LOS ANGELES | California is famous for its craft beers, so it comes as no surprise that Los Angeles has a thriving craft beer scene. You’ve always been able to get good beer from across the state in Los Angeles’ craft beer bars, but recent years have seen many breweries set up shop in the city limits, complete with tap rooms from which to sample the brews on site. Note sure where to start? Our Los Angeles Craft Beer Guide will set you on the right track, and soon you’ll be drinking the best craft beer that Los Angeles has to offer.
The Escondite
When The Escondite opened up in Downtown Los Angeles in 2012, on the border of Skid Row and Little Tokyo, it built a reputation amongst those in the know as one of the best secret bars in town for great beer, tasty burgers, and fantastic live music.
For drinks, there are nine craft beers on tap along with a short but focused bottle list featuring a mixture of popular and harder to find brews. For food, a range of appetisers, sandwiches, salads and burgers are available, but when the time to eat comes, we recommend heading straight for the burger menu. Sure there are better bars in town for craft beer from a range point of view, but sometimes its a matter of quality over quantity, and The Escondite is a great local’s bar with an unpretentious, friendly vibe (dogs are welcome in the patio) that gets all of the important things right.
The Escondite
410 Boyd Street
Los Angeles
California 90013
United States
Mumford Brewing
Mumford Brewing is just next door from The Escondite and we don’t know how we managed to not know of its existence earlier. The bright and spacious taproom offers visitors a variety of ways to enjoy the brothers’ beers. 4oz tasters, flights, half pints, full pints, ‘crowlers’, and growlers are all offered here.
There are 10 beers on tap at any given time – the core range beers and a selection of one-off and seasonal brews. From the core range, we like the Boyd St., which is a classic West Coast IPA done right, and the Five Point O Honey Kolsh, which gets the sweetness levels just right. The Skidrokyou Cafe, a coffee porter with cacoa is fantastic if it’s on at the time.
Mumford Brewing
416 Boyd Street
Los Angeles
California 90013
United States
Mohawk Bend
Mohawk Bend is the brainchild of owner Tony Yanow (Golden Road Brewing, Tony’s Darts Away) and offers an interesting twist on the typical gastropub/sports bar that’s decidedly modern and very fitting for this part of LA. The space, which is housed in the old Ramona movie theatre and divided into five distinct areas (dining room, pub, 2 bars, patio), offers 70 mostly local craft beers on tap along with a menu that’s very vegan-friendly, but still offers a lot for meat eaters.
The food features elevated pub dishes like pizzas, salads and pastas, while the beer menu features many interesting and tasty brews on offer, along with tasting flights for those who want to try a few things.
Mohawk Bend
2141 W Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles
California 90026
United States
Southland Beer
Located on a Western Avenue strip mall in Koreatown, Southland Beer is a bottle shop and tap room that ticks all of the right boxes. The large, wraparound bar dominates the centre of the venue and craft beer loves are treated to 20 taps, including beer on nitro and a beer engine for cask-conditioned beer. The name Southland Beer comes from the fact that the owners want to showcase the beer of Southern California, and it’s beer from this region that you’ll find on tap.
The food menu is small and features rotating cheese boards, sausages, and small plates.
Southland Beer
740 S Western Avenue #112
Los Angeles
California 90005
United States
Iron Triangle Brewing
Iron Triangle Brewing is housed in a 10,000-square-foot pre-prohibition era (1904) building that was used as a stables, before being used as a warehouse from the 1920s. There’s a speakeasy feel throughout the venue, with exposed brick, wood and steel being used to good effect, in a style that reflects 1920s Los Angeles.
The bar features 16 taps, which contain Iron Triangle’s three core beers along with a range of one-off and season brews. The Iron Triangle IPA is a classic, hop-forward, West Coast-style IPA, while the Iron Triangle Dark Ale features hints of coffee and chocolate and is surprisingly approachable. Rounding out the core range is the Iron Triangle Gold, a refreshing, pre-prohibition style golden ale. We’re also big fans of Iron Triangle’s spot on take of the classic ESB, the ‘Royal Clayton’s ESB’.
There’s no kitchen on site, but visitors can order delivery from a selection of nearby restaurants.
Iron Triangle Brewing
1581 Industrial Street
Los Angeles
California 90021
United States
Golden Road Brewing
Golden Road Brewing in Glendale offers visitors the opportunity to drink great beers and eat top notch pub food in a vibrant, friendly space. Think central European bier hall with a decidedly LA twist.
The beers on offer across the 20 taps span many different styles, and from the core range that’s on tap year round to the limited and seasonal offering, you won’t be short of options. We’re particularly fond of the ‘Wolf Among Weeds IPA’ and the ‘Get Up Offa That Brown’ from the core range, and, if it’s available when you visit, the ‘Back Home Gingerbread Stout’ is unique and delicious. If you can’t decide what to try, there’s always the option of a tasting flight.
Food wise, the seasonal, local produce driven menu is a bit unfocused but, like Yanow’s Mohawk Bend, features a lot of tasty items to keep both vegans and meat eaters satisfied.
If you can’t get out to Glendale, there’s also the Golden Road 20-tap beer and pierogi stall at the Grand Central Markets downtown. There’s also a taproom in Anaheim opening soon.
Golden Road Brewing
5410 W San Fernando Road
Los Angeles
California 90039
United States
Sunset Beer Company
Sunset Beer Company is an Echo Park bottle shop and bar that offers an impressive array of craft beers in bottles and cans to either enjoy in store or take home. The range features something for everyone, be it a local brew that you’ve had before or a rare import that you’ve been wanting to get your hands on forever. General Manger Alex Macy’s philosophy is simple – if he likes the beer, he’ll stock it, and thankfully there’s not too much he doesn’t like.
The laid back bar section, which is full of high tables and comfy couches, offers an impressive range of local brews on tap, along with a small, thoughtful selection of wines for any non-beer drinker who might find themselves dragged here by their craft beer loving friends. There’s no food on offer at Sunset Beer Company, but patrons are welcome to order take out and bring it in.
Sunset Beer Company
1498 W Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles
California 90026
United States
Melody Lounge
Melody Lounge is a Chinatown karaoke dive bar that would be a whole lot of fun even if it didn’t have craft beer, but of course, it does have craft beer. Over 100 different beers across its 24 taps and bottle list in fact, most of it Californian. The taps feature brewers core range beers along with their seasonal beers – think Breaking Bud from Knee Deep or, the Peanut Butter Cup Porter from Karl Strauss. Move to the bottles and you’ll find a whole range of beers, including several rare beers you don’t find too often.
If that wasn’t enough to get you interested, and added bonus is the happy hour – it runs until 9pm, making it a great pre-Dodger’s game option.
Melody Lounge
939 N Hill Street
Los Angeles
California 90012
United States
Spring St. Bar
Spring St. Bar is known for two things – great drinks and tasty sandwiches. The rotating beer menu contains 26 mostly Californian taps plus bottles, while the wine and cocktail offering is very good too. The friendly staff will happily guide you through the beer list, and you can grab a tasting paddle if you want to try a few things.
Food wise it’s all about the sandwiches, whether you want a bite to eat while your’e drinking or are looking for a takeaway for lunch you won’t be disappointed no matter what you choose. Our tip is to visit during happy hour. It runs from 3pm to 7pm daily and offers some great draft beers and glasses of wine.
Spring St. Bar
626 S Spring Street
Los Angeles
California 90014
United States
Little Bear
Little Bear is owner Andre Guerrero’s homage to the drinks and food of Belgium. The beer list features 17 rotating taps of Belgian imports, along with other imports and American craft beers with a Belgian bent. Think Houblon Chouffe, Oudbeitje Lambic and Trios Pistoles. Move to the bottle list and you’ll find an extensive an impressive selection of beers, including several rare beers you’re unlikely to find elsewhere in town.
The food menu is more American in its focus but includes Belgian twists.
Little Bear
1855 Industrial Street
Los Angeles
California 90021
United States
Angel City Brewery
Angel City Brewery moved to the historic John A. Roebling Building in the Arts District in 2010, and offers drinkers the full selection of Angel City core range beers, along with at least eight rotating taps on offer, featuring an assortment seasonal and one-off special brews. Angel City aren’t scared to experiment, so there’s always something new and interesting that you won’t find elsewhere here. For example the Srirachelada, Angel City’s take on a Michelada, is brewed with sriracha, tomato juice, lime, agave, banana peppers, and Worcestershire sauce. Our advice is to go for a tasting paddle and try five beers of your choosing.
Those who are hungry have lots of options. There’s almost always a food truck parked outside, and you’re always welcome to have food delivered or bring your own food in.
Angel City Brewery
216 Alameda Street
Los Angeles
California 90012
United States
Firestone Walker – The Propagator
The Propagator is the Venice location of highly regarded Paso Robles brewers Firestone Walker. It’s a taproom and brewery with a very impressive tap list. The entire Firestone Walker core range is on tap, along with Barrelworks wild ales and limited Venice-only beers made in the adjacent brewhouse. Speaking of, the brewery at this location is a state-of-the-art small scale Kaspar Schulz brewhouse from Germany which serves as a pilot platform for experimental beers. Much more than just a small offshoot of the main brewery.
Food wise, The Propagator offers a gastropub style menu – elevated pub food designed to match with the beers. There’s even “Beer Brunch” between 10am and 2pm on weekends.
Firestone Walker – The Propagator
3205 Washington Boulevard
Los Angeles
California 90292
United States