Well...I had a day to kill on my work trip to Los Angeles last week and luckily it was a Friday. I decided to scope out the beer scene in LA (was there another option?) and my research lead me to the Library Alehouse in Santa Monica.
This was my first time in Santa Monica and I have to say it was pretty damn cool. To live in such a beautiful place and to have a bar like this in your town (on your Main Street) is pretty unreal. I also saw Michael Keaton eating breakfast and reading the newspaper on my way to the Alehouse. That's Batman, ya'll.
But back to the bar. I can't really judge what California is all about, but this place certainly had a cool CA-like vibe to it. I was one of the first few in people for lunch and soon after I arrived a bunch of surfer-type locals showed up at the bar and livened the place up. I ate really fresh fish tacos while watching the 1983 NBA all-star game on the TV... Surprisingly, the whole place started getting into the game (yes, Jordan was playing, but so was Dr. J) and I followed suit.
On the beer side, I went for the local beers that are hard to find back east, trying the Drake 1500 Pale Ale (from near San Fran) the Blind Pig from Russian River and an Alesmith IPA from San Diego. I also sample a beer called "Double Rainbow" which was a double IPA with some wild Tropical fruit/Mango-like flavors. A real wallop too.
I focused on Pale Ales and IPA's, which is perfect for spicy food and sunny warm days. After all the hype of Blind Pig, it didn't disappoint. It was light and smooth, but piney and complex as any IPA i've had. The Alesmith was a bit heavier on the ABV, but again, smooth as pie.
All-in-all, an excellent spot. If you find yourself in LA looking for a good craft beer, this has to be the joint.
A picture of my Blind Pig IPA:
View of the bar (1983 All-star game included..and some dude...do I need a photo release for this? ):
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