Once a year a mass of people descend on the Pasadena convention center to get their plonk on in the afternoon. I admit there have been a few years that I’ve attended where I’ve felt downright guilty; drinking like a true child of Dionysus on a random Tuesday afternoon while Joe Public toils away in their cubicle, but sometimes you gotta just let it go and live like you’re a hip hop mogul even if you hadn’t saved hundreds on some third party cell carrier.

And just before you ask and say “hey, how can I go” – bubby, you can’t. You have to be invited as a vendor who sells wine in some form or fashion – I know peeps at 7-11 and the looks you get when sampling $80 culty Napa Valley Cabs while rocking a 7-11 store number on your id badge are indeed, priceless.
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Doo Dah Queen Parade Tryouts ~ Padasena

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Espiau’s Restaurante Y Cantina~ 109 Yale Ave. ~ Claremont

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Wolf’s Liquor ~ 536 Washington Blvd. ~ Marina Del Rey

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“During the judging process, the statement was made that there is not a commercial pale ale in the craft beer market that is better than this beer.” Stephen Johnson, New Brew Thursday

Local homebrewer Andrew Bell has won the Bison Brewing / New Brew Thursday competition with a pale ale made from New Zealand hops that wowed the judges with its complexity, taste, and technique. The brew will now be made commercially by Berkeley-based Bison and will be in select LA bars on draft later this year. From BeerNews.org:

“As an organic brewer, hops are the most expensive and least accessible ingredient for us to work with. Only 25% of the hop varietals used in brewing are available certified organic. This is why hop centric beers are the most challenging for us to brew. However, the organic hops coming from New Zealand are quite extraordinary, with many varietals being higher in alpha acids (the bittering component of hops) than many of the trendy American hops. We are really excited to release a beer that showcases the true tropical beauty of New Zealand hops.” – Dan Del Grande, Bison Brewing.

Extremely aromatic from excessive dry-hopping, Bison’s Zeal Island Pale Ale (6% abv) boasts an intensely tropical nose with hints of passion fruit, grapefruit and fresh cut grass. Very light pale malt flavors and virtually no caramel sweetness allow the bright tropical and citrus notes of the hops to shine through on the palate.

“The homebrewed version that Daniel and I chose to win the competition was the hoppiest Pale Ale that I’ve ever tasted. I can’t wait to taste the final product.” – Dr. Bill Sysak, Master Pairings and Expert Drinking. And coming from a man that has tasted over 30,000 beers in his lifetime, this statement should not be taken lightly.

Light-bodied and refreshingly crisp with a dry bitter finish; Bison’s Zeal Island Pale Ale is a perfect everyday sipper on its own, but also pairs well with a variety of foods. Suggested food pairings include: Fried foods, curries, jambalaya, jerk chicken, fresh seafood & shellfish, ceviche, spicy sushi rolls, fresh milk cheeses, South East Asian, Tahitian and Hawaiian cuisine. Recommended glassware: pint glass.

The Top 10 best places to get drunk in the SGV, where “Sideways” could never have been shot… by Tony Chen of SinoSoul.com

1) Liang’s Taiwanese Kitchen
227 W Valley Blvd # 128C, San Gabriel

Featured attraction: BOGO $10 Bud/$12 Kirin pitchers all day. Despite the slow slide towards mediocrity caused by rapid expansion, Liang’s red yeast fried pork chop is still one of LA’s most affordable pork plates at $6. To sober up, try the pork-stuffed soy Jalapeno. Unlike a chili relleno, Liang’s uses a Jalapeño pepper to hold soy sauce braised ground pork and it’s better than any chili relleno to come out of the westside (or a Mexican kitchen). The drinking crowd is an odd mix of expats and FOBs, mostly middle age and menopausal obasan and omasans. They’re 1 pitcher away from cirrhosis, so a drunken hot-mess on an SGV bender won’t bother them a bit.

2) Al’s Bar
413 W Las Tunas Dr, San Gabriel

Opens at 7am with darts, juke, poker machines AND lotto. If you’re so broke you can’t afford the drive to Las Vegas just to leave it, come to San Gabriel instead and try your luck. Then again, “Leaving San Gabriel” just doesn’t seem as powerful. If you’re the sort of guy who likes to chase the morning trip to the dry cleaner with a shot of Jack, Al’s is the place for you. It’s so good that a patron will still come back to Al’s to keep the party going even after getting popped for DUI just after leaving the first time. (Linda L., you’re the true American drunken hero.) Image Credit: Googiesque

3) Jurassic Restaurant
15301 Gale Ave, City of Industry

This is one of the 2 themed Taiwanese drinking houses in the SGV. The beer list/pricing is rather lousy; the grub’s only decent if you’re into eating spicy and funky Chinese food. That said, any joint with the proverbial 2-story plastic dinosaur in the middle of the dining room and bilingual hand scripted signs asking you to “please throw up in sink [sic]” is winner’s podium material. Added bonus: it’s right next to oft raided, now deceased Hawaiian Show Girls and only four minutes away from the closest all-nude strip club. Photo credit: seanli626

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Faultline Bar ~ 4216 Melrose Ave. ~ Silver Lake ~ CA

“The premier gay leather and Levi bar,” Faultline features an unusual array of erotic art. Play 8-ball while you down a cold brew and watch gay porn on the telly. Viva Los Angeles!

hmmm… shoe shine?

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Some would say that if you need a spreadsheet to plan your social life, you probably have no social life. I say no.

I say, allow technology to do what it does best. In this case, organize information and make it easier to have good times on the cheap. Frankly, I can’t think of a better use of Google Docs. This spreadsheet is created by Redditor Grimitar, who should be commended for his contribution to cut-rate quaffing.

Link

Venice Whaler ~ Washington Blvd. ~ Venice Beach

Holmes Meat Market ~ 6525 Holmes Ave. & 66th St. ~ Florence-Firestone

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Albert’s Liquor ~ 5565 Sepulveda Blvd. ~ Culver City

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