With the debut of L.A. Beer Week next month, I started to ponder how the beer culture and atmosphere is different (not better or worse, just different, no hate mail please) from city to city. And this leads me to wonder what the defining characteristics of the Los Angeles beer scene are right now and where it will be in 5 or 10 years. Are we going to be just a “scene,” trendy for the time being before falling back or is the next great American brewery in our midst?
What are the hallmarks of a great beer city? Does one truly great brewery make a city like Santa Rosa a great beer town or do you need to have more? How do you compare San Francisco to Seattle? My criteria for inclusion into my gold star beer city status are as follows:
1. A decent amount of breweries to promote competition and collaboration.
2. Signature breweries that define the city
3. A choice of beer bars and restaurants all across town
4. Beer festivals throughout the year
One way to gauge where Los Angeles is right now on the beer scale is to measure up against the titans of the West Coast, Portland and San Diego. Let’s go to the tale of the tape!
How many breweries?
Portland has 30 breweries within city limits and even more ringing the city. So it wins on sheer numbers. But what also impresses are the amount of new start-ups in an already crowded market. Just this year alone saw the introduction of Upright Brewing and Captured By Porches. Obviously there is a not only a growing market for craft beer but talent and chutzpah to spare. San Diego has an impressive roster if you extend their reach to Northern San Diego County but it still falls short of Portland. And much like Portland, San Diego also seems to be growing beyond what you would think possible. Lightning Brewing in Poway and Blind Lady Ales are recent entrants to their brew market. How does Los Angeles, with a much larger population, stack up? Pretty anemic. We have some great locals but they are from the outskirts: Pasadena, El Monte and Torrance. Los Angeles is way behind and without a push from the local government it will stay that way. It seems like L.A. is content to be without football as well as brewing hot spots.
Signature breweries?
To me a “signature” brewery is a place that has brand name street cred. Breweries that just can’t bottle enough to meet demand. On this count the nod goes to San Diego. With Stone Brewing, Lost Abbey and AleSmith, they have premier, nationally recognized players that make the beer geeks salivate. I witnessed it firsthand at The Daily Pint in Santa Monica on Vertical Epic night. A large crowd gathered to be among the very first to have this year’s version of the perennial classic. Lost Abbey sells bottles for over $25 and gets people to wait in line (in the summer heat) to buy them. Portland has a cult following for Hair of the Dog beers (and rightfully so) but places like Deschutes from Bend and Rogue from Newport have higher name recognition. (and both have locations in Portland now). What does L.A. offer? Pasadena’s Craftsman Brewing is the closest to a “name” brewery that L.A. can offer but it is like laying claim to the Rose Bowl because UCLA plays their football games there.
Beer bars?
Portland wins on this test. Belmont Station, The Green Dragon, Saraveza, Eastburn and the infamous Horse Brass. And that is just the on the east side of the Willamette. San Diego has some good competition with Hamilton’s Tavern, Toronado, The Linkery. But Portland is just too strong in numbers for San Diego, especially if you factor in restaurants that serve beer. Even the smallest restaurant in the thriving Portland scene has a specialty tap or two. I went to Bar Avignon in Portland for lunch on a bright June day and they had five taps, all different brewers, all strong choices. Beer bars are where Los Angeles really shines. There are great places to drink everywhere in the L.A. area from Valley to the beach. From The Golden State on Fairfax to Naja’s in Redondo Beach to BoHo in Hollywood. There are dedicated owners and operators that really care about selling excellent beer. There has been an explosion of choices that I would not have dared imagine possible just two years ago.
Beer festivals?
I had an awesome time at the 13th Anniversary of Stone, Pizza Port puts on excellent tastings, the Belgian festival in particular and on September 18th, San Diego puts on its 15th Festival of Beer. This is an excellent line-up that I think is better than most of the country. Unfortunately, the New York Yankees of beer festivals is in Portland. Oregon Brewers Festival is just a behemoth. And it is only a portion of the events that makes up Oregon Beer Month. Everywhere else it is a week but in Oregon, that is not enough. There is almost too much of a good thing in Portland during OBF. What really shines about both cities is that they have stellar events all year. It seems like every weekend has a brewer’s dinner or a charity event. Los Angeles can boast of the Brew Ha Ha in Griffith Park and the Los Angeles Beer Festival in Culver City and with LA Cabal added to the mix along with L.A Beer Week, we can be proud of the options available. Again, the growth in this area has been tremendous.
Overall?
San Diego has clearly grown and grown fast in recent years and they are gaining ground on Portland. But Portland is not called Beervana for nothing. I haven’t even talked about the McMenamin’s chain, which refurbishes old properties and makes them into destinations for their quirky beers or the organic beers of Hopworks Urban Brewery. And based on population and craft beer consumption, the brew consumer in Portland can be called either the luckiest or the most discriminating in the country. Both monikers fit.
So which way, L.A.? Well, until we get breweries in the same number of beer bars, we won’t be able to compete on the scale of Portland, San Diego, San Francisco or Seattle but we will be able to taste the fruits of the labor from our friends to the south and north. And remember, Los Angeles was a lot smaller beer town wise than it is now. Who knows? Maybe in five years, we will be gathered in the taproom of an award-winning brewery in Los Angeles watching our new NFL team.
Previous “Brew & You” posts:
Legends of the Fall - Beers to drink after Labor Day (September 9, 2009)
Welcome to the Reading Room (September 1, 2009)
13 is Now a Lucky Number (August 27, 2009)
California’s Hop Highway (August 20, 2009)
Emerging Female Voices in the Craft Beer World (August 13, 2009)
Beer Distributor Kevin Kansy of Artisan Ales (August 6, 2009)
L.A. Beer Float Showdown (Take 2) (July 27, 2009)
The Research and Development Arm of the Beer World (July 23, 2009)
Canned Craft Beer (July 16, 2009)
Rules for Maximum Beer Festival Enjoyment (July 6, 2009)
North American Organic Brewers Festival Review (June 30, 2009)
Related Posts
- L.A. Beer Blast #34: L.A. Beer Culture vs. Portland and San Diego, Q&A with BrewDog’s James Watt, Beachwood BBQ, Blue Dog Beer Tavern, Blue Palms Brewhouse, Boneyard Bistro, The Daily Pint, Fifth Amendment Alehouse, The Golden State, Lucky Baldwin’s Delirium Café, Simmzy’s, 38 Degrees
- Beer Distributor Kevin Kansy of Artisan Ales
- Afternoon in the Garden of Craft Beer
- Killer Beer Apps
- How to use the Beer Blast (effectively)
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Check out Santa Monica’s newest beer bar contribution to LA–5th Amendment Ale House, 129 Broadway. Great place, great happy hours.