Brewery

Many craft beer-focused bars and restaurants offer beer tasting flights -- a lineup of smaller glasses of different beers -- and whether you're a beer aficionado or new to the craft beer world, they are a great way to experience a variety of different beers and discover new favorites. And they can be a cost-effect way to train your palate to recognize the differences between similar brews. While it can be daunting to pick a cohesive lineup of beers from a list of a dozen or more taps, there are a few methods you can employ to get the most of your order.

Trumer Pils , a traditional take on the classic German Pilsner style lager made in the Bay Area, launches in Southern California next week with special events around town, but you might want to exercise some caution when trying the beer for the first time. Europe has long produced the worlds finest pilsner beers, but the crisp and hoppy lagers are notorious for not traveling well. The style is so light and delicate that flaws and mishandling can quickly manifest in the aroma and flavor, and the months that can elapse between when the beer is brewed in Germany or the Czech Republic and when the bottles finally land on American shelves are not kind to the style.

ART Check out the open studios located in one of L.A.'s largest live-work art complexes. During the biannual Brewery Art Walk more than 100 resident artists will show off the best of their work for both viewers and collectors. An on-site restaurant provides food and drink and eye candy is everywhere. The Brewery, 2100 N. Main St., L.A. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sat. and Sun. Free. http://www.breweryartwalk.com.

Angel City Brewery's Heritage Festival Where: 216 S. Alameda St., L.A. When: Sat. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Price: Free to enter, beer $6 Info: http://www.angelcitybrewery.com

“This is Britney Spears!” quips the guy who picks up the phone at Mo's Universe, owner of three popular restaurants and bars that cater to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender clientele in San Diego. This month, as communities around the country celebrate gay pride, the company - now calling itself the “Queens of Beer”  - is gearing up to launch what it's calling the first “out and proud” brewery in the world. One slogan, according to spokesman Eddie Reynoso ?

The gig: Greg Koch, 48, and Steve Wagner, 54, are the founders of Stone Brewing Co., one of the largest brewers of craft beer in the United States. The company is best known for its hoppy, high-alcohol beers, including Stone IPA, Stone Ruination IPA and Arrogant Bastard Ale. Koch and Wagner started experimenting with home brews in Koch's Solana Beach, Calif., condominium in the early 1990s and opened a brewery in a San Marcos, Calif., warehouse in 1996. Stone has grown from 400 barrels that year to 177,200 barrels last year, developing a cult-like following among craft beer enthusiasts.

Adolph Coors Co., which has long touted the pure Rocky Mountain spring water in its beer, was accused Tuesday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of illegally disposing of hazardous wastes that leaked into the ground water under its Golden, Colo., brewery from 1981 to 1984. The EPA also charged Coors with three record-keeping violations. In a related action, the Colorado Dept. of Health cited Coors for alleged violations of the Colorado Water Quality Control Act.

At 16 years old, San Diego County's Stone Brewing Co. is ancient compared to the still-fledging L.A. craft beer scene. Along with Sierra Nevada Brewing and Lagunitas Brewing, Stone Brewing has become a nationally known California brand and is now the 11th largest craft brewery in America, according to 2011 year-end statistics from the Brewers Assn. Yet Stone Brewing's next target for expansion isn't some far-flung locale. It's cozy Pasadena. Perhaps as early as August, Pasadena will have its very own Stone Company Store on South Raymond Avenue, where, in addition to buying all things Stone, drinking-age patrons can sample beers and get glass jugs - called growlers - to go. But don't confuse it with a bar. "It won't feel like a bar. It will feel like a store," said chief executive and co-founder Greg Koch.

"I was 20 years old. I was wild. I had joined the Marine Corps in Kentucky during the Korean War when I was 17, and when I got out, I didn't know what I was going to do. I stayed in Kentucky for six or seven weeks, and it was rough. The work was bad, and it was starting to get cold. So I hitchhiked out to L.A. I had an uncle there. He had a friend whose whole family was in the brewery business. He got me in the union, which, in those days was hard to do. You had to be recommended. "I've heard a lot of people say they enjoy going to work.

When Michael Bowe opens the front door of Angel City Brewing in downtown Los Angeles, he points to the logo on his black polo shirt. "See this?" he says excitedly. The design is a simulacrum of the distinctive pointed top of L.A. City Hall. The real thing looms on the horizon just northwest of Angel City's brick entryway. "I started in Culver City 14 years ago, then bought the brewery in Torrance, but I always knew I'd move to downtown L.A.," he says of the now-omniscient logo, which he created back when Angel City was just a little upstart craft brewery that could.

Once a barroom outlier compared with its standing in other West Coast cities, craft beer has become a Los Angeles fixture. Breweries have been sprouting like hops across town in recent years, and the latest in the field is the new incarnation of Angel City Brewery. Located in the historic John A. Roebling building in the downtown L.A. Arts District, the brewery came under new ownership early last year and is finally swinging its doors open to a thirsty public on a regular basis. To celebrate, owner Alan Newman and brew master Dieter Foerstner are throwing on Saturday what they hope will become the first of many annual spring parties.

Smog City Brewing Co. finally has its own home. Started by John Porter -- just call him Porter -- and his wife, Laurie, while Porter worked at Tustin Brewing Co., a brewpub in Orange County, Smog City has moved to a new facility just steps from the hot spots of the South Bay brewing scene . Known for beers like L.A. Saison, Saber Tooth Squirrel and the award-winning Groundwork Coffee Porter, Smog City has become a favorite of L.A.'s craft...

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.

After millions of dollars were pledged just the first day of a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign for a "Veronica Mars" feature film, the popularity of crowd-funding services is sure to soar. Services such as Indiegogo and Kickstarter have already found popularity in the Los Angeles craft-beer community as brewers, would-be brewers and bar owners turn to crowd funding to overcome their dreams' initial financial hurdles. The last year has been big for brewery crowd-funding projects, but although many entrepreneurs across the country completed  successful campaigns to start brewing or expand their operations, Los Angeles-area brewers were having difficulty gaining support for their Kickstarter projects.

The gig: Greg Koch, 48, and Steve Wagner, 54, are the founders of Stone Brewing Co., one of the largest brewers of craft beer in the United States. The company is best known for its hoppy, high-alcohol beers, including Stone IPA, Stone Ruination IPA and Arrogant Bastard Ale. Koch and Wagner started experimenting with home brews in Koch's Solana Beach, Calif., condominium in the early 1990s and opened a brewery in a San Marcos, Calif., warehouse in 1996. Stone has grown from 400 barrels that year to 177,200 barrels last year, developing a cult-like following among craft beer enthusiasts.

Opened in 2010, Strand Brewing was an early entry into the L.A. craft beer scene, and soon you won't need to visit its Torrance taproom to get some 24th Street Pale Ale or Atticus IPA to enjoy at home. After three years of growing pains the small team has begun bottling its beers for distribution throughout Los Angeles. The South Bay brewery will package all the beers in its catalog on a rotating basis, and the first varieties to see the inside of the bottle will be 24th Street and Atticus IPA, the flagship Beach House Amber Ale, and Second Sleep Imperial Stout.

Opened in 2010, Strand Brewing was an early entry into the L.A. craft beer scene, and soon you won't need to visit its Torrance taproom to get some 24th Street Pale Ale or Atticus IPA to enjoy at home. After three years of growing pains the small team has begun bottling its beers for distribution throughout Los Angeles. The South Bay brewery will package all the beers in its catalog on a rotating basis, and the first varieties to see the inside of the bottle will be 24th Street and Atticus IPA, the flagship Beach House Amber Ale, and Second Sleep Imperial Stout.

A couple of Los Angeles home brewers have big dreams about their hobby. Los Angeles Ale Works, founded by Kristofor Barnes and John Rockwell, has launched its first commercial beer, Gam-Bart, which is similar to a Bavarian Hefeweizen. They'll be pouring it Friday at 6 p.m. at Far Bar in Little Tokyo. Without a space to call their own, the pair have been “ninja-brewing” with downtown's Ohana Brewing Co. The pair have launched a Kickstarter campaign and are seeking private investors to help raise money for their own brewery, either in Culver City or downtown.

Many craft beer-focused bars and restaurants offer beer tasting flights -- a lineup of smaller glasses of different beers -- and whether you're a beer aficionado or new to the craft beer world, they are a great way to experience a variety of different beers and discover new favorites. And they can be a cost-effect way to train your palate to recognize the differences between similar brews. While it can be daunting to pick a cohesive lineup of beers from a list of a dozen or more taps, there are a few methods you can employ to get the most of your order.