Angelenos spent Sunday afternoon sipping in the sun at the 18th Street Arts Center’s 5th Annual Beer Art & Music Festival
where more than 40 craft breweries convened to offer tastings of their best beers. Live bands played on while attendees browsed an array of art installations and grubbed on gourmet food truck faire.
Appearances from classics like New Belgium Brewing Company, Anchor Brewing Company and Gold Road Brewing were complimented by new kids on the block Santa Monica Brewing Company and wildcard – non-alcoholic home-brewed sodas by the Maltose Falcons, America’s oldest Home-Brewing Club, who brought a festive unfiltered pumpkin spice soda and classic, crisp root beer.
Favorites from the day:
• Lucky Duck Agave Blonde: a well-blended crisp and sweet brew that was a nice break from the heavy hitting IPAs I tend to learn toward
• Anchor Brewing Liberty Ale: sometimes bored by ales because I’m secretly wishing they were hoppier, this was a well-balanced fizzy, hopped ale that was bitter, floral and easy to drink. Think less pine, more grapefruit.
• Gold Coast Something, Something Sour Mead: Whew, that honey comes through nicely! A lot less pucker than expected
• Santa Monica Brew Works: everyone was talking about PCH (Pale Chocloate Heaven) for good reason – it’s a trip, a delicious one – but it was their innovative Chili XPA brewed with an array of hot peppers that stole my heart. It paired painfully well the jalapeño-hot Spicy Angeleno hot dog from Dogtown Dogs. The spicy brew was intentionally flavorful without being overpowering. Welcome to the neighborhood SMBW!
With the beer, art and music trifecta perfected, BAM Fest is a very cool fundraiser for a very cool cause. Check out http://18thstreet.org and mark your calendars for next year’s BAM Fest LA.
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