California Dreaming…
Posted on December 17, 2007
Filed Under Brews and Breweries |
I was in Burbank, California this past week for business and tried to make do with some local craft brews. I wasn’t fully prepared for this trip with regard to finding local brew pubs or breweries, but tried to make do with what was presented to me. Here is a brief review of some of the beers and places we hit up while we were out there.
This brew was actually on tap at the small bar in the hotel we were staying at. It is brewed by Widmer Brothers Brewing Company in Portland, Oregon. This is their claim to fame beer and coin it as America’s first Hefeweizen style beer starting in 1986. It was really good and smoother than I thought it would be for some reason. They have won the Gold Medal for this brew in 1998 and 2006 and the GABF and in 2004 at the World Beer Cup. The Brothers have a great story of how their brewery came to be. Check it out here.
This is a chain restaurant that is slowly going national. We have a couple here in Colorado as well. This location was a lot busier than the ones I’ve been to, so it had a great atmosphere. I’ve always liked their beers, but the food is so-so. I stuck to the Nutty Brunette, which is a brown ale, but not all that nutty. It was kind of sweet. My boss on the other hand ran through the sampler. He liked most, but the Owen’s IPA was a little too hoppy for his liking.
Gordon Biersch Brewing Company
Again, this is a smaller chain restaurant and brewhouse, but a chain none-the-less. We’re constantly at the Broomfield, Colorado location for happy hours, so I knew what to expect here. German-style lagers. They had their Winter Bock Seasonal on tap which wasn’t my favorite. It tasted like watered down Root Beer to me, but that could just be me. I quickly moved on to the Marzen followed by the Dunkel. Marzen is a sweet, auburn lager and the Dunkel is a dark, toasty, smooth “lager”. Both we good but I have to give BJ’s the nod in atmosphere on this trip.
I’m occasionally out in the Los Angeles/Burbank, CA area, so please forward any other places you think are worthy of a try.
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