Los Angeles Ale Works: Follow the LAAW!

Starting any business in Los Angeles can be difficult. The permits and licensing involved are enough stress to give a yoga master a brain aneurism, plus everything is so damn expensive in LA. Starting a microbrewery is not any easier, but Kristofor “Kip” Barnes and John Rockwell are tackling the challenge by launching Los Angeles Ale Works (LAAW). Hopefully, LAAW can help pave the way for other craft entrepreneurs in LA who are looking to start a craft brewery and provide amazing and unique beers that can help grow the expanding LA craft scene.

I was able to catch up with Kip at local beer blogger Beer of Tomorrow’s first year anniversary party at LA’s all-local-craft-serving gastropub Beer Belly. There was a recent episode on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives that featured Beer Belly that focused on their food specialty of fried and roasted duck. I originally wanted to write a piece about Beer Belly and their decision to become one of the few LA restaurants that serves only LA local crafts, but I can’t compete with Guy Fieri (mainly because I don’t look good in frosted white hair and backwards sunglasses). But I was able to try LA Ale Works’ only craft available at the time, their award-winning Gams-Bart Roggenbier, which complemented my duck fat fries and duck French dip sandwich nicely. If you have yet to have a Roggenbier, then I suggest you get your hands on one and pour it down your gullet because it is delicious. The Gams-Bart is exceptional and it made me become a big fan of rye beers. [Beer Belly and Guy Fieri.jpg]

After chatting with Kip, I discovered that while growing up in Kenmore, WA, which borders on Whirlpool Manor and is west of KitchenAid City in Washington’s elusive Dishwasher District, young Kip was not yet into beer when he lived there. Kip and John were both in the marching band at USC, but they didn’t know each other. John started homebrewing in college. It wasn’t until after they graduated around 2008 and went on a group camping trip that Kip finally tried John’s homebrew scotch ale. Once that dark brown ambrosia touched Kip’s lips, he had visions of a craft beer gushing geyser, malts and barley grains exploding into fireworks, a scantily clad harlot wearing nothing but a corset made of hops, and a burley kilted Scotsman named Seamus MacEwen serving up some haggis.

Kip was hooked on craft and started his website on homebrewing, Bierkast.com, in 2009. John was working in real estate, but lost his job after the great housing market crash of two-aught-aught-eight.  John needed to figure out what to do for employment, so why not open a brewery? The two came together like the Wonder Twins by putting their shiny rings together and taking the form of Los Angeles Ale Works.

Kip is the Yin to John’s Yang when it comes to their choices in beer styles. John is into classic styles, such as the Kölsch, while Kip enjoys experimental beers – so they compromised with Kip infusing John’s Kölsch recipe with Thai Tea to create their Karma Kölsch. LAAW doesn’t want to make any beers that are too crazy, but they want to do some minor twists so the brews are palatable to people who are new to craft, while still being complex enough for those weathered craft beer veterans. I’m debating if I should suggest that they brew my Jello Puddin’ Pop Porter idea, but I think they would deem this one too wack-a-doosie zabba doo! Hey, get off my computer Cosby! Instead, LAAW will soon release an amazing sounding saison with kumquats that will have me camping for days outside of the bar where they’ll have the launch event. (They typically pull through two kegs in ninety minutes at launch events and sell completely out of a new batch of beer in two weeks.) [Cosby Beer of Choice.jpg]

LAAW recently reached their Kickstarter goal by raising $38,011 to put toward purchasing new equipment. They currently brew at Ohana Brewing Company in LA, and they plan to place their new equipment that they’ll purchase with their Kickstarter funds at Ohana’s facility. They collaborate and keep a comradery with Ohana by sharing events. LAAW is in the process of finding a space of their own in either West LA or downtown, but they need to raise another $750,000. Holy shit! Remember how I said everything in LA is ridiculously expensive?! Whether or not they bottle their beer depends on if Ohana has a bottling system available, but you can find their beers on tap at bars around LA County, such as City Tavern, Beer Belly, Far Bar, The Factory in Long Beach, and Slater’s 50/50.

LA Ale Works intends to cater to beer geeks, but also to normal people without bottle opener pocket protectors that are trying to get into craft. They try to make their beer welcoming and they already have a welcoming fan base that has contributed a good chunk of money to help them grow. Los Angeles is an ideal place for John and Kip’s brewery because there is so much room in the local craft beer market for them to expand. The craft beer lovers of LA hope that LAAW can obtain their next target amount to have their own space, not only to increase production of their tasty crafts, but also to inspire the next generation of craft enthusiasts that want to follow in LAAW’s beer-soaked footsteps. You know, the kids now ‘days with the bee-bop hippity hop and the flim flam bwaaaaaaah! Damn it Bill! Get your own computer to write down your Cosby-isms!