Beer-related stops between LAX and Paso Robles via the 101?

Here you go.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/lax-to-paso-robles-road-trip.489222/

 

http://www.ladyfaceale.com/

 

If you're going to be in Hermosa, you should just go to Torrance (Smog City, Monkish and Phantom Carriage isn't too far away) and go to Long Beach and hit Beachwood.

 

i came to say exactly this, i went to hermosa beach for our 1st anniversary and hit up smog and beachwood. awesome time

 

Yes, as I always say, just spend the afternoon at Beachwood.

 

For a brewpub with pretty good food, hit up Hop Saint - it's between Hermosa and those breweries in Torrance.

El Segundo Brewing is 5 minutes south of the airport and do West Coast IPAs and stouts quite well.

In and around DTLA, you've got Highland Park, Mumford, Boomtown, The Mikkeller bar, and Modern Times is opening up sometime (or maybe it already has). If you do DTLA, I highly recommend getting some Howlin' Rays.

 

I wouldn't really say that Highland Park is "around" downtown and Modern Times is a very long way from opening up.

 

Highland Park is 5 miles from Howlin' Rays in Chinatown... its a 10 minute drive up the 101. I do this drive once or twice a month.

Hermosa is just as far from Smog & Monkish as Highland Park is from DTLA... yet those are "around" each other. Go figure.

 

Beer Belly in Koreatown is a cool little spot. Haven't been there in a bit, but that part of town has really exploded with a bunch of stuff (i.e. Cassell's Hamburgers is fantastic) and would not be surprised other bars with decent craft lists have popped up.

Think Beer Belly may have also opened in Long Beach at Steelcraft or whatever the place that Smog also opened a satellite tasting room at is called.

The Daily Pint in Santa Monica has great offerings. Stop in Father's Office for a beer and a great burger.

Naja's at the pier in Redondo Beach.

 

Highland Park isn't even up the 101 from Chinatown. But if you want to use that reasoning, Hollywood is "around" downtown because part of it is 5 miles away from Chinatown.

And I didn't say anything about Torrance and Long Beach being "around" Hermosa. I said if he/she was in Hermosa, Torrance and Long Beach would be good stops.

 

Everyone seems to forget about Barbara's at the Brewery.

 

For breweries, I second the Smog/Monkish/Phantom Carriage recommendations in Torrance and Beachwood in Long Beach. In Hermosa, Mediterraneo is right on the pier and always has a solid taplist and good tapas. Up the street a bit is The Rockefeller which usually has some good stuff on tap as well. The best (and biggest) taplist is at Naja's Place in the Redondo harbor, which is a short uber ride down the beach. A little further into Redondo is Select Beer which has good stuff on tap and a great bottle selection.

 

My bad - it was a typo... It's up the 110 not 101, but if you've ever done that drive you'd know exactly what I meant.

...and, yah, if you are coming from out of the area, then Hollywood is around DTLA just like Torrance is around Hermosa. For someone coming from out of state and will be driving all over LA, 5 miles seems to be close enough to be reasonably considered in the vicinity of something else.

You implied it was close enough to make a trip worthwhile (aka around or in the vicinity of).

 

North of LA I would recommend LadyFace and Casa Agria.

 

I'm just trying to stop you from giving poor information. I wouldn't tell someone from out of town that Hollywood is around downtown because it could easily take someone half an hour to get from downtown to Hollywood. Much like it could take someone half an hour to get from downtown to Highland Park depending on the time of day. That's my point.

Also, not sure if it was another typo on your part but Beer Belly in Long Beach isn't at Steelcraft. It's right next door to the Beachwood Blendery and around the corner from the regular Beachwood location.

 

Maybe it's just me, but I've never had a good time at Naja's . . . yes, their taplist is great, but the vibe, when I've gone, has been anywhere from packed-tourist-haunt to full-on-frat-party. Just . . . no.

 

And Institution. Depending on the type of beers you like.

Institution-Best West Coast IPA's.
CASA-Best Sours & Hazy IPA's
Ladyface-Best Belgian style and great food. Their IPA's are lacking, but they often have great guest taps.

 

not a brewery, but Select Beer Store in Redondo Beach is only minutes down PCH from Hermosa and has a good tap list plus bottle shop. My go to spot.

 

My point is that it is close enough to warrant looking into... which it is.

It can take you 30 minutes or more to get from Hermosa to Monkish at 4pm on a Thursday so your suggestion of hitting up Monkish is just as problematic. This is a driving in LA issue, not an issue of "5 miles being too far to be considered in the vicinity".

Also, if someone is staying down by Hermosa, Hollywood and DTLA make sense doing on the same trip even if it does take you 30 minutes to get from the heart of DTLA to the heart of Hollywood... as opposed to doing them separately with the 1-1.5 hours it can take you to drive to either from LAX.

As someone who drives from around LAX to DTLA, HP and Hollywood frequently, I regularly make them part of the same trip. Hell, the quickest route to Hollywood from LAX is via the 110 which goes through DTLA!

Error on my part - thought it was at Steelcraft but must've confused it with one of the other vendors. Don't do LBC often so I was hazy. Apologies to the OP for the misinformation on this one.

 

Ditto... great tap list, not a fan of the venue.

Highly recommend Casa.

Also, second this.

 

Be prepared to be either unimpressed or disgusted by the dodger dog. Only dodger fans actually think they taste good.

 

Don't get too hung up on Dodger Dogs. Yes if your into dogs then you must try one. But it's just a longer dog. I would bring some Chicago beers with you to share in some of the places you will be stopping on way up to PR. Maybe even enough to share while in PR. I brought back almost 2 cases of Chicago stuff. Especially from Pipeworks. Lots of goodness coming from them. Maybe even some Mikerphone bottles (Special Sauce) or some Hailstorm cans. You can compare with Monkish cans for dankness. Sounds like you will have some time in the LAX/South Bay area. As per @JayORear said ^^ Beachwood Brewery & BBQ in Long Beach. You also have the Blendery next door around the corner. You got Monkish and Smog City and Phantom Carriage. You can compare Monks dank IPA's to Chicago's Hailstorm or Noon Whistle's stuff. Next to LAX you have El Segundo Brewing Co and Three Weavers.
I tell everyone coming and going out of LAX, expect heavy traffic on Century Blvd. and in the circle loop around LAX. Our terminals (7 & 8) are under construction. We have several bridges out getting replaced so you may end up getting stuck on the tarmac up to 40 minutes waiting for a bridge to open.

 

Chicago dogs >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> CA dogs

Be sure to check the weather, Chavez can be strangely cold and breezy at unexpected times. Why do you think so many people own those ugly Dodger windbreakers?

 

Triggered...

 

Yeah, as a Californian, we're really not very good at dogs/sausages. Veggies, on the other hand...

 

As far as Santa Barbara
-Third Window Brewing - great beers and cool spot.
-Funk Zone (Lama Dog, Topa Topa, Fig Mountain, wine tasting rooms galore, etc...). Also, some really great restaurants in that area (The Lark is awesome).

Buellton/Solvang
-FW Barrelworks
-Fig Mountain. Industrial Eats (highly recommended) is right behind Fig.
-Solvang - Backroom, The Good Life.
-Oh, and lots of wineries.

 

They gotta get to Firestone by the next day. Good stuff for sure, but the 1.5 hour wait, I'd rather be filling my fat belly with beer. Kidding aside, if you can make it happen it is well worth the trip.

 

I hear on the radio you can get dodger dogs at am/pm gas stations now. Skip the baseball game and go to Howlin' Rays.....

 

Howlin' is good but not worth the wait. I waited 4 hours for Franklin BBQ. Now that was worth it.

 

I've lucked out at Howlin' Rays and timed it so that the line is only about 35 minutes long. That being said, I wouldn't wait 1.5+ hours for it. It's good but not that good. Go to Gus's in Koreatown for spicy chicken that is different but very excellent in its own right.

 

In paso make sure to hit up macprice Meyers and Herman story. Also if you can set one up see if you can get a tasting with paix sur terre . If you do make sure to do the tasting at crowbar. Their gin is fantastic.

 

Came here to say this. If it were me, I'd vote for skipping the hassle of LA and head straight to Third Window, which is legit in my top five of breweries in the world. And Lama Dog has a great selection of bottles and usually has some interesting stuff on tap.

 

Yeah, Third Window doesn't get a lot of attention here, but they are putting out some great beers and it is a nice little spot. I always try to make a stop there when in the area.