Fun Annual Event Brings Brews And Good Times to Brew Fans at Sony Studios
From the moment I walked into the LA Beer Festival, I knew it would be a fun day. The first beer station I spotted was right at the entrance, Kona Brewing Company. That meant Longboard Lager and Firerock, two of my favorite beers (it’s what I consume when am partying in Waikiki Beach). On one side to the Konas – whose tagline is “liquid sunshine” – it was Drifter Pale Ale, another outstanding choice, and on the other side was Leffe, kind of a Stella on steroids (meaning a Belgium beer full of flavor and with a heck of a kick to it). And that was just a sampling of the great beer being served in that area. Plus, the Shock Top VW made for a great photo when I ran into a guy with a mohawk.
I could have stayed there all day (and in fact, did return time and time again). But there was more to see – much more, in fact – and I had to catch up our group. About 45 of us had arrived via a party bus. 
The LA Beer Festival – held at Sony Studios in Culver City the first Saturday of April – is an awesome event (the 2012 festival is likely to move to another Hollywood studio). Walking through a movie set is cool enough, but to drink beer from about a hundred stations with a couple of thousand people is just a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon (or night; there are two sessions, 1-3 p.m., and 5-8; we chose the former).
For a complete review of the event, click here. For $40, you get the beer and great entertainment. There’s a DJ and a funky band. Last year, the band was at a small garden area but apparently organizers expanded the area for 2011 because the band was in a much larger area further down the main “street.” I say apparently because if it excited last year,I was not aware of it.
This year, it was were people danced, mingled and soaked in the sun and the suds. Simply put, it was just plan fun.The weather – sunny and warm – is typical of Southern California but all week weather forecasters were predicting either rain or at the very least chilly temperatures. I was far from the only person enjoying this event, for all I saw were happy people and smiles everywhere (see, officials at Dodger Stadium, beer does not make people angry!)
It was also in this area that I discovered a familiar face, that of the Anderson Valley Brewing Company. I went up to Boonville, CA., last May and covered this friendly local brewery’s annual event, the Boonville Beer Festival. Folks, that’s worth a road trip to beautiful Mendocino County! The 2011 event is Saturday, May 14. Frankly, even with all that other beer around me, I hustled back before the end to polish off another round of Longboard and Firerock. No sense passing up on something you really like, right? And so it was at the third annual LA Beer Festival. Can’t wait for the fourth!
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