the BEAT of the week: The Deschutes Brewery Base Camp Tour.

We've all learned quite a bit about the hip city of Portland from the hilarious IFC show Portlandia -- where the '90s never died, where you should put a bird on it, where you should beware of good-looking co-op leaders that look like Jason Sudeikis -- but one thing that probably isn't touched upon enough is how great their hometown Deschutes Brewery is. Technically based in nearby Bend, Deschutes is beloved all over Oregon for its great assortment of fine brews.

And now it's looking to expand the fan base. Deschutes hit the road earlier this week for a West Coast tour, complete with -- yes -- a giant wooden beer barrel on wheels. Expect a party -- here are some of the grand festivities planned, via Grub Street Los Angeles:

Tues, 4/10, 6:00-9:00 P.M. Hats Off to Homebrewers (Steingarten LA)
Attention homebrewers…come hone your craft with the gang from Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery. The Deschutes crew, including brewer Robin Johnson, are heading to Los Angeles for Base Camp Week and will be giving away clone recipe booklets and bags of whole flower hops to use in your next homebrew. Specialty beer tastings of rarities like Black Butte XXII, The Abyss and The Stoic paired with some tasty appetizers will whet your palate. And that’s not all…five more Deschutes beers will be on tap including Obsidian Stout on Nitro and Chainbreaker White IPA. Robin will also be leading a deconstruction of the never-released Black Butte XXII, providing tastings of some of the specialty ingredients. We’ll even have commemorative glasses to give away while supplies last. Hope to see you here!

Thurs, 4/12, 3:00-5:00 P.M. Deschutes Brewery Two-Bit Tastings (Silverlake Liquor)
Clean out under the couch cushions, break open the piggy bank and dig around on those car floorboards - you’ll be surprised at how you can utilize a mere 25 cents tonight at Silverlake Liquor! Let us surprise you while you visit with Deschutes brewer Robin Johnson, and frolic around the brewery’s giant traveling beer barrel, Woody - all while drinking Deschutes Brewery’s damn tasty year-round line-up of beers.

Thurs, 4/12, 6:00 P.M.-close Beer-lesque: Tastings & Tassels (Skinny’s Lounge) What’s better than an evening full of craft beer from Deschutes Brewery? An evening full of craft beer coupled with intriguing Burlesque dancers and Vaudeville variety acts. Each act will feature a different Deschutes Brewery beer equaling a night of excitement, laughter, and unforgettable fun. The evening is packed with excitement:

Fri, 4/13, 4:00-6:00 P.M. Deschutes Brewery Snacks & Sips (The Village Idiot)
Thank goodness it’s Friday, and it’s time to wind down after a long week with some damn tasty beers and snacks. That’s right, we’re welcoming the gang from Deschutes Brewery as part of their Base Camp for Beer Fanatics. What does that mean for you? You can spend Friday after work chatting about hand-crafted brews with the experts, while sipping on hard-to-find beers like Hop Henge Experimental IPA and Chainbreaker White IPA.

Fri, 4/13, 7:00 P.M.-close Grab Beer by the Horns (The Surly Goat)
Not only will the giant Deschutes Brewery barrel on wheels, Woody, be here, but you should be too! We’ll be pouring a limited amount of some Reserve Series brews like Black Butte XXIII, The Abyss and The Stoic along with the brand-new Chainbreaker White IPA. With live music on our back patio to help you get your groove on, and a Deschutes beer in your hand, you’ll kick off the weekend right and change your mind about the possible pitfalls of Friday the 13th.

And that isn't even all -- check here for the complete lowdown. No excuses to miss out on some great beer while you can!

The Deschutes Brewery Base Camp Tour continues until Saturday at multiple locations all over Los Angeles.

-- Chau Tu

Eat Out. SteingartenLA [Thirsty Thursdays!].

As far as sausage places go, you really can't beat downtown's Wurstkuche, a hands-down favorite of us BEATs. But as the L.A. Times most recently pointed out, Los Angeles is undergoing a sort of sausage craze right now, and other places are, too, warranting a visit.

Daren and I headed over West L.A.'s SteingartenLA a few weeks ago, and were met by a large, thriving crowd at the dinner hour. To our surprise, the waitress told us that the restaurant hadn't even had its grand opening yet -- that's actually happening tomorrow, April 1st. But the large restaurant and bar was definitely bustling, with a mix of just-out-of-college twentysomethings and older middle-aged groups of friends meeting for drinks.

If anything, the beers are definitely worth the crowds and visit. SteingartenLA's got two happy hours: 4pm-7pm and 10:30pm to close, $5 house beer, $10 for your choice of one of 5 tap beers and any sausage. And the beer selection, as is expected for a sausage place, is pretty fantastic, with all sorts of craft beers on tap.

While the menu offers some more exotic choices like Venison Blueberry and Alligator and Pork, probably to rival Wurstkuche's niche, the restaurant does try to stick to German and Belgian traditionalism, so Daren got the Polish and I tried out the Lamb Spicy Sausage (seen above), with a side of sweet potato fries. The fries were great and came with an amazing side of aioli, and Daren liked his Polish a lot. I thought my sausage was pretty dry, though, as was the bun it came on -- it was too small for the thick sausage, and ended up falling apart by the end. Still, I had some great citrus-flavored beer to wash it down with.

Surely, the restaurant will have its stumbles in its first months, so I'm definitely willing to return. There's also an outdoors patio with an interesting fire pit that would be great to sit at with friends. Time will tell how well SteingartenLA will do in the sausage battle, but if they stick to good beer and perfecting that sausage, it'll become a great neighborhood favorite.

SteingartenLA is located at 10542 W. Pico Blvd. in West L.A. The official grand opening is tomorrow.

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: the BEAT