Time certainly does fly. I cannot believe that we have reached Eagle Rock Brewery‘s 2nd anniversary. I can remember the first time that I turned onto Roswell Street over two years ago and entered through the (then, not orange) door into the bare space that today houses the tap room and cooler.

Now they have a Great American Beer Festival medal, two L.A. Beer Week beers and many trivia nights and women’s forums under their belt. This Saturday from Noon to 4 pm at nearby Verdugo Bar (thanks to Ryan and the Verdugo crew for taking on the hosting duties), you can help ring in the second Eagle Rock year.

For $12 you will receive a commemorative glass and four drink tickets and Grill ‘em All and the Mandoline Grill food trucks will be in attendance as well. Following that celebration, the Eagle Rock taproom will be open from 4pm to 10pm.

Eagle Rock Brewery will have the same beers you have bought before with some surprises in store as well, so whether you are a fan of their Solidarity mild, Populist IPA (or an Equinox sour blonde type of person), this is where you will need to be to give thanks for the brewery that has helped to open the floodgates for the beer revolution here in Los Angeles.

The Beer of the Week is Mikkeller Invasion IPA. The famed gypsy brewer from Denmark sent his IPAs (and other ales) to us from Europe but now he has worked out a deal with Drake’s of San Leandro, California to brew some beers here in California. This IPA is big and woodsy. It eschews any light touches and goes for the palate. So if you are looking for a change of pace from Citra or Nelson Sauvin then this might be the beer for you.

Your Homework is to set aside some time to make the drive to the Select Beer Store in Redondo Beach, which just opened. This bottle shop and tap room has been in the works for a while and has 12 taps and 300+ bottles of craft beer to choose from. One of the sure signs of a thriving beer scene is multiple bottle shops. It is the precedent that Portland, Oregon, has set and we’re following.

Find more of Sean Inman’s writing on his blog, Beer Search Party.