The Beer Tap

the otheroom

Over the weekend I was back in LA and had the opportunity to return to one of my favorite beer bars on the west side, the otheroom.  OK...so its not exactly your normal beer focused bar.  Rather its an upscale bar/lounge that serves up a nice selection of beer and wine.  The concept started as "the room" in Soho in NYC.  Since then 2 more locations have opened in New York, 1 in Miami, and the otheroom in Venice.  The otheroom combines big city style, hip decor, a laid back crowd and of course good drinks. 

The tap list is always rotating with a few regulars.  This past trip included Bear Republic Racer 5, Rogue, Widmer Pear Cider, and Chimay on tap.  They also feature a number of bottle beers as well.  (I unfortunately decided to get my fill of the Racer 5 and failed to venture out too far.)  There are certainly larger total selections at other places in LA or throughout California, but I really enjoy the ambiance.  It is the kind of place that you can take any of your friends, even if they usually do not like beer focused bars.

Just a word of warning...this location is popular with the locals with lines forming by 11 PM on the weekends.  Unlike lots of LA, there is no list so get there a little early and stay late.  Venice locals cut the line, but hey...they probably invest a good bit of money over time.

Another interesting feature of the bar?  The bartender usually DJs so there is no telling what will be on. 

If you make it to LA and need a place to chill with friends over some good beer, this just might be your place.

Play Ball!

Over the weekend, I made it to my first baseball games of the season.  My brother, nephew and I road tripped to Chicago to see the Reds take on the Cubs at historic Wrigley Field. An absolutely amazing experience in all respects...except for the beer. In my family, baseball games are a three hour mixture of a classic American sport and eating. When I was a kid, my dad would always pony up for peanuts, Cracker Jacks, coney dogs, frosty malts, etc. As I reached the legal drinking age, beer also became a part of the experience. Of course at this point in my life quantity and value often out weighed quality when it came to beer. I was content to drink economy beers from the big three.  But now that I have gained an appreciation for fuller flavored craft beers, I have to admit that I am disappointed with the beer experience in most ballparks these days.  At Wrigley, my choices were Bud, Bud Light, Old Style, and Old Style Light.  Not exactly a line up that will knock your socks off!  I went with Old Style since Bud is one of my least favorites of all time.  This got me thinking....are there ball parks that have embraced the changing tastes of Americans?  Can I enjoy baseball with an American brewed craft beer in hand?  I know that there are a few places in the US where you can enjoy a craft-style beer during the game.  Here are the ones I know from personal experience:     

• Boston: Sam Adams

• Los Angeles: Gordon-Biersch

• San Francisco: Gordon-Biersch

• Houston: Saint Arnolds

Atlanta and Cincinnati also both offer a custom brewed beer that provides slightly more flavor, but each of these still falls within the German lager family.

Are there any parks out there with a large selection of crafts on tap?  If not, will MLB owners make a shift as more and more Americans trade up?  I am certainly hoping so.  I understand the need for a cool refreshing beer on a summer afternoon, but there are many other beers out there that can easily accomplish this task with much better flavor.

If you know of a ballpark with a great beer lineup, be sure to comment so that I can add those parks to my list.

Pilgram's Dole

I discovered New Holland Brewing almost by accident when I moved back to the Midwest a few months ago.  I was out at a store and was loading up on beer I had never tasted before.  One of the beers I picked up that night was New Holland's Mad Hatter IPA.  I enjoyed it and officially added the brewery to the "try more varieties" list which seems to always grow and never dwindle.  My enjoyment of Mad Hatter was not due to the hops and the IPA style, but instead due to a particular roasted malt flavor.  St Arnold's Amber has a similar malt flavor and up to that point I had never tasted it anywhere else.

On my last trip to the store, the guy working behind the counter spent a long time talking with me about what beers I liked and what they had in stock that I might also enjoy.  I love these kind of places that can offer good service, speak intelligently about beer, and steer you in the right direction.  As we meandered around the store loading up my cart, we came to a wheat wine by NHB called Pilgram's Dole.  Its a part of their "High Gravity Series" of four beers which also includes a milk stout, a trippel, and a dopplebock.  Pilgrim's Dole is barleywine style ale made with 50% wheat malt which leads to the wheat wine title.

Over the weekend I finally got around to opening it before the first of the Final Four games.  Here are my tasting notes:

• Appearance: dark red to copper in color
• Aroma: Sweet with notes of bread, raisins, alcohol, and some vanilla/oak
• Taste: Chewy with a big upfront malt sweetness, Butterscotch, Finishes with a dryness that brings out oak flavors, The dry finish sets it apart from a standard barley wine and is a result of the wheat malt, Sweetness lingers as well

Overall, I would have to say that this is an interesting beer.  I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either.  I found myself taking a while to drink the full 22 oz due to the sweetness.  Granted a 10% barley wine is not a beer designed to be slammed down, but it seemed to go slower than expected.

Now I need to track down the other three beers in the High Gravity series to see how they compare.  I am hearing good things about the Dragon's Milk Ale so that will probably be next.