Little Bear Awakens from Winter Hibernation

In the DTLA Arts District, across the street from Church & State Bistro, Little Bear opened earlier this month in the former home of Royal Clayton's Pub.  The Belgian Beer specialist is a bar and cafe and has sixteen selections on tap as well as an extensive bottle list.  The food menu tends toward gastropub options.

One of the signature food items is the gougeres which come with either sous-vide pork belly, duck confit or fried oysters inside a gourgere, sandwich-style.  They come three to an order and are different than any gougere I have ever seen before.  Expect to find sandwiches as well as dishes like duck confit and the Belgian classic of waterzooi on the menu.

I enjoyed several of the draught beers but the best beer I sampled was the Jandrain-Jandrenouille VI Saison, which is available by the bottle.  Ryan Sweeney of Verdugo Bar and Surly Goat curated the beer list.  Sweeney is one of the best beer-men in Southern California and has relationships with breweries such as Russian River that are loath to take on additional accounts, so he brings access as well as expertise to the table at Little Bear.  The list is a mix of beers from Belgium and Belgian-style beers from California breweries such as The Bruery (their Wanderer is pictured below) and North Coast.  The most interesting selections are on the bottle list, so bring some friends and try a few large format bottles.

The bar has been busy thus far, so plan on a wait for a seat unless you arrive on the early side.

Little Bear: 1855 Industrial Street, DTLA. 213.622.8100 | littlebearla.com

Hot Knives + The Bruery: Cheese & Beer Pairing at Verdugo Bar

As part of L.A. Beer week, the Hot Knives and the Bruery joined forces to host a cheese and beer pairing at Glassell Park's Verdugo Bar. They held a contest for tickets, and this post was my admission ticket.  (Above Alex Brown of Hot Knives with Patrick Rue of the Bruery.)

The menu was:

Andeerer Traum with brewer's candy
Seven Grains Saison

Brebis Rossiniere and arugula, strawberry, Szechuan peppercorns
Mischief

Brugge Rodenbach cherry-ciabatta grilled cheese
Oude Tart

Bavarian Limburger "ambient nachos"
Rugbrod

Bleu Des Causses stuffed dates with red curry
Gunga Galunga

Highlights included the Andeerer Traum with brewer's candy (pictured below), which meant a malt barley syrup was drizzled over the cheese.  The syrup was sweet, although very different from the maple version you might put on griddle cakes.  The cheese itself has a bold grassy flavor and is a hard cheese.  It is from Southern Switzerland and is the product of a husband and wife cheesemaking enterprise and won 2nd place at the World Cheese Championships earlier this year.

The pairing for this cheese was the Seven Grains Saison, which lives up to its name, with seven different grains  (barley, wheat, rice, oats, corn, rye and spelt (yes, spelt!)) contributing to the ale.

Another especially notable pairing was the Bleu Des Causses stuffed dates with red curry paired with Gunga Gulunga.  The date was stuffed with an assertive French blue cheese made from cow's milk and the combination of the blue cheese and the curry made the stuffed dates an explosive bite.  No shortage of flavor.

To pair was Gunga Galunga, a black beer from the Bruery Provisions series that has been brewed with galanga (blue ginger) according to the Bruery.  The beer is named for a scene in Caddyshack in which Bill Murray's character describes golfing with the Dalia Lama and the Lama's shot goes into a 10,000 ft crevasse, upon which the Lama says "Gunga Galunga."

The event was awesome because of the close collaboration between the Hot Knives and the Bruery, the great space at Verdugo Bar and the fun crowd of cheese and beer enthusiasts.  I know I will be back to Verdugo Bar to explore more of what they have on tap and to enjoy the amazing back patio.  I hope Hot Knives will do another event of some sort before next year's Grilled Cheese Invitational.

The Oude Tart also has to be singled out as it was tart and sour in a way I hadn't experienced quite like that before.  If you like your beer tart or sour, get some of this as it will throw you for a loop.

Showdown at the Verdugo Bar Corral: Beer Float II

In a sequel that is more than welcome, Josh Lurie of FoodGPS will be hosting the second L.A. Beer Float Showdown on Sunday October 10th at 5:30 PM at Verdugo Bar in Glassell Park. The showcase showdown will feature four teams competing to create the best beer float in LA. Last year Golden State and Scoops teamed up for the grand prize, but as they are not able to defend their crown this year, it is anybody's game.

The competitors are Boneyard Bistro, Ladyface Alehouse, Simmzy's and Tony's Darts Away. Each competitor will make a float which will be judged by those in attendance based on flavor and originality. Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 in cash at the door, and half the proceeds will go to benefit the great charity Share Our Strength. If you want to be a judge, you don't need a degree in chemistry or experience as a judge on Iron Chef America, all you need is to purchase a ticket and be ready to cast your vote.

To help you feed your belly with food as well as beer, Josh has arranged for the Manila Machine and Mandoline Grill food trucks to be stationed outside Verdugo Bar to sell their famous eats.  This event is part of LA Beer Week, the second annual festival of all things sudsy here in Los Angeles.

Click the Pay Now button on the post here to buy tickets.

Verdugo Bar: 3408 Verdugo Road, Los Angeles. Phone: (323) 257-3408. Website: verdugobar.com