Beer menu suggestions for my wedding in LA?

My personal opinion - get Bud Light/Coors Light/Miller Lite, etc. for guests. That's what most people are going to want unless you know for a fact that they are all craft beer people. Get what you want for you.

 

Looking for a knock your socks off beer for your wedding, don't overlook beers from The Bruery.

http://www.thebruery.com/

I can recommend Hottenroth, fourthmeal, and their White chocolate blends....

 

I would definitely recommend having a lighter more approachable beer available as well, Blonde, Lager etc.

If I were you, I would replace the high gravity beer with the Smog City Coffee Porter (great beer by the way), much lower ABV to avoid people who don't know better from getting sloppy

I love both of your IPA choices, Swami's will be much cheaper.

Congrats!

 

Keep it simple, one IPA and one Stout. And like a gentleman said earlier grab a Bud Light/Coors Light/Miller Lite because most will want that. Keep the good stuff for the guys who want craft.

 

I recently attended a wedding that had all craft, by a large margin the most popular was a local Kolsch. Whether us BA's choose to accept it or not, the vast majority drink light beers. Unless you have a very deep list of beer geeks in your wedding, I doubt they will be excited about any of the first three you posted (or really any beer, they are there to be excited for you and the new spouse!) But, I'd say of those three, VoS is the most approachable.

I suppose, if you're going to add anything BMC, at least Bud Light is brewed in LA, so it's local, lol.

Seriously though, I'd have the CA IPA that you enjoy most, the stout you enjoy most and then just go with a macro or a local Kolsch/Blonde. I'm guessing you're already spending a ton of cash on the wedding so I'd cheap out and go macro and just drink the hell out of the IPA.

 

Just go macro, than a little bit of any local ipa you like. Speedway will not be appreciated by the vast majority of people, even though it is my favorite stout, and i can't imagine a keg would be cheap.

 

sticking to the question and the options provided.

Mayberry is great and lesser known than Swami. I'd go with it.

speedway is great as is victory at sea. no wrong option.

problem I foresee is all of those are really high %. you're going to have a messy wedding!

 

My friend got married a couple years ago in San Diego and a bunch of non-beer drinkers were in attendance, but he had kegs of Stone Saison & Levitation which were fine for the casual beer drinkers and beer nerds alike. In my opinion, it would be better to go with other libations (wine, or if you're feeling fancy, sangria) than go macro. If you plan on offering 3+ beers, go with Speedway, Swami's, and something lighter like Bootleggers Palomino or Hefe or a lager like Craftsman 1903.

Congrats on getting married!

 

Are you buying kegs or bottles? I would avoid beer nerd choices unless the guests are mostly beer nerds.

Coors Banquet
Anchor Steam Beer
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Rodenbach Grand Cru
Old Rasputin

 

I don't see high gravity beers going over well at a wedding.

 

Your wedding should be an event that will convert macro drinkers (and even wino's and boozers) into hardcore beer geeks; any other ceremony that night is but a distraction. As such, the beer menu should be meticulously detailed, sparing no expenses. Start with a toast of Pliny the Younger for every man, woman, and child, then move into the full lineup of Russian River sours, including vintage stuff, followed by Alesmith Speedway Stout with every coffee bean variety for dessert. The Bruery, Stone, and Lagunitas swill is fine for in-between courses.
Cheers, good luck with the planning. Remember: people are coming to this event solely for the beer, whether they know it or not.

 

you need a world class homemade beer designed especially for the event, damn, there i said it

 

A wedding I attended had a keg of Lagunitas Pils. Hoppy enough for beer drinkers but light enough for everyone else. Also it should be cheap.

 

agree with others that high gravity beers might not be a good idea, especially for non beer aficionados

between the IPAs though i'd go with Mayberry. they just released a batch a few days ago too so, if it's that batch, it will be really fresh

also agree with others that you should have something approachable and lower abv. i can't imagine any non craft fans enjoying an Alesmith Wee Heavy

congrats!


where is your wedding? (i may crash it)

 

Mayberry or Swami's? Both excellent SoCal choices. I'd give the slight edge to Mayberry.
Smog City Coffee Porter is a good post-dinner beer, like drinking coffee.
I agree with the people who said to have a macro option, perhaps cans, OR a bigger keg of something light, like Anchor Steam, or a local lager, pilsner or a hef.
I would hate to see guests waste delicious craft beer.

 

I'd go with brands that MI doesn't see distribution of.

 

You need macro to please the masses. You need to keep everyone on their feet, so lower ABV options are helpful. I've been married twice and I barely drank at either event, so it will not be about your wants and needs. Also realize that its about the friends, family and the moment. Its difficult to appreciate some of these great beers (Alesmith Speedway Stout is great!) and frankly you want them to focus on the event. I had friends and family tell me how great my second wedding was and there was nothing special to drink, it was all about the people.