L.A. Beer Week is mere days away. I hope all of you are as excited as I am. Craft beer events will start washing across the Southland starting on Monday at Naja’s Place, ending two weeks later at Union Station.

Here is my list of the can’t miss events for the first week along with a plan B choice:

Monday, October 10

>Naja’s Kick-Off to L.A. Beer Week (Alternate – Lucky Baldwin’s)

This now traditional start of L.A. Beer Week has grown so big that it’s now split into two sessions. And it draws the stars of Stone Brewing all the way from Escondido. If you can’t make it down to Redondo Beach on a Monday then try out any of the three Lucky Baldwin’s for your Stone fix and to sample some Craftsman ales too.

Tuesday, October 11

Musical Beer Crawl (Alternate – Far Bar)

Print out a passport and then sample the musical and brewing delights in this beery stretch of Echo Park. Or if you want to check out another vibrant LA scene, head to Far Bar to sample The Bruery/Dogfish Head collaboration brew.

Wednesday, October 12

Firestone Deconstructed (Alternate – Tony’s Darts Away)

Look up Home Brew Chef in a search engine. Sean Paxton is the go-to guy for food and beer dinners and this looks to be epic. Revolving around the newest anniversary beer from Firestone-Walker. But if you are more in the mood for coffee beer, then Tony’s has teamed with Cismontane to bring you a flight of brews to keep you up.

Thursday, October 13

Chocolate and Deschutes (Alternate – Factory Gastrobar)

Today, travel far afield to Whittier to pair chocolate with the fine Oregon beers of Deschutes at The Bottle Room. Beer Chicks and Tony Alcazar make a potent team. Or you can travel south to the Factory and their Night of 1000 IBU’s for all the hop bombs you can handle.

I will continue my recommendations next week!

For the craft Beer of the Week, I recommend Unity 2011, the official beer of L.A. Beer Week. Last year, Unity was a steam beer after the iconic California style. This year it will be an autumnal saison with a kick of local tamarind. The recipe was put together by the Beer Week team and refined by Jay Baum, Mark Jilg of Craftsman and Jeremy Raub of Eagle Rock. You will find it on many taps around town, at the finale at Union Station and a limited amount in bottles too!

Your Homework this week is to donate a little money to PBS for airing the story of Prohibition as told by master documentarian Ken Burns. The third and final part aired Tuesday and all may still be available to watch or buy on DVD on the PBS website.

But first give a little toward funding quality programming about our checkered, alcohol-related past. Then thank your lucky stars that we have a thriving beer culture here in Los Angeles.

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