I recently had the chance to visit, very briefly, one of my favorite cities in the country — Los Angeles. I often joke that I was sort of “raised to hate” the city, being from New York and wholly identifying with it’s version of The City, which a friend summed up by saying that “she loved it, but it’s very provincial.” I know a lot of great people in Los Angeles, and always have a great time eating, drinking, and hearing and performing music there, and although I’ve consumed a fair amount of beer in various dubious institutions there, I’ve never had the chance to really pursue beer. Unsurprisingly this weekend wasn’t much different, as I ended up holing up with a friend I hadn’t seen in a year in his nice little house in Hollywood watching HD TV and hanging out with the neighbor’s gigantic half-wolf dog. We did get out a few times, though, and once was to go to The Golden State Cafe on Fairfax, a spot I found by looking on the internet feverishly for recommendations.
A nice place right across from Canter’s Deli on Fairfax in one of the old main strips of Jewish Los Angeles, The Golden State is a nice, airy California take on a beer and meat-centric grill/lunch counter that works because the food and beer are both good, for a decent price. My vegetarian friend had a grilled vegetable sandwich and I had the special BLT — both were “nearly perfect,” mine being a little dry and the vegetable sandwich’s cheese being a bit bland, but other than that, the sides, fries and slaw, were great and the beer, atmosphere, and help were all top-notch.
I drank a Crafstmen 1903 Lager first, which was touted as being the house beer on their website, and had a generous description on the nicely spaced out, if somewhat minimal, beer menu. 6 draughts with only one or two that you can’t find where I live (a tough indictment for sure, but I was seeking that which I cannot find at home! Well, not including Sierra Nevada — it’s always the exception). They also offered a few bottles and Scoops Gelato by the scoop. Jesus.
The 1903 was a great example of an American Lager. It contains a portion of corn in the mash, which comes through in the nose and adds a nice lightness to the beer in general. The corn is backed up with a very nice malt profile for a low ABV session beer, and finishes with some bittnerness from some noble hopping. A very nice offering from a Pasadena brewery very local to the restaurant.
Next I had an Anderson Valley Brother David’s Double, a nice take on the Belgian Trappist “Dubbel” style, with a nice Belgian Yeast profile, a good amount of body with some dark fruit action going on, and a nice hit of alcohol to keep you from drinking it too fast. Generously portioned for a good price by the folks at Golden State, it made spending an afternoon with a good friend that much better.
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