Ahhh! Helloooo, my Brewgeois! You’ve gotten so big! How in the world have you been? Boy, do I have some fun stuff to share with you! Hot as hell desert-based music festivals? Check. Travel to foreign lands? Mmmhmm. A craft beer fueled wedding? You bet your bottom. Throw in miscellaneous beer excursions spiked with a 70+ hour work week and BOOM: I’m an absentee hopfather to you all. To be fair, the excellent adventures I’ve experienced recently more than offset the bogus journeys of my psychotic work schedule. Don’t worry, my children, YOU the lucky reader will be subjected to the fruits of my leisure right here at The Petty Brewgeois! (Think Alex’s eyeball torture from A Clockwork Orange…#ikeedikeed)

I’m very pleased and excited to get back to sharing my life in beer with you! Join me, why don’t you?

My Lips to Yours,

The Petty Brewgeois

With my chances at scoring Pliny The Younger holding steady at slim to none, I proceeded to spend my Friday night celebrating the union of two amazing friends and getting my craft (and non-craft) beer on.

I had been looking forward to Friday night for a few weeks, now. My co-worker, Jose and his fiancee were getting married during the day and allowing me and my motley crew the honor of attending the reception. Going into the evening, I knew only a few things to be true: The party was being held in the banquet room of a recently closed-down bakery in Anaheim, very little English would be spoken, and cans of Tecate would be consumed like it was going out of style. There was no choice: I needed to smuggle some delicious craft beer into this shindig.

Luckily, I date a girl who knows the drill and came armed with a purse that could act as a mule for my Fresh Hop Mirror Pond Pale Ale from Deschutes Brewery (Bend, Oregon).

Once we made it past security (?!?!), we found my cronies seated together with hoards of Tecate cans at their disposal (big mistake, catering service). Before swan diving like Scrooge McDuck into our pool of cheap Mexican beer, I decided to break out my smuggled goodness and see what this baby had to offer.

*Note: I went with the Fresh Hop Mirror Pond over Deschutes’ wonderful Hop Henge DIPA because, you know, I didn’t want to make an ass out of myself at the wedding by getting all hopped up on a 9.0%ABV beer or anything…

Fresh Hop Mirror Pond by Deschutes Brewery (American Pale Ale, 5.0%ABV, 40 IBU)

*This fresh hop take on Deschutes’ signature American Pale pours cloudy and copper in color. It’s aroma is light, lemony, and citrusy with some piney honey nuances. The scent of fresh hops (one of my favorite beer aromas!) definitely pops in to say hello (thank you, old friend). Much like the smell of the beer, it tastes of citrus rind and piney hops, but fades nicely into a sweet malt and citrus finish. Very sessionable, yet hoppy APA that tastes like you’re getting it straight from the tap in Bend. More than happy with my choice for the evening!

In an effort to keep myself from waxing nostalgic, I’ll sum up the remainder of the night for you: Tecate, loud banda music, muffled PA, more Tecate, no food, more Tecate, dancing, no English spoken, “fertility breads” that looked like Mrs. Butterworth, me taking a bunch of said breads & being screamed at in Spanish by the mother-of-the-bride, me doing weird shaky-hand dances, friends disappearing then being found alive & well in shopping carts and memories galore.

Congratulations, Jose & Ernestina Perez! (Also, please forgive me for anything I may have said, done, written or danced like.)

My lips to yours,

The Petty Brewgeois

Every February, I suffer from Craft Beer Lover’s Lament. While isn’t a true shock to me that SF Beer Week commences this time of year, every year 400 miles north of me, the powers that be have prevented me from attending this glorious event, thus far. Instead of torturing myself by dwelling on all the fun I could be having up in the bay, I decided to embark on my own craft beer adventure locally at Golden Road Brewing in Atwater Village.

I first read about the then soon-to-open Golden Road last summer. The passion for craft beer co-founders Tony Yanow (owner of LA craft beer institutions Tony’s Darts Away and Mohawk Bend) and Meg Gill (Sales/Marketing whiz for Oskar Blues and Speakeasy Brewing) along with head brewer Jon Carpenter (Brewer @ Dogfish Head Brewing) expressed was palpable. They were craft beer industry mainstays (“lifers,” as Gill refers her gang) with a goal to create a brewery that would enhance the growing Los Angeles craft beer landscape. As a local beer lover, I was excited, to say the least, to visit the now 6 month old brewery.

As a result of my over-zealousness to check out the brewery their newly-opened Pub at Golden Road, my party and I arrived well before their 11 AM open. There was little time to awkwardly linger because we were immediately engaged in some good craft brew chat by staff member, Bianca. Golden Road had already impressed me with their passion and warmth without me even taking a sip. Oh yeah, on to the beer!

Having already tasted (and thoroughly enjoyed) their retail available Point The Way IPA (a must-try, “New Zealand” hoppy ale that weighs in at a very sessionable 5.2% ABV), I decided to give the other beers a whirl.

Golden Road Hefeweizen

Hefeweizen was the beer style I cut my teeth on as an aspiring craft beer lover. Having not visited my old, wheaty pal in some time, I was looking forward to the reunion. GRB did not disappoint with this extremely well-balanced, very drinkable hef. The lupulin fiend in me greatly appreciated the slightly citric/hoppy finish. Well played!

Get Up Offa That Brown

After getting my Eddie Murphy/SNL “James Brown’s Hot Tub Party” skit reenactment out of my system, I proceeded to put GUOTB in. I was pleasantly surprised at its light body while maintaining a smoky maltiness. Not my favorite style of beer, but I found this brown enjoyable.

Either Side Of The Hill (American Strong Ale)

Was really looking forward to sampling this baby, so I went all in and got a full pour. Wise decision. GRB hit it out of the park with a…well, slightly confusing, but amazing beer. I first noticed the aggressively hoppy aroma but upon first sip, I was met with a peppery, gingery flavor. The hop profile was more herbal than citrus with a lingering bitterness. Not what I expected, but a highly enjoyable beer that doesn’t hit as hard as its 8.0% ABV would lead you to believe.

Food wise, the five of us partook in the lovely pretzel pictured above. The dip on the left is a pimento cheese sauce and the one on the right is a spicy mustard that pulverized my sinuses and captured my heart. The mustard was on par with the horseradishy goodness they serve up at Phillipe in Downtown LA, in my opinion. Although we called it quits after the pretzel, other menu items such as the short rib “Sloppy Joseph,” vegan banh mi and caprese sandwiches had us planning our next visit before we paid the tab. The burgers they were grilling on the patio didn’t hurt either.

Golden Road Brewing and its lovely pub were everything I hoped for and more. Their passion and dedication came through in some amazing beers and a friendly, knowledgeable atmosphere. They even do you a solid in their gift shop, offering customers who wish to further educate themselves on beer a chance to pick up the essential literature. Nice touch, Golden Road!

A few days after my visit, I heard that Golden Road would be available in my native Orange County, namely my local haunt Haven Gastropub in Orange. I arrived to nab another Either Side of the Hill and maybe smile and nod at someone wearing Golden Road apparel. Instead, I sat down with Co-Founder Meg Gill and had an amazing conversation about the brewery, the industry and our shared passion for beer. It was like talking to an old friend. Chats like this and the one I had with Bianca in Atwater Village are what endear me to the craft beer scene. Thank you, Golden Road Brewing, for reminding me why I love beer. You will be getting an absurd amount of my money in the future.

Oh yeah, they’re also very dog-friendly. #bonus

The Pub at Golden Road
5410 W. San Fernando Road
Los Angeles, California 90039
Hours: 11am to 11pm 7 days a week
Twitter: @goldenroadbrew @goldenroadpub

My lips to yours,

The Petty Brewgeois

What you are about to endure is a 30 year old man’s attempt to introduce himself and his passion for craft beer while battling the nastiest stomach flu he has had the pleasure of experiencing. Be kind.

My name is Dustin De Leon. I work as an advocate for disabled young adults in Orange County, California, although my true passion lies elsewhere. For years, I have been a craft beer fanatic with a goal of building a career in the industry. Save for an all too brief career with a then-budding, now full-grown brewery, my experience has been in non-professional, fully-enjoyable craft beer consumption.

With The Petty Brewgeois, I hope to not only educate readers about the craft beer community, but also foster my own fervent love affair with beer. Do you have a local brewery, craft beer bar or event you feel could stand to get some exposure? Share your beerophilia with me and consider this place your official Beer Sherpa Co-Op.

I am always looking for new and creative ways to share my own love for craft beer. As a send-off to my 20s/welcome to my 30s, I took a photo of every “beer session” in my 29th year, chronicling the people, places and events that shaped my year and inspired this blog.

Through my adventures in craft beer education, I have learned many lessons (Never play King’s Cup with Avery’s Majaraja IPA as your beer while everyone else is drinking Bud Light. Also, never play King’s Cup, period. It’s a bad idea in and of itself), had some amazing experiences with loved ones and perfect strangers alike and gained an insatiable desire to learn and grow with the industry I adore. I’m looking forward to sharing my journey with you and vice versa.

My lips to yours,

Dustin De Leon

The Petty Brewgeois

“Sometimes, you have to move a few boxes, endure people looking at you like you’re cray cray and sustain a couple of cardboard cuts to the finger to get what you want in life.” -Me