

Eagle Rock Brewery has been providing for the Los Angeles craft beer community for 18 months. Now it is time for the craft beer community to return the favor.

Apparently, City Hall wants Eagle Rock to jump through another hoop to keep their permits at the current location. (As if they can easily hop to a new one). If you want to ensure that you can continue to enjoy their new Black I IPA or the beer of the week, (see below), then here is what you can do:

Option 1 – Show up at City Hall on 200 North Spring Street at Room 1050 at 2pm on Tuesday, July 12th. You don’t have to make an impassioned Jimmy Stewart style speech. But do not underestimate the power of just being there. Proudly wear your Eagle Rock Brewery hat, wrist band or shirt. It will send a message to the powers that be that there are constituents (voting constituents) that want Eagle Rock Brewery to stay put at its current location.

Option 2 – If you are, like me, unable to break away from work, you can still be a presence in the room. Check your circle of beer loving friends and see if one of you can go as a representative for a group. And if public comment is allowed, have that representative stand up and say that your entire group all want Eagle Rock to keep brewing where they are.

Option 3 – Post your support on the Eagle Rock Brewery Facebook page and Twitter feed. And if you blog, blog about it. Put your support out in the open. Let your friends know. Let’s harness the power of social media to let City Hall know how much we care.

Option 4 – Write or call the Zoning Administration at the address and phone number below: 200 North Spring Street, Room 763 Los Angeles, California 90012. (213)-978-1318.

It doesn’t matter which method you use as long as you make sure that your opinion is counted. We shouldn’t have to fight to hold onto a local brewery but since that is the position we find ourselves in.

For the craft Beer of the Week, I recommend Eagle Rock’s Ginger Saison. This orange hued brew merges the punch of ginger with the lightness of the Belgian saison style for a great summer pick me up. And neither of those two bold flavors are overwhelmed by the other. This beer would work really well with chicken dishes and would add punch to a regular salad.

Your Homework is to schedule a visit to Long Beach and support another brewery that recently opened. You might recognize the Beachwood BBQ name from the Beer Blast. Well, they have a second location with a brewery! Here is a taster of what beers you may see on tap, Foam Top Cream Ale: a traditional American cream ale, Uno Belgian Single Ale: a lively Belgian blond ale and Kilgore Stout: an American stout brewed with rye malt for a silky body.

Find more of Sean Inman’s writing on his blog, Beer Search Party.