Site Visit: A Black Cat in the California Sun
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Site Visit: 6th and La Brea Brewpub
Exterior view of 6th and La Brea Brewpub
A Saturday Afternoon Stop at a Hopping Brewery!
First off, sorry, not sorry for the pun above!
This past Saturday afternoon, I stopped into the 6th and La Brea brewpub for a quick beer. With a nice, but not particularly crowded patio, I expected a fairly laid back vibe inside. What I found instead, was a vibrant and bustling brewpub. There was a line to get beer, and the really packed half of the bar made it a bit hard to move around (I found out later, that a private party had reserved half the pub). This large crowd helped set a energetic exciting energy for the space.
The Beer: Pillows (nitro)
Pillows (nitro) at 6th and La Brea Brewpub ($8 on draft)
Going….going………gone!
Pillows is a Pale Ale served on nitro. It pours a golden, straw color and comes out with a billowy head of foam that’s quite delightful. In fact, the beer’s appearance coming out was so fantastic, it inspired a post I’ll be writing another in the next few days. What I loved the most about the appearance is the glass, the way they pour to the top of the hop cone, the billowy head all the way to the top, and how the beer was still ‘building’ the way a Guinness, cask ale, or other nitro beer sometimes does (a bit of a surprise, so I didn’t get these on camera). The glass’ shape complements this experience with the hop cone volume marker (I assume), subtle bulge at the top, and minimalist design.
After my eyes had their fill, I got down to the business of tasting the beer. It had a light body that finishes quite dry. The hops are assertive, but not overly aggressive. You get some good bitterness up front that fades into a spicy linger after you’ve swallowed the beer. There isn’t too much malt profile and the dryness allows the hops to take center stage. They didn’t have a C02 variant on draft, so I didn’t have anything to compare to, so I wonder if there’s a more aromatic hop profile for the carbed version.
As you drink the beer, you get some lacing on the glass, but not that traditional Guinness ‘ring’ that shows everywhere you’ve stopped for a little bit.
Overall, a solid beer. Nice and refreshing on a hot summer day in LA
The Brewpub
The brewpub seems to be going for an old fashioned feel. It has metal beer signs, photos of old cars, and other rustic feeling decorations. The furniture pieces are a mix of Chipotle-esque industrial and a comfy couch. They display their physical brewing awards as well as highlight them on the rotating slideshow on their electronic menu screens. They serve some Stalking Horse beers (listed as “Family Beers”) as well as 2 offerings from “Breweries We Like.”
I didn’t get a chance to investigate the food menu, but the food I saw around me looked like mostly bar bites. They looked and smelled like standard bar fare, not particularly elevated. Nothing wrong with that, but nothing spectacular either.
The inside space had two main sections, the tabled area (that was packed by the private party) and a communal high top area. The high top area had the main bar as well as the shuffleboard tables. A few TVs around the bar tuned to the college football games seem to suggest this would be a great spot to watch your favorite team.
Outside was the patio that was how I first noticed the bar. I had been walking past (at 1:00 PM) and the patio was mostly populated by a few families and their kids. The lawn games made for good entertainment and catches your eye as you pass by. Later in the day when I stopped in, the patio was filled with young professionals enjoying their drinks and these same lawn games. Overall, a great feature!
Miscellaneous Thoughts
As much as I loved the presentation of my beer, due in large part to the glass, I think the glass was too minimalist. The brewpub’s tagline seems to be “you are here” as it was festooned on the employee’s shirts, the glassware, and around the bar. But if you’re not familiar with the brewery, you’d have no idea where “here” was. Given the loud murmur that was all the conversations around me, perhaps everyone else already knew where "here” was, but a brewery logo on the back or incorporating the brewery name into the logo would help with word-of-mouth as customers post photos. This stands out on Social Media sites like Instagram (I did a quick search for their venue and the first photo that showed the venue’s name was the 11th photo in; one that I posted). All of this can be a drag on brand awareness and make it harder to attract new customers.
In the same vein, I also noticed they have two main beer serving glasses; the pint glasses pictured above and tulip glasses (likely 10 oz pour sized). The tulip glasses had no customization or branding, which seemed like a missed opportunity. Having a recognizable glass is important not only when customers are taking photos, but also when considering that many of these glasses find their way into people’s homes.
I thought the patio space was one of the best features, one that many breweries lack in the LA area (usually due to space constraints). The patio has tables with umbrellas in one half and separated from the games, so if you just want to enjoy your beer and watch people go by, this would be a good spot.
Unless the patio is busy, there’s not much to indicate there’s a brewery inside. There’s an arrow sign that points you to the brewery, and a clock that says it’s “Time for a beer,” but the exterior is otherwise nondescript.
Site Visit: There and (bar)back again
My Trip to Brooklyn and Nashville
How’s beer different on the coast vs. the middle of the country
LAX —> JFK
Putting my game-face on!
I made the trip to NYC to record a podcast (Beer Sessions Radio) with Jimmy Carbone and the Heritage Radio Network. We were discussing my beer research, where I was looking into how consumers select the beers and breweries they support in the LA area. This is an interesting question since these consumers have so many more choices now then even just a few years ago, and the way they choose can have a huge impact on a brewery’s success or failure.
After hopping off the plane and making it into Brooklyn, I fought through the rain to find my way to some Brooklyn Pizza. Eating NYC Pizza spoils the rest of the country’s pizza with its deliciousness. After strolling the neighborhood, it was time to podcast!
The podcast focused on several topics, from how breweries communicate to their customers, what beverage trends are affecting brewers and drinkers, how these trends vary in different parts of the country, and even some business terms such as ‘mobility gap.’ In future posts, I plan to explain business concepts and terms as they relate to breweries, so stay tuned! What I’ll get into in my next post is how the beer menus are different in Nashville vs. NYC and LA
Before hopping over to Nashville, my plane had a long delay. The silver lining was the pilot let us come up and check out the cockpit!
