Westwood Brewing Company: “A great hang out with well brewed ales”
Jul 18 '01
The Bottom Line A nice little find in Westwood, brewing some very good ales and providing a great casual and friendly atmosphere. A very worthy visit for any beer-drinking visitors to the area.
Beers Tasted
JW Pale Ale: 4 Stars
Ruby Red Ale: 3 Stars
Honey Porter: 2 Stars
Smoked Scottish Ale: 5 Stars
All recommended, although the Honey Porter was a slight disappointment
Introduction
Here I sit, having returned from my trip to LA, with a mass of beer notes to tie together. I resisted the temptation of racking up additional eroyalties and instead decided to throw all of my Westwood Brewing Company reviews into one.
The Westwood Brewing Company is located in the center of “Westwood Village”, one of LA’s fashionable communities, populated mostly by students and young professionals.
The main bar and restaurant was pretty busy for a Monday night, while a second bar upstairs was hosting a comedy night. I took my seat at the bar and was instantly greeted by a friendly bartender. There were 6 beers on tap that pulled directly from 381-gallon tanks; you couldn’t get much fresher than this. I glanced over the available beers and decided that there were 3 of particular interest, so I figured I should go for a pint instead of the samplers.
Beer Notes
JW Pale Ale
This is an ale very light in color, almost lager-like, with a low carbonation and minimal foam. The nose is fresh and piney with good signs of citrus, which comes through in the flavor. It’s fresh tasting with a mixture of sweet lemon and grapefruit. There is a slight tang on the finish, but otherwise the fruity flavors are sweet and more subtle. It rounds out slightly lemony, but not particularly long.
This is a light, refreshing and easy drinking pale ale that would certainly work well on mainstream lager drinkers. There’s not a whole lot of depth or body, but it does work pretty well as a friendly beer. It certainly makes a great session beer and is particularly suited to summertime.
I’d ignore the menu recommendations on this one of Cajun lamb chops, Jambalaya and Thai Chicken Pizza and go for something lighter such as a vinaigary or citrus salad.
Recommended: Yes
Ruby Red Ale
This one pours to a fairly dark reddish-purple color. The nose is a little perfumey with some subdued fruitiness. A spritzy carbonation greets the palate, but overall it’s a little light. The flavors are predominantly sweet and malty, sugary, berry-like, slightly toasty and a light herb. There’s some bitterness in the finish that balances the beer out well, while there is some sweetness in the aftertaste that was a little short-lived.
While not quite full enough in body or flavor, this red ale was not displeasing either. It’s another “easy to get used to” ale, and would be my preference over Killian’s. I’d recommended it to newcomers to this style.
The menu recommends big juicy burgers, which I would go along with, but I think this beer would improve significantly with Fish & Chips.
Recommended: Yes
Honey Porter
I had started out intending to have 3 beers but later squeezed in the Ruby Red. So by this time I figured that I should try the porter in the sample size instead.
At first looks everything seemed well with this one, black in color looking almost espresso-like, with a nice head. I really didn’t get much in the nose though, a little malt, a little flowery but otherwise very clean. It was also very light on the palate and didn’t create too much interest at all. The flavors were certainly much better, if not exceptional, with a noticeable malt and a lingering honey aftertaste.
This one was certainly a disappointment, lacking in character and not really offering much to talk about. I might have even guessed that this was a Black Lager, as it didn’t really have enough to typify a porter. The bartender informed me that the bitter would normally take the place of the porter, which was a shame.
The beer may improve with food.
Recommended: try the sample size
Smoked Scottish Ale
I had decided to leave the best (or the one that most interested me) until last. A little cautious after the porter experience, I decided to take this one in the sample size. One sip quickly told me to request the bartender to turn this into a “full” one. The menu notes reveal:
The secret lies in our restrained use of peat-smoked malt, which imparts a delicate flavor similar to that of a fine Scotch Whisky. Sparing no expense, we use a special Scottish yeast, then mature this malty ale well over a month before serving.”
This is a very dark brown color verging towards black. The nose is certainly full of malt and smokiness, which also comes through in a bold and well-pronounced flavor, while there is a slight bitterness in the finish. The dry smokiness is just balanced out in the aftertaste by a little lingering malt.
This is a pretty easy drinking beer for the style, medium to full in body, and very satisfying. It’s a very good interpretation of its kilt wearing counterpart, full in body and flavor. If they sold this by the bottle I would have taken some home.
Recommended: Yes
Prices
Pint: $3.50
Taster (5oz?): $1.25
Other Beers
There was also a Blonde and a Hefeweissen (which actually has 3 different recipes, American, German, and Belgian) that I did not try.
There are over 40 ales in total that are offered in rotation and by season, most notable of which is the award-winning Wee Heavy, as well as an English bitter that I would have liked to try. Other interesting sounding brews include a Belgian Triple and Quadruple (?) and a Pumpkin Spice Ale. I will certainly have to return to try some more.
For everyone else, there’s a full bar, draft Guinness and Cider, as well as a few popular bottled beers. The majority of the crowd, however, seemed content to be drinking the house-brewed ales, in particular the Hefeweissen.
Food
This is a brewpub, and my sole intention here was to review the beer. However there is a fairly interesting menu with a variety of pizzas, sandwiches, salads, fish, pasta, steaks and bar appetizers. Prices range from cheap to $22 (the 16oz Porterhouse).
Verdict
This is not the most exciting range of ales I’ve ever tasted but all were very enjoyable, most notably the Scottish Ale. I would certainly like to return when some of the other brews are available. I certainly recommend that any visitor to the area should check this brewery out for some satisfying alternative drinking and a friendly casual atmosphere. Their ales seem like easier to drink versions and are great for newcomers to those styles, but there is also plenty of interest for beer veterans too.
Detailed Ratings: [Appearance (5), Aroma (10), Palate (5), Flavor (10), Overall (20)]
JW Pale Ale 3/7/3/7/14
Score: 3.4
Ruby Red Ale 2/6/3/7/11
Score 2.9
Honey Porter 5/5/2/5/8
Score: 2.5
Smoked Scottish Ale 5/8/4/8/16
Score: 4.1
Official Website
www.westwoodbrewing.com
Location & Contact Information
The Westwood Brewing Company
1097 Glendon Avenue
Westwood, CA 90024
310.209.2739
Fax 310.824.2739
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Member: Andrew Smith
Location: California via Yorkshire
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