Beer

THE GENERAL public may scarcely have heard of it yet, but kolsch, one of the great summer beers, is definitely a coming style. American craft brewers are getting into it -- at least 30 of them already brew a kolsch, though not all call it by that name. But if it weren't for our craft breweries, we'd have very little chance indeed to taste this style of beer, because German examples are rarely exported. It's the home-town beer style of the ancient German city of Koln (otherwise known as Cologne)

Redlands' Hangar 24 makes some interesting beers with dates, wine grapes and other fruits. This one, with its sunny orange personality, seems particularly right for spring. It starts out as a German-style weizen, so you might be able to detect faint notes of clove and banana, but orange predominates. The flavor comes not from orange peel alone, which is a common enough addition to wheat beers, but from whole pureed oranges, complete with the rind and pulp, added at several times in the brewing process.

  Fireman's Brew Brewnette Here's a nice autumnal beer, a double bock made with two German hops and eight kinds of malt. That should give you some idea of the balance: Malt rules. It pours very red, almost the color of Port, with a medium tan head. The nose is malty, the palate flowing with chocolate and molasses. But it's not heavy, and it's only mildly hopped. The finish is relatively short. It's one solution to that problem that drives wine people crazy every year ?

This Sunday afternoon, the intersection of Glendale and Glenfeliz boulevards in Atwater Village will be taken over by brewery tents, wine tasting stations and food trucks for the first Atwater Village Beer, Wine & Food Festival . Organized by the folks behind 55 Degree Wine shop and the adjacent Link N Hops gastropub, and sponsored by the Atwater Village Chamber of Commerce, the festival will showcase more than a dozen breweries ...

With more than 4 million people visiting Yosemite National Park last year ? and that number expected to increase this year ? it's no wonder lodging inside the park is snatched up quickly. "We typically sell out during the summer season," Delaware North Cos. spokeswoman Lisa Cesaro said of its Yosemite accommodations (Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, Curry Village and the housekeeping camp on the Merced River; the Wawona Hotel, and in the back country, Tuolumne Meadows Lodge, White Wolf Lodge and the High Sierra camps)

Redlands' Hangar 24 makes some interesting beers with dates, wine grapes and other fruits. This one, with its sunny orange personality, seems particularly right for spring. It starts out as a German-style weizen, so you might be able to detect faint notes of clove and banana, but orange predominates. The flavor comes not from orange peel alone, which is a common enough addition to wheat beers, but from whole pureed oranges, complete with the rind and pulp, added at several times in the brewing process.

Have you heard the buzz of excited beer fans or seen mention of a mythical beer of white-whale proportions? It's time for Pliny the Younger -- considered one of the best beers in the world --  to make its annual appearance at the better craft beer destinations in the Southland. What about the beer compels people to line up for hours, or purchase raffle tickets , just for a chance to taste it? Pliny the Younger, brewed in Santa Rosa at Russian River Brewing Co., is not to be confused with Russian River's more-common Pliny the Elder.

There's a dorm brewing at Cal Poly Pomona. Literally. University housing officials are pondering the student trend of brewing beer in tiny dormitory rooms. Call them micro-microbreweries. The issue foamed into an outrage after a housing coordinator told students the beer had to go. Then it fizzled out when university housing director Ali Rahmani met with the students and decided to let the practice continue--for now. "The jury is still out," he said.

Bayhawk Ales Inc. is barely a bubble in the huge beer market, but more than 300 investors have wagered $1.2 million so far that the fledgling Irvine microbrewery will be a success. Operators of the pint-size brewery, which pours out about 1,500 gallons of ale a week in full view of patrons in an upscale bar and seafood restaurant, paint a romantic picture of providing investors entree into an industry that is going nowhere but up.

California is leading a national craft beer explosion. It's home to 12 of the nation's 50 largest craft beer companies, according to the Brewers Assn. trade group. So it's not surprising that some of the country's finest beer is brewed locally. Here are 10 of the best local beers to sample Easter weekend, as selected by Brandon Hernandez, a beer and food journalist, Zagat editor and Stone Brewing Co. communications specialist. The beers are brewed in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties and would nicely compliment a traditional Easter dinner, Hernandez said.

It's all too easy to write off the bustling streets around Hollywood Boulevard and the Cahuenga Corridor as nothing but tourist traps and over-hyped clubs, but scattered among the head shops, dirty sidewalks and over-priced parking lots, there are some beacons of the craft beer scene. Here are five places to get a pint or some bottles of craft beer that are worth finding a parking spot for. Blue Palms Brewhouse Not only the best place for a beer in Hollywood, Blue Palms is one of L.A.'s best craft beer outposts.

Garlic cloves dipped in dark chocolate? Garlic cheesecake? Garlic beer? Bam! It's National Garlic Day , a day set aside on the foodie calendar to celebrate all things Allium sativum. Garlic, a species of the onion family, has been with humankind for thousands of years, dating back to the Egyptian pyramids. Photos: 10 outrageous ways to use garlic Rich in beneficial antioxidants, this "stinking rose" has been revered for its medicinal and culinary traits long before "antioxidants" were a thing.

One of craft beer's biggest trends of recent years is the explosion of barrel-aged beers hitting the shelves and taps. These complex and often potent brews require extra care and time to produce, and it seems that craft brewers enjoy making them as much as beer lovers enjoy drinking them. Barrel aging is a way for brewers and cellarmen to add extra complexity and layers of flavor to beer, and everything from raw oak barrels to used spirit barrels to retired red wine barrels can be used by brewers looking to produce creative concoctions.

Beer drinkers who enjoy quaffing the creations of craft brewers can slake their thirst April 27 at the Great Vegas Festival of Beer . Those who don't live in Las Vegas will be provided with free rides to their hotels if they overindulge. Guests can sample more than 200 beers from about 50 local, regional and international breweries. The promoter, a Las Vegas group called Motley Brews , has collaborated with the Nevada Craft Brewers Assn . to create a new product, Pyrite Pale Ale, for the festival.

Remember that Jamie Foxx song "Blame It (On the Alcohol)"? If not, perhaps it's just as well, because scientists say that even the taste of beer (without the intoxicating effects of alcohol) can trigger that flow of striatal dopamine in the brain. The findings, published online Monday in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, "demonstrate for the first time the important role of an alcoholic drink's flavor, absent alcohol's pharmacological effects," the study authors wrote.  Researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis asked 49 men to try two beverages: Gatorade and their preferred beer.

Monday sees the release of two of California's most respected and coveted imperial stouts: Stone Brewing's Imperial Russian Stout and Firestone Walker's barrel-aged oatmeal stout Parabola . Stone Brewing releases their "IRS" beer every April 15, and this year they are adding an "odd beer for odd year" variant that adds espresso beans to the mix. Russian Imperial Stouts -- so named because the first of these highly alcoholic stouts were...

  Beer zabaglione Total time: About 15 minutes Servings: 4 4 egg yolks 6 tablespoons sugar, more or less as desired 1/2 cup Belgian ale, or another blonde or golden ale 1. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until combined and frothy. Whisk in the beer. 2. Set the bowl over a large pot of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Continue to whisk until the mixture increases in volume and thickens to a thick, foamy cream, easily coating the back of a spoon.

&nbps; Beer ice cream Total time: Servings: 2 to 4 Note: Adapted from Matt Schreiber, who adapted it from Antoine Westermann at the restaurant Beurheisel in Strasbourg. 4 egg yolks 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup Alsatian beerCHANGE BEER? OR MAKE SUGGESTIONS IN NOTE? 1 cup heavy cream 1. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until they are pale and lemon colored. Bring the beer and the cream to a simmer in a heavy-bottom saucepan, then slowly pour over the sugar mixture, whisking constantly.

With craft breweries exploring the whole world of ale styles, some people must wonder how lager beer, particularly in the Pilsener style, triumphed so completely over ale in the 19th and 20th centuries. Mama's Little Yella Pils is a handy tutorial. You don't find the ale-type riot of complex floral and funky aromas here. The nose is mildly hoppy and not particularly reminiscent of pine or citrus. On the palate, it's rich but clean, with a short hoppy finish. It even looks clean, as clear as pale yellow glass, with a moderate yellowish head.

SACRAMENTO - An influential state senator has a plan to allow electronic billboard ads that are currently banned by state law - including pitches for beer and gambling - next to a proposed NFL stadium in Los Angeles. The proposal, approved by a legislative committee, has outraged activists who oppose the proliferation of electronic billboards. They say lawmakers intend the measure as special treatment for Philip Anschutz, the Denver billionaire who wants to build the stadium in downtown Los Angeles.