Sports on Draft

Ensuing all of the neighborhoods in Northeast L.A. – if not the entire city – none has grown as rapidly as Highland Park. And Highland Park Brewery is a big part of that change.

Northeast Los Angeles through just the past several years, has evolved from a “working class businesses to chic, trendy handouts,” according to Timeout.com.

Highland Park is basically ‘Dodger Town’, just minutes from Stadium Way, and sits a few miles up the 110 from Downtown L.A., just south of Eagle Rock and Pasadena. When you walk in the brewery, there are some Dodger, baseball references.  

The neighborhood of Highland Park started the 20^th century as “an artsy enclave filled with handsome Craftsman homes; by mid-century it transitioned into a vibrant Latino district;”, also stated from Timeout.com. Towards the end of the mid-century, the Highland Park area started to become riddled with gang activity, like a lot of regions in Los Angeles, but then progressed to what it is now –  an overall enjoyable, gentrified place for lasting citizens and oncoming tourists.

Highland Park Brewing, featured on “The Beer Drinker’s Guide to L.A.” from Hop Culture, is a an absolute must if your in Northeast Los Angeles, and it is of course one of the hots spots in Highland Park. According to Yelp, Highland Park is one of the top 10 rated breweries in it’s respected area.

Last week I mentioned in this post, that some of the best Hazy IPAs I have experienced has been Monkish Brewing in Torrance, and then there is Highland Park. The beautiful light-colored, opaque, hazy pours you’ll see at Highland Park will certainly foreshadow a fantastic beer tasting.

While I am all about Hazy IPAs, I really was blown away by Highland Park’s West Coast IPA, “Rio”. Before I visited the brewery, I grabbed this beer at the local bottle shop, and mainly a butcher shop, called “Handy Market”.

Rio, is one clean, refreshing West Coast IPA. It’s light body and tasting notes were similar to that of a pilsner – crisp, clean, and hoppy. This IPA had very slight bitterness with some mild fruit tones on the back end, but furthermore I just was impressed with how fresh and easy it was to drink.

My second tasting I had at Highland Park that I fully enjoyed was the Double Dry Hopped IPA, “Yeah Yeah”. This is one of this breweries popular beer choices and mine as well.

Yeah Yeah, is Highland Park’s double dry version of it’s original hazy DIPA. Highland Park Brewing notes that it has “big flavors and aromas of passion fruit, orange and guava thanks to the double dry hopping if Nelson, Mosaic, and Simcoe.”

The first time trying some of the brews at Highland Park, I was able to consume them in 6oz and 9oz pours, and it impressed me. So many times when visiting breweries, there are no alternates than having a full pint.

Flights can be expensive, and sometimes you don’t want a full pour. So, the fact that Highland Park has other options than just a taster and of course the 16oz pint, is just fantastic.

The brews at Highland Park are a reason to go alone, but also the inviting, artsy vibe will welcome you. It has a great room in the brewery, and a patio right out front.