPA, Torque, bringing acclaim back to their Lancaster brewery. Bonus: you can also get their beers at the Jethawks minor league stadium!
Must Try: Fusion, their Robust Porter
2. Bravery Brewing– Yes, there should be an Umlaut over the A in Bravery. Hopefully the other Lancaster brewery will not mind. I would suggest planning your visit to coincide with their cask night so you can try at least one beer via the old school method of dispense. Fun fact: actor R. Lee Ermey, famous for “Full Metal Jacket,” is Bravery’s co-owner.
Must Try: Old Rat, their English Style Old Ale
3. – Enegren Brewing – You will know when you are in the presence of the brew crew of Enegren. By their matching attire of grey work outfits with reddish belts and their logo. But you should know about their very well engineered brewing system.
Must Try: Valkyrie, their Altbier
4. LAB Brewing – Head Brewer Roger Bott is known as Dr. Hops and the science theme extends to their Helix shaped tap handles. They are literally a stone’s throw from both Wades Wines and Ladyface, making for a ready made pub crawl.
Must Try: Hop Solution, their Double IPA
5. Ladyface Ale Companie – One of the pleasures of life is sitting on the patio at Ladyface with a beer in your hand and a view of the mountains in front of you. Plus they have some really cool beer aged in wine barrels that will occasionally pop up that you really should try.
Must Try: Whatever the cask of the day is. You will know it by the extremely creative name.
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