Pliny in the Corner

Finally, a more than worthy brewpub in the Los Angeles area. The Blue Palms Brewhouse, located in the Hollywood and Vine vicinity right next to the Music Box Theater. My hats off to these guys who have the balls to turn a deaf ear to those clamoring to have Budweiser or Miller on their tap. Respect, Respect. Great beer selection on tap and a Firkin tapped each week to boot. The bartender is very knowledgeable about beers and very engaging once you start talking about beers. You can feel there is passion for beer in this place, and I like that.

To start I had to try their Firkin beer, Stone Smoked Porter with American Oak  5.90% ABV, an American Porter.   Served at celler temperature a little warmer than usual with very little to no carbonation.  And pumped at the bar directly from the cask to your glass.

The rich robust beer goes well with my  Brew Burger, Kobe beef patty with  Gruyere and some onion rings.  Delicious but I had mine cooked medium and the burger turned out a little drier than what I wanted.  

Next I got their Oktoberfest special, Schönramer Gold Fest Beer 6.00% ABV, a German Märzen, served in a majestic looking bottle emblazoned with metallic gold tones and a coat of arms.  The beer pours golden color with a billowy head that easily subsides.  The nose is citrusy, hoppy, and a little grassy.  The taste is a strong hoppy floral taste in the beginning then with a lemony sweetness in the back and very little bitterness.  Mouthfeel is between light to medium,  and with good carbonation.  This beer could be drank all night on Oktoberfest.

To finish I had some Pliny the Elder 8.00% ABV, an American Double IPA, this is from the private growler of the owner.  The beer pours light orange with a decent white head that subsides easily but clings to the glass with very nice lacing. The nose is sweet citrusy hops and huge floral notes.  The taste is like an MMA match strong bitterness up front that give you a kick followed by a punch from the hops, just when you are back in you corner you are doused with bucket full of orange peel,  pine, and malts that is smooth and silky.   Ding-ding.  You go back in cause you want some more of that!   My favorite Double IPA.

Blue Palms Brewhouse

6124 Hollywood Blvd
Hollywood, CA, 90028
phone: (323) 464-2337

Monks and Mussels

The Bowery is located in the heart of Hollywood around Sunset and Vine, accross the street from the newly updated Palladium.  I went there with a "Belgian Beer" friend.  I love the white ceramic tile facade in front.   Inside, it is cramped and very cozy, where you would literally be rubbing elbows with the young trendy crowd,  the shiny tin roof is a stand-out.   

Moule Frites, Steamed mussels and French fries .  The mussels are cooked with leeks, garlic, white wine, tomatoes and saffron.   So I ordered some to pair with a Trappist Ale, Chimay Red.   What a disappointment,  the mussels were not fresh, there was a fishy sardine taste and smell to it.  Mussels are not supposed to smell like that.  And to make matters worse that the mussels were pathetically small, and the  meat inside was shriveled.  Well, at least I had a really good beer on hand and some really good Shoestring French fries.  

Chimay Red is a Dubbel Trappist Ale 7.00% ABV,  only a few Belgian beers can be called Trappist, meaning it is brewed within a Trappist monastery.   A Dubbel is when double the normal amount of sugars is added to the beer making process, more sugars for the yeast means more alcoholic by products.  The beer pours in the chalice a turbid coppery orange color with a creamy head that easily subsides.  The nose is sweet malty, fruity apricot, and spicy with hints of cloves.  The mouthfeel is light medium creamy, smooth on the tongue, with little carbonation.  The taste is complex subtle malty sweetness, doughy yeastiness, fruity astringence with some floral undertones in the back,  and light bitterness in the end.  A very drinkable beer.  

My friend got the Charcuterie Plate,  two kinds of cheeses, chicken liver mousse,  three types of cured meats,  crusty baguette slices, preserved olives, and some almond nuts.  Suffice to say, I was envious.  Despite the outstanding service we got,  I shant be back soon.  The next day, it was on the news that, someone got shot a block away at past 2 am.  Luckily, we were already home by then.

The Bowery

6268 Sunset Blvd. (@ Vine)

Los Angeles, CA 90028

(323) 465-3400

Food & Grog

Named after "Her Majesty's Ship" the Bounty, immortalized in Nordhoff and Hall's 1932 novel "Mutiny on the Bounty".  HMS Bounty is located in Koreatown right accross the now demolished Ambassador Hotel where Robert Kennedy was shot.  And right next to what used to be the Brown Derby converted into a strip mall.  Ramon  who started working as a teenager at the place as a dishwasher now owns and operates the place.  A real  "American Dream" success story, the previous owner Gordon Fields even paid for his English lessons.

The HMS Bounty is as rich in stories and history as the novel.  My favorite story is that Sir Winston Churchill regularly went here for a nightcap while staying at the Ambassador Hotel.  This place is a throwback to Old Hollywood, you can almost relive the era while sitting in one of their red booths.  The dimly lit interior, the nautical theme complete with portholes on the wall, and thick hardwood beams on the roof, adds to the process.  You can even choose the exact booth where Churchill used to sit. 

I sat in one of the booths sipping a Dirty "Gin" Martini  while waiting for my dinner, and listening to oldies music from the jukebox that still plays the old 45s.

Their Ribeye Steak is great and always consistent, I've been coming back here for years and I am never disappointed.  

HMS Bounty

3357 Wilshire Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90010

(213) 385-7275

Lucky Lucky Lucky

Located in Old Town Pasadena is simply the best place to sample Belgian beers in Los Angeles, Lucky Baldwins .  Twice a year they have a Belgian Beer Festival where everything on their 50 plus beer taps is Belgian.   Even in Belgium you can't get that much Belgian beers on tap in a single place.  They also have hundreds of Belgian beers in bottles.

My friend and I were lucky enough to snag a couple of spots at the bar.   I like sitting at the bar,  that way I can see what beers I am having next and talk to the bar keep as well.  The food is so-so here, British pub grub, fish and chips, meat pies, hot wings, burgers etc.  During Belgian Beer Festivals they do offer some specialty foods, I was able to go last February and had some Flemish carbonades (Beef Stew) in Maredsous 8, absolutely sublime.

To start I had some Gulden Draak Tripel 10.50% ABV a Belgian style strong ale.  A friend of mine, who has been to many beer tastings with me,  introduced me to this beer.  This is probably the first Belgian beer I tasted and got me hooked for good.  The bottle and even the tap handle for this beer evokes an image of a Golden Dragon when in fact Gulden Draak translates as "Golden Duck".

The beer pours a cloudy deep dark brown with a reddish hue,  the head is thin with little or no lacing.  The nose is hops, malts, sweet and fruity, like mixed dark berry jam.  The aroma carries on with the taste that is sweet caramel and fruity, with raisins, and some chocolate undertones.  It is not sour, but sweet with some bitterness that lingers in your mouth.   The mouthfeel is creamy almost syrupy with little natural carbonation.   Easy to drink despite it's 10.5% ABV, a deadly combination.

Then I had some Scotch Silly 8% ABV a Scotch Ale type of beer.   I never had this before.  The beer pours deep dark copper with a nice foamy head and excellent lacing.  The nose is malty caramel reminiscent of toffee and some dried fruits.  I get the same metallic taste as with Double Enghien Blonde in the beginning which rapidly disappears, then some malty toffee sweetness and tea-like bitterness.  I also get some complex flavors of butterscotch, cherries and dates.  The mouthfeel is medium creamy with good carbonation.  This beer is easily dinkable and might go very well with some nice warm beef stew.

To finish, I had some (maybe a couple) Hoegaarden 4.9% ABV a Belgian Witbier (wheatbeer or white beer).  One of my favorite beers.  It is made with wheat, flavored with coriander seeds and orange peel.  This is the standard to which I hold other Witbiers against.  I would describe this beer poured in a glass as "a light golden cloud of beer under a billowy white head".  The cloudiness is because it is unfiltered and still has some yeast suspended.  The nose is unmistakably distinct,  citrusy, with strong wheatiness and a hint of coriander.  The taste, mirroring the nose, is a masterclass in balance and subtlety,  not too sweet,  not too bitter, not too citrusy, and not too spicy.   The mouthfeel is light with excellent carbonation making it crisp and refreshing.  A very drinkable beer specially during summer, and SoCal weather ;) .   This beer is great with spicy foods.    

Lucky Baldwins Pub

17 S. Raymond Ave.

Pasadena, CA 91105

(626) 795-0652

Lucky Baldwins

DELIRIUM PUB

21 Kersting Ct.

Sierra Madre, CA 91024

(626) 355-114

Naja's Place: 88 Beers on the Wall

If you know what cerevisaphile means you probably know about Naja's Place in Redondo Beach. A mecca for beer lovers in LA, the place is located along the International Boardwalk.

There are about 88 beers on tap and more selection in bottles.



To start I had some Green Flash West Coast IPA 7% ABV. When the Brits started sending beer to India as a colony they found that the Pale Ales did not travel very well in the train or ship going there. Even now, the Bass Pale Ales in the US is not as good as in the UK where it is brewed. So they created the IPA's (India Pale Ale) with a generally a higher alcohol and hops content, a brewers weapon against spoilage in lieu of refrigeration.

This is a very good IPA, nice foamy head and dark amber color very lacy; the nose is hoppy, citrusy, floral, with hints of pine; the mouthfeel is medium with low carbonation, the taste is strong on hops with some sweetness that balances the bitterness.

Then I had some Rogue Hazelnut Brown Ale 6.2% ABV. My brother intoduced me to this beer when we had a beer tasting at his place.

The beer pours brown with a nice white head and nice lacing. The nose is definitely hazelnut, and tasted of sweet malty caramel with hazelnuts, and a little bitterness. Delicious. The mouthfeel is medium with some carbonation. An easy to drink beer especially with dessert. This is one of my favorite brown ales.

To finish I got some Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier 5.4% ABV.

This is a wheat beer, yeasty and turbid, with medium golden color and foamy white head with very little lacing. The nose is citrusy, with wheat malts and a hint of fruitiness and cloves. The taste is definitely on the sweeter side with doughy yeastiness and lemony tones. The mouthfeel has some good carbonation and some creaminess. A very drinkable beer specially for summer and with spicy foods.




Great bar and great beers to enjoy with some conversation and a nice view of the sunset in the backdrop of the marina.

Naja's Place
154 International Boardwalk
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
(310) 376-9951