99 Taps of Beer in a Day: LA Beer Fest 2010

Sony Pictures ft. LA Beer Fest!

There are times in one’s life that one must grow up, move on, and say, “been there, done that.” Beer festivals, however, are NOT those times. Though I’ve been to a few now and can proudly boast that I actually recognize most of the breweries and even understand what kind of beer it is I’m drinking, I can honestly say that the LA Beer Fest will not be the last of the sort for me as I am in no way ready to give up brew-festing.

For those of you that have never been to a beer festival, I will outline some proper essentials that will help you recognize one when you see it. First, we’ll start with location.

Beer fests must equal happiness, and happiness generally equals sunshine, so therefore, beer fests must be outside to fully succeed. Also, the outdoor setting is key in that there is guaranteed beer spillage and potential effects of overindulgence (you know what we mean). In the case of the LA Beer Festival, the Sony Pictures lot proved to be an excellent venue. Seeing as the whole place is one giant set of a mini city, it felt like you were an extra in a film titled “Drunk People.” Tents lined the “streets,” and though human traffic jams were inevitable, no one cared because they were, of course drunk.

here we go!

Ya I'm freeeeeeeee, free fallin'!

The next beer fest necessity is live music. LA Beer Fest featured two different bands on Saturday; the first, Petty Cash, a Tom Petty and Johnny Cash tribute band that played during session one, and the second, 40 oz. to Freedom, a Sublime tribute band. Two giant thumbs up to Drink Eat Play – the Los Angeles-based events company that puts on LA Beer Fest in addition to many other LA area festivals/events all year long – for their music choices. If there’s one thing drunk people love more than music, it’s music they can sing to, so the tribute bands were the way to go. “Free-fallin’” was oh-so appropriate.

Ashley slingin' snecklaces.

A personal beer fest must is the multi-functioning fashion statement/snack: the Snecklace.  Brought into our lives by our good friend Lindsay “Coop” Cooper at the Santa Barbara Beer Festival, the “snecklace” is simply a string with pretzels on it that you wear around your neck.  Sounds basic and very fundamental, but this thing is a phenomenon. People want to be your friend if you have a snecklace on, and they’re also willing to pay the outrageous price of $2 to be cool and have one of their own. The potential fortune to be made with these things we truly cannot estimate, but it looks like we might just have to find out. OC Beer Fest, snecklace’s are coming your way!

Fans of the double fist

The last, but certainly not least, beer festival essential is the beer receptacle from which you drink. Generally, your chalice is distributed as a gift upon arrival that holds a 3-4 oz. pour; the best way to explain it is a double sized shot glass (FYI a shot is 2 oz). I like to think of beer fests of this model as one big giant game of Power Hour. For those of you that went to college in the age of drinking games, you most likely know what Power Hour and/or Century Club are. In the aptly titled Power Hour, participants drink a shot of beer per minute for an hour, and in Century Club, it’s 100 shots in 100 minutes.

Ashley Perfecting the double sip

Now let’s think about this. The LA Beer Fest lasted 3 hours, with fest-goers drinking 4 oz. pours. Let’s say you drank one pour every 5 minutes, which was totally doable as there were at least 99 beers on tap! That puts you at a grand total of 144 oz., or 9 PINTS in three hours. Right now would probably be a good time to tell you that my dear friend April made sure to secure us extra glasses, so for a solid portion of the day each of us were getting two 4 oz. pours. You do the math.

If you are the audience I expect you to be, your eyes glazed over after you heard “99 beers on tap,” so being the writer I am, I’ll take the time to tell you about a few of them now. One of the most impressive things about the LA Beer Festival is the amount of breweries they were able to secure, even though it’s only their second year. Not only that, but the two sessions, afternoon 1-4pm and evening 5-8pm, were both completely sold out.  So good for you, Drink Eat Play, but it’s time to get onto the beers!!

Here’s a list of some of my favorites of the day, you can find the full list of brewskis served here under “beers”:

• Sam Adams: their beer is delish and they had a cardboard, headless Sam ready for you to pose with. Need I say more?

I got Sam beat! 2 in one hand!

• Sierra Nevada: a personal favorite of mine, lovely.
• Firestone Walker: I already loved their Double Barrel Ale, but had the distinct pleasure of trying their Pale 31  for the first time at LA Beer Fest. Light & easy, I coulda had wayyy more than 4 oz.
  

  Crazy Firestone kids

• Heineken: brings me back to Amsterdam, and since Queens Day is approaching, I felt the need to celebrate.
• New Belgium Brewing: makers of the always delicious Fat Tire, they also had the Ranger IPA for tasting. Me likey. Also a new one from New Belgium was the Spring seasonal Mighty Arrow.
  

  Yum! A new fav

• Singha: it’s not the best beer in the world, but it reminded me of my time in Thailand. And they were giving out free visors.
• Lagunitas: our favorite beer folk from the cheese fest were there and seeing them was like seeing old friends. They’re awesome and so is their beer (IPA!!), so they get top marks.
• Colt 45: Malt liquor is not always my thing, but there’s a time and a place – and when that time and place has a cardboard man & mardi gras beads, I’m all in.
  

  Definitely worked this time.

• Pyramid: I’m a big hef fan so I was very excited to see Pyramid. Mmmm.
• Sea Dog Brewing Company: Though I don’t normally reach for a berry flavored ale, a few ounces of the Blueberry Paw was actually pretty good. They’ve got Apricot & Raspberry too!
  
• Allagash White: my obsession with this Belgian beer started with my friend, Talia, who thinks “Allagash” is the most fun word ever. Add that to the fact that the beer is light, fruity and crisp and it’s an all around crowd pleaser.
• Left Coast Brewing Co.: Their Hop Juice is pretty hoppy, being a double IPA. Hop Hop Hooray!
• Shock Top: fruity and light, this white Belgian brew by Michelob is not a beer for everyone, but I was a definite fan because I love ze Belgians!
• Budweiser American Ale: I can’t say I’m a fan of Bud normally, but they definitely did something right with the American Ale. Perhaps an influence from their new Belgian owners?
• Strand Brewing Co.: I tried the 24th St. Pale Ale because the malty, dark Genesis made my stomach quiver at the thought. Twas good! Rock on, microbreweries!
• Ladyface Ale Companie: The logo is gorgeous so that’s enough an excuse for me. That being said, they have an Alehouse & Brasserie in Agoura Hills that I would highly recommend finding time for.

If you know anything about drinking, or if you just read this blog regularly, you know its an activity that goes hand in hand with eating. Seeing as the host company is called Drink Eat Play, they had their second base covered with the delightful LA phenomenon of food trucks. I chose Frysmith for my midday nosh, though I later heard rumors of sausages a-grillin’ – so in retrospect, I would’ve probably done better with one of those babies.

All in all, the day was a total blast. Friendly people, an awesome setting, fun music to wail along with, and of course, great ales. We here at Best of Fest are definitely fans of these things, so we’ll try and use our blog as an excuse to go to them as frequently as possible. Like you didn’t know that already.

Beer Warriors

Until next time, friends, drink, eat and be merry!

Fest on,

Shayna