A little while back, I had the idea that I should just pick up all my junk and move to L.A. It was a pipe dream, obviously, and I think a ton of people do this in hopes of finding success in acting, writing, or other exotic fields. For me, it would have been just a place that was new and different and I could’ve maybe found a writing job or something to tie me over. But one of the major influencing factors was the lack of great breweries in L.A. In fact, this post is the first we’ve ever even mentioned the City of Angels. But father and son, Steven and Jeremy Raub, are hoping to fix that.
Eagle Rock Brewery is the first craft brewery set up for distribution within the city of Los Angeles. But it’s still very much a small, family-run operation. On a recent Monday visit, Steve, Jeremy and Jeremy’s wife, Ting, were found brewing up a batch of mash, switching off with who got the task of stirring and who had to dump in the heavy bags of rye. The smell of warmed-up Grape Nuts wafted through the air as the team hunkered over the mash tun, stirring together the ingredients of their next batch of craft beer.
They’re currently experimenting with some truly unique flavors including kefir lime, lemon grass and even rose petals from Jeremy’s mother Donna’s garden in Newbury Park. Within the next few months, the Raubs will also be developing a coffee beer recipe with Intelligentsia, the popular roasting company based in Chicago that’s taken Los Angeles by storm. Typically, coffee beers are done with porters and stouts, but Jeremy hopes to make a lighter beer with coffee notes. He’s been doing cupping over at Intelligentsia to research which flavors will work best together.
I like to see breweries starting to take hold in bigger cities. There’s no reason cities like Chicago and New York and L.A. wouldn’t be perfect for the next explosion of microbreweries. Cheers to the boys over at Eagle Rock. May your efforts develop a burgeoning beer industry in California. Also head on over the the L.A. Times‘s blog for a video of the brewery.
Los Angeles Times Brand X — Meet Your Maker: L.A.’s craft beer revolution
Last week, we talked about 
Yesterday’s brew, the 
Sierra Nevada’s Celebration ale is definitely a beer worth celebrating (with). I can see myself picking up a few more of these to share with friends through the holiday season. Happy drinking, and don’t forget to tune in tomorrow for the third beer of Christmas!
Even so, that was still a positive number in the number of breweries going into operation in America. However, what will be interesting to watch is if we ever hit a plateau in terms of beer makers. Looking at the number of wineries that exist in California alone, I find it hard to believe that microbreweries are even close to skimming the ceiling in terms of market saturation. Of course the economic slide will limit the number of new openings, but it’s encouraging that we’re not losing breweries as quickly as we gain them. However, if you are looking to start your own big-time brewing center, you might want to think twice.
Ms. Dewey said that anyone who wanted to start a microbrewery should either have a substantial sum of money to begin with — or a great deal of patience. “It can be very dreamy thinking about starting your own microbrewery,” she said. “But unless you have several million dollars, be prepared for a lot of hard work.”
…now there’s a 
Its been a big week for beer. Yesterday was the conclusion of the 
