the BEAT of the week: LA Craft Beer Crawl.

We wrote about the LA Craft Beer Crawl when it first got started in 2010, and now in its third year, it's still going strong. You can still expect those great craft beer picks by The Beer Chicks (Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune) and from breweries near and far, like Green Flash, Duvel, Smog City, Bootlegger's, Eagle Rock, and more. This year, they've even added intimate seminars taught by leaders in the beer community, where you can taste exclusive beers (and whiskeys!) and learn all you can about them.


The event doesn't happen until Aug. 18, but you're advised to get your tickets ($54 for general admission, $74 for VIP) soon -- the event will sell out beforehand. Four hours of crawling, with unlimited pours -- what better way to spend your Saturday?


The LA Craft Beer Crawl will take place on Aug. 18 and will span over seven bars in downtown Los Angeles, beginning at 613 S Grand Ave.

-- Chau Tu

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

the BEAT of the week: 5 Second Films at Mohawk Bend.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and therefore it doesn't take a lot to tell a story. Such is a premise of 5 Second Films, which offers visual vignettes that are strictly 5 seconds long (plus 2 seconds for the title, and 1 second for the credit) and highlight the more comic moments in life.

So prepare for some quick hits of laughs when 5 Second Films take over Echo Park's beer-and-veggie-food-eats haven Mohawk Bend. The film group has curated one-hour segments of 5-second films (so that would be about 11 each minute...so more than 600 films?!) for the next three Tuesdays at the restaurant, and appropriately, a "5-second Filmmaker" drink will be on hand -- Cismontane’s Blacks Dawn coffee stout and Fog’s End Monterey Rye. Just try not to finish each drink with each film.

5 Second Films at Mohawk Bend takes place from 6pm to 9pm on April 10, 17 and 24 at Mohawk Bend, located at 2141 W. Sunset Blvd. in Echo Park.

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: Mohawk Bend

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the BEAT of young los angeles! Some ideas for celebrating ...

Try Real Simple's recipe for Ale-Braised Corned Beef, Brussels Sprouts, and Carrots (above).

Or Bon Appetit's Grilled Corned Beef and Fontina Sandwiches ... and for dessert Chocolate Stout Cake.

Guinness Cocktails

Wear: Pleated tank dress by Parker in green, from Intermix

Soundtrack: U2: The Best of 1980 - 1990

-- the BEAT

Photo credit: Real Simple

the BEAT of the week: Los Angeles Beerathon.

One wouldn't normally put beer and exercise in the same thought or sentence, but we here at the BEAT like to break some rules every once in a while -- in the name of fun, of course.

And thusly, we introduce you to the first annual Los Angeles Beerathon: 26 beers at 26 bars, taking you all over downtown (including places like Wurstkuche and the Downtown Independent), with all kinds of brews (like Hangar 24 and Magic Hat). Couldn't be more simpler than that, and probably couldn't be more fun either.

All you've got to do is sign up. One $55 ticket will get you access to all 26 different venues and beers no matter if you finish the actual marathon or not -- the event creators admit it is actually quite a challenge -- so you'll be set to have an adventure either way. You'll have to be 21+ to participate, but otherwise, pretty much anything goes!

Drink safely out there!

The LA Beerathon takes place at March 31. Check out the website for more info on starting points and for tickets.

-- Chau Tu

(Correction: an earlier post said the event would be 26 miles long -- this is not true. Just 26 beers at 26 bars in downtown Los Angeles.)

Click It. BEAT picks of the week.

Happy Holiday weekend!

How amazing would it be to see Woody Allen and his jazz band perform? He'll be at UCLA's Royce Hall January 29.

A good Bûche du Noël makes Christmas that much better.

Perfect classic ballet flats.

A new Atwater/Glendale spot for microbrews.

A deliciously decadent French Toast Casserole I like to make on Christmas morning (it would be a nice start to the new year on Jan. 1 too!).

I love this Breakfast at Tiffany's sleep mask I got as a birthday gift this year - a must for long flights!

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: nederlanderconcerts.com

Do It. L.A. Beer Float Showdown at LA Beer Week.

Well as a great follow-up to Leslie's latest post -- it's LA Beer Week (but isn't it always?). Actually, that's a misnomer, considering the event is set to last two weeks, and takes place in Los Angeles and Orange County. But either way, it's set to be a celebration.

As expected, there'll be a slew of fun festivities revolving around drinking the brew, but one particular highlight will surely be the L.A. Beer Float Showdown. Is there anything more fun than a beer float? Then take into account that you'll be pairing up the best in brewmasters -- from the Tustin Brewery, Firestone Walker, Beechwood BBQ, Eagle Rock Brewery and more -- with some fun chefs, like Thi Tran and Nguyen Tran of Starry Kitchen, Top Chef alums Ilan Hall and CJ Jacobsen, and Laurent Quenioux, and you've definitely got a showdown. What kind of crazy concoctions will they come up with? Gotta show up to find out.

The L.A. Beer Float Showdown takes place this Saturday, Oct. 15 from 1pm-4pm at Eagle Rock Brewery, located at 3056 Roswell St. in Eagle Rock. Tickets at $35. And click here for more info on the rest of LA Beer Week.

-- Chau Tu

Drink It. Fall beers.

Cheers to fall beers!

While Oktoberfest festivities are coming to an end, liquor stores and supermarkets are well-stocked with Oktoberfest and Pumpkin brews. Sam Adams, a master of seasonal varieties, makes a truly delicious Harvest Pumpkin Ale. Other BEAT favorites include Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale, Blue Moon Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale, and Shipyard Brewing Co.'s Pumpkinhead Ale.

More pumpkin.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: Samuel Adams

the monthly BEAT: Miracle Mile/Mid-City/Fairfax. Oktoberfest at Wirsthaus.

Fall is, in fact, here now, and October is just around the corner. So time to celebrate!

One of L.A.'s newest German restaurants (among a slew of others), Wirsthaus, just kicked off its Oktoberfest festivities. Expect live music, fun costumes (lederhosen!) and, of course, great food and drink specials. The fun ends on Oct. 8th, so take advantage while you can.

Wirsthaus is located at 345 N La Brea Ave. in Mid-City. Check their Facebook for more Oktoberfest info.

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: Wirsthaus

Eat Out. Wurstküche Venice.

The westside outpost of favorite Los Angeles sausage restaurant Wurstküche is now open! Green chilies and cilantro (chicken & turkey), and mango jalapeño (chicken & turkey) are my favorites, and there are some great vegetarian sausages too, including smoked apple sage. The exotic options include duck, rabbit, rattlesnake, and alligator!

Don't miss the fries--with the white truffle oil glaze! And a Chimay White on tap.

625 Lincoln Boulevard in Venice, Calif. Kitchen open 11:00 a.m. till midnight, bar open till 1:30 a.m. (213) 687-4444

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: la.eater.com

Check It. Seventy 7 Lounge.

Thanks to Thrillist, I know about this awesome-sounding bar that opens tonight.

Seventy 7 Lounge is the latest "secret" watering hole in town, in the same vein as the very cool La Descarga rum bar on Western. Look out for the neon "cocktails" sign, and check their Twitter page day-of for the password needed for entry.

Once in, enjoy vintage-style decor and creative cocktails like the Moulin Rouge and Velvet Underground, and/or Hoegaarden on tap.

The password for tonight is "prohibition".

3843 Main Street in Culver City. Info: (310) 559-7077, twitter.com/seventy7la

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: Thrillist

Check It. Umami Burger's upcoming expansion.

We love Umami Burger here at the BEAT, so we're thrilled to hear the news that there's major expansion planned, in partnership with SBE Group. First, a flagship location at the Grove will open this fall, and then 35 more locations will open nationwide within the next three years.

My favorite is the truffle burger, cooked medium (vs. the standard medium-rare) and I hear the truffle fries (how decadent!) are pretty fantastic, too.

We told you about the Los Feliz location's great happy hour last year, and it's still a solid bet, especially on a warm summer evening.

Congratulations, Umami! My hometown burger hero.

The five current locations are listed here.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: Ringo H.W. Chiu / for the Los Angeles Times

Happy Fourth!

Happy 4th of July!

Celebration suggestions:

Drink cold beer

Grill something

Watch fireworks (from the beach, if possible)

Thank you, as always, reading.

-- the BEAT

Photo credit: cartoongraphics.blogspsot.com

Do It. ColLAboration Pop-Up Beer Garden [Thirsty Thursdays!].

There's no doubt that L.A. is all about craft beer now. And that's being well-represented by ColLAboration, a quartet of craft beer enthusiasts from some of the city's most popular bars, including the Surly Goat, Blue Palms Brewhouse and the soon-to-be-opened Mohawk Bend. Ryan Sweeney, Brian Lenzo, Clay Harding and Tony Yanow have dedicated their restaurants to having the best craft brews around, and they're putting on a fun event where you can try a few.

The ColLAboration Pop-Up Beer Garden will be open this Saturday from noon to 7pm for all your beer-tasting pleasures. Check out their Facebook page for all the updated info on what beers will be on tap, but expect some old favorites and some new specialities. Each attendee will receive their own membership glass for only $10, and pours will vary from $5-6. A great deal, plus you get a souvenir! And it doesn't get much better than a good brew to enjoy a good weekend.

The ColLAboration Pop-Up Beer Garden will be taking place this Saturday, June 4 from noon to 7pm at 6100 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood. Get your membership glass here.

-- Chau Tu

Check It. Pabst Brewing Company moving to L.A.

Over the weekend, the Los Angeles Times reported that Pabst Brewing Company (since 1844) is moving their headquarters from the Chicago suburb of Woodridge, Ill. to Los Angeles this summer. Welcome to the neighborhood, and cheers!

A few favorite L.A. places to drink PBR:

The Hungry Cat (shown above), where the budget beer is served in a brown bag with ice, alongside fresh fancy cocktails like my favorite, their greyhound proper

Cha Cha Lounge (I love anyplace with a photo booth)

The White Horse Inn (just the kind of place where a PBR is the right order)

Click here for more locations

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: stylespotting.com

Eat Out. Boneyard Bistro.

Last Saturday night we went out for barbecue at Sherman Oaks' Boneyard Bistro. The beer selection was vast, the music was live, and the fried macaroni and cheese (above) was as delicious as it sounds (and looks). And the pulled bbq chicken sandwich was pretty good too!

Other good BBQ joints in L.A. ...

Baby Blues BBQ (Venice and West Hollywood)

Zeke's Smokehouse

Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill (at The Grove and other locations)

My favorite part is always the sides!

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: the BEAT

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

Drink It. Library Alehouse Holiday Beer Fest.

We're all about seasonal beers here at the BEAT, and the Christmas season just happens to provide its own flavors of beers out to join the fun. It's not always so easy trying to find all the varieties, though, especially on a budget.

But that's where the Library Alehouse Holiday Beer Fest comes in. The Santa Monica restaurant is celebrating holiday ales by hosting this 2-week event where you can sample over 20 different seasonal ales on tap. Start the fest off with $10, which will get you your own tasting glass and your first beer. Then enjoy the rest of the two weeks with beers like Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza, Dogfish Head Chicory Stout, Sierra Nevada Celebration, and Anchor Brewing’s Merry Christmas Happy New Year Ale at $2.50-$5 a glass, plus 10% off all food. The beers will be rotating with 10 at a time, so be sure to check back to try them all!

Happy holidays and happy seasonal drinking! Remember to be safe out there.

The Library Alehouse Holiday Beer Fest takes place until Jan. 1 at Library Alehouse, located at 2911 Main St. in Santa Monica.

-- Chau Tu

Eat Out. Upper West.

Football season is well underway, and hey, those Monday Night Football games just happen to be perfect for happy hour, no? But not everyone wants to head to a grimy sports bar every week for the same boring cheap beer.

That's why Upper West is great. It's usually a pretty nice bar and restaurant, with low lighting and dark ambiance, but the place also happens to offer happy hour each night from 5pm-7pm and from 5pm-10pm on Mondays. There's a nice big TV in the corner for watchers, or face toward the east wall and see the game projected onto the wall.

The happy hour prices don't apply to everything, but there are some good finds. Grab any of their blackboard cocktails like a watermelon mojito (with a yummy piece of watermelon in it!) or a lychee martini for $6, or house wine for $4. The jalapeno hummus comes with grapes and pickled vegetables and in a cute mason jar for $7, or the blue cheese or chipotle fries (in the picture above) are a good choice for $6 (my friend gave me a tip to get the chipotle sauce on the side, which makes the fries a bit less gooey).

If you're still hungry for more, the food is pretty delicious for its price (dinner is usually $12-$25). In the photo are the Upper West burger and the Half Bird, and both were juicy and well-prepared. The bar's always got interesting beers on tap too. Classy sports-watching, who knew?

Upper West is located at 3321 Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica. Reservations are recommended to grab a table for Monday nights.

-- Chau Tu
Photo credit: the BEAT

Check It. Hi-Time Wine Cellars.

If you're ever in the Orange County area, Hi-Times Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa is a place that definitely deserves a peak inside.

A wine, beer, cheese, spirits, and cigar specialty store, I've often heard that it easily rivals BevMo! in their craft brew selection, and offers $10 wine tastings on Tuesdays, as well as carry interesting cheeses.

Because they're a smaller store, they get special cases of brews that large-scale vendors can't offer, so they have special edition beers and wines in addition to already having a pretty impressive selection.

Hi-Times Wine Cellars is located at 250 Ogle St. in Costa Mesa.

-- Lauren Williams