intelligentsia pasadena

i'm way behind on this one - many local bloggers have already visited and given their two cents on pasadena's new upscale coffee destination (here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).  but high end coffee just doesn't excite me too much.

then i heard that they partnered with my favorite local brewery to make a coffee laced belgian beer known as "stimulus".  uh oh.  i guess that meant it was time to head to old town.

i made the trip and checked it out.  intelligentsia is a trendy place to grab a bite to eat or your favorite beverage (the beer was spectacular by the way).  a bit upscale, this place reminded me of a cool coffee shop in a college town - except in pasadena, it becomes a sneaky way to serve well made quality items at premium prices.

it is certainly one of the coolest places in old town to hang out - and the fact that they serve great beer just made them that much cooler.

so you want to open an l.a. brewery

last night i had the pleasure of attending a fantastic event as part of los angeles beer week hosted by my friends at eagle rock brewery.  the event was mc'd by beer writer tomm carroll, and included a panel discussion with several of the area's newest craft brewers - the aforementioned (and award winning!) eagle rock brewery, nibble bit tabby brewery (who really need a better website), strand brewing, brouwerij west, ladyface ale companie, as well soon-to-open beachwood brewing and ohana brewing (all fantastic brewers, by the way).


as you can see from the photo above, the event was a success - at least in terms of available seating.  those in attendance at the packed house got to hear a few hours of insight into what it takes to start a brewery in los angeles county, and the hurdles and benefits that come along with that endeavor.

after the session drew to a close, the brewers all posed for a group shot.  it will be interesting to look back on this image in a few years and see where these breweries are at that point.

eagle rock brewery grand opening!

while their brewery has been open for business for a few months, eagle rock brewing is opening their doors tonight for their grand opening celebration. here are the details from their blog:

"grand opening celebration on friday from 4pm-10pm. 8 taps flowing - 4 with eagle rock brewery's brews, and 4 guest taps! Frysmith will be joining us from 6p-10p, so come join in on the party with a side of delicious fries"

it should be a fun time!

brewday at eagle rock

i've been fortunate to help out a few times at eagle rock brewery on brew day. making craft beer takes time and attention, and they do these things extremely well at eagle rock. this image is actually a very steamy picture of cascade hops being added to the brew kettle. unfortunately the steam in the brewhouse makes it almost impossible to take photographs of the process.

in case you were wanting to stop by and check out los angeles county's newest brewery, they are now open from 4pm - 10pm on fridays and saturdays, and from 12pm - 6pm on sundays.

eagle rock brewery!

while eagle rock is technically not pasadena, i'm going to adopt it for the purpose of proclaiming that we have one more microbrewery on the local landscape! we recently visited as a part of their opening weekend and were extremely excited to be shown the facility by jeremy - the head brewer and co-owner, and his wife ting - marketing extraordinaire and perfect pint pourer. you can tell that they are extremely passionate about their beer, and are working at making their brewery one of a kind.


eagle rock brewery has done an amazing job of documenting their hard work at reaching this stage in their business. they have updated almost every moment in the process through their fantastic blog.

if you are interested in visiting, they are open by appointment this coming weekend from 4pm-10pm on saturday and sunday. give them a call at 323.257.7866 with your name, date, time and number of guests, and have a great time!


oh ya, i need to give a shout out to my friend ryan who took these pictures for me because i forgot my camera! what was i thinking???