Beer Events – L.A. Beer Week: Smog City Brewing Co.’s “Rarest of the Rare”

I'm generally a pretty harsh critic of the beer scene in Los Angeles.  Up until Golden Road exploded a year or two ago, there were very few breweries up there worth noting.  Not none... but very few. 

Being the skeptical judge that I am, it seemed rather hypocritical for me not to at least show up when someone is making an effort to improve things.  So with this idea in mind I decided that I should probably find an event to attend during this year's L.A. Beer Week.  My schedule limited my participation to the "Rarest of the Rare" event at Smog City Brewing Co. yesterday, and in the end I'm very glad it did.

Smog City first started by brewing in 2011 in the excess tank space at Tustin Brewing, and just this year opened up their own brewery and taproom in a little industrial park in Torrance.  A decent buzz has already developed around these guys, which was amplified last year when they won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival for their Groundwork Coffee Porter. 

The "Rarest of the Rare" ran from noon to 8pm on Saturday September 28th, and was a full showcase of what Smog City has been working on over the past couple years.  They had 19 beers available, four of which were on cask.  Their options ranged from a Sour Red Rye, to a Sour Blonde, several Saisons, a handful of bourbon barrel aged beers, three IPAs, a Pils, and more.  Many of the beers were limited to only five gallons for the whole event, and they were only available on a first come, first serve basis.  

We got there a little after 1pm, and the place was already packed.  The roll-up door was up and people were spilling out into the parking lot.   There was a hot dog truck parked at the front of the building selling gourmet tubed-meat.   Inside we were immediately greeted by the walk-in cooler to our left and a nice collection of tap handles.  There was a thin bar mounted against the opposite wall where people could set their glasses down while they stood and talked.  Beyond that the brewery opened up with all of their equipment, tanks, and racks of barrels.  Scattered throughout the concrete and metallic sanctuary was additional tables and seating; much of which seemed to be fashioned out of old barrels and used shipping materials.  

The crowd was amazing.   The main bar had a line that wrapped around upon itself and took 20 to 30 minutes to navigate through.  There was a second makeshift bar set up on the other side that was pouring from casks, and that had a pretty sizable crowd as well.  Finding a place to set your drink down was tough, but hovering around a desirable spot generally got you in after a short wait. 

I started with the cask line and my buddy went for the main bar.  I ended up with four ounce sample pours of Quercus Circus and Weird Beer.  Quercus Circus is a Belgian Blonde that spent the first 19 months of its life in Viognier, Chardonnay, and Zinfindel barrels, was then blended with a Saison fermented with lactobacillus, and finally cold conditioned.  It’s a brilliant straw color without a lasting head.  It’s sour on the nose, with hints of champagne and lemon Kool-Aid.  The sourness in the flavor is well restrained with a bit of tobacco and leather in the finish.  It also has a touch of a Limoncello taste that I really liked.  The body and carbonation levels were both very light.  Overall, this was an incredible beer.  Definitely the highlight of my day.

Weird Beer lived up to its name.  Its looks like a light, pulp-free orange juice.  The aroma is straight Vicks VapoRub.  I honestly have no idea what combination of ingredients could cause such a smell, but that’s what I got.  It tasted a little bit like Vicks too, but it also had a delicate grassy foundation that I found very pleasant.  This one also had a light body, but it was a bit more heavily carbonated (it wasn’t cask).  I enjoyed my four ounce half-glass of this one, but definitely wouldn’t go back for a full pour.

I also had a chance to taste their Kumquat Saison.  I really enjoyed it, but was too busy socializing to take any tasting notes.  But I remember it tasting fantastic. 

Overall this was a great event.  I was very glad to see such a large crowd in this young brewery.  I hope that this is a good sign of things to come for Smog City.  I am fortunate to have them on my radar now, and will keep them in mind whenever I’m in the neighborhood.  Or better yet, I could even make the beginnings of a decent little “Southern L.A.” brewery tour with this place, Monkish Brewing, and Strand Brewing, all of which are within about four miles of each other. 

It looks like I may need to start changing my opinion of the Los Angeles beer scene…

 

-Matt