22 in ‘22: 22 New Breweries in 2022
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#1 Angel City Brewery, Los Angeles, CA
Tiger Schmiger, everyone knows that 2022 is the year of the brewery, just as it was in 2021 and as it will be in 2023, but enough about those years, this is about 2022 and the 22 new breweries I’m gonna check out this year. Now, you may be thinking “Speaks, that’s only an average of 1 brewery every 2.36363636364 weeks, that’s a pretty easy feat.” Are we making “Speaks” a thing? No? OK. Well, what I’d like you all to keep in mind is that I’ve already hit a ton of the breweries within a stone’s throw of me, and I’m not just hitting any old places. I want these to be unique, fun, and have great beer, along with some bells and whistles — or as I like to call them — the accoutrements.
For each brewery I will be focusing on the brewery’s space, beer, vibe (somewhere a Gen Z’er just tripped over their velcro shoelaces), and bathrooms (I needed a wildcard, OK?).
Alright, alright! Enough with the table dressing, let’s get to it. I was downtown on New Year’s Day to witness the Flyers take on the Kings and couldn’t let the opportunity pass, so I wasted no time checking out our first brewery on the list, Angel City Brewery.
Space
My favorite thing about this brewery is how spacious it is and how many different areas there are to post up and enjoy your beer. You can choose between an upstairs loft equipped with tables and leather couches, a downstairs area by the bag toss game, or a darker, more intimate area under the aforementioned loft. If you’re someone like me who likes to spend too long at the brewery (their words, not mine), you can switch up your location every couple of hours and feel like you just got there. Huge plus.
They’re housed in an amazing brick building from 1913 that served as the warehouse for John A. Roebling’s Sons Co., a notable wire cable company that made the cables for bridges such as The Brooklyn Bridge, The Golden Gate Bridge, among others, as I was told by one of the super friendly bartenders. You can still see the company name painted on the side of the building — pretty cool. The building has since been decked out with some cool art on the side of the exterior brick, which sets the tone as you’re walking up.
Beer
Here’s where I may catch some flack. I only tried one of their beers. I know, I know, but hey, there was a whole day ahead of me and I had to spread myself around to the other BIN (beers in need). But, the beer that I did have, Topaz The Time, was amazing.
This beer checked all the boxes for me. Price point was right, it clocked in at 7.5%, and it was dangerously smooth. The IBUs were just right for a New Years Day brew, the kind of beer that when you drink it, you know you’re drinking a beer, if that makes any sense. It was also recently brewed, as again, we were told by the super friendly bartender. I look forward to working through their catalog.
Vibe
I love the aesthetic of this place. It’s got an alternative-meets-Art Deco vibe, complimented by their bulbed arrow signs, red, white, and black bar tables, and black decorative ironwork.
There are also a couple retro arcade games you can play, and as I mentioned earlier they have a bag toss game set up to enjoy as well, providing entertainment for those out there for whom drinking beer isn’t entertainment enough. They’ve utilized their wall real estate to hang art, which is nice to enjoy as you sip your brew. Their staff is also super nice, and as we know, that is super helpful when establishing a great vibe!
Bathroom
You know the saying — you’re only as good as your least clean bathroom. That’s the saying, right? A bathroom can’t make or break an establishment, but it’s the little things like this that can tip the ratings from the upper 8s into the 9s. For this sleuth mission, I sent in Gracie into the women’s bathroom, and she returned with the news that it was super clean, kept consistent with the Art Deco theme with its purple and black vintage tile, and was complete with a separate ladies’ room lounge. I didn’t press for details but was impressed that it was sparkling clean the day after what appeared to have been a pretty rockin’ NYE party the night before.
Overall, this brewery set me up on the right foot for ’22 and gave us a great time. 9.3/10. Can’t wait to get back there.
-Speaks
