Firestone Walker is one of our best craft breweries. Founded in 1996 by Adam Firestone and David Walker, Firestone Walker has always kept the focus on Hops (Firestone) and Malts (Walker). The company quickly rose up in the ranks of respected California brewers. It's certainly one of my favorite craft breweries, Helldorado 2016 and Luponic Distortion no. 004. being two of my favorites from last year. Just this last year, they built a taproom in Marina Del Rey (or Venice depending on who you ask.) The space is called the Propagator. It took a while for me to make my way over there, but I'm quite glad I did.
It is in a prime location and features two separate buildings with a brewing space, gift shop, and the taproom. The space itself is open and features the craft beer aesthetic. Oak barrel tops from their barrel aged series decorate the walls.
The hostess allowed us to seat ourselves and we chose to sit at a raised table with bar stools. Within a few minutes a bar tender came over and dropped off a tap and food menu. Of the four people in my party, three of us were beer nerds, and the other was just along for the ride. He ordered a pint. The rest of us ordered flights. For mine I chose to grab two sours, Bretta Rose and Agrestic, as well as the Luponic Distortion no. 005 and the Azacca Single Hop Pale Ale. The latter two were good, but the sours were fantastic. I would single out the Bretta Rose as the best of the bunch. It's a raspberry Berliner Weissbier, and it is packed with flavor.
Aside from the beer, the taproom also boasts one hell of a food menu. I decided to order the pork belly tacos (see my other obsession). They were excellent, and I am a pretty harsh judge on tacos. Two of the other guys grabbed the duck tacos which also proved to be a solid choice.
The tacos were reasonably priced, but I was a bit disappointed in their flight prices, which were brutally high, especially on the sours. $4.25 is awfully high for a three ounce pour. Overall, our experience in the taproom was a good one, so we decided to cross the parking lot and hit the Firestone Walker store. It featured the typical assortment of clothes, glassware, and decor. What it can boast, is a kick-ass walk in refrigerator. In an ideal world, beer would always be kept cold for the sake of preservation and flavor which can diminish when the beer reaches higher temperatures. This is why companies like Sierra Nevada always transport their beer in cooled trucks. It was like the walk in humidors tobacco stores keep their cigars in, but for beer. The assortment was impressive and varied.
I would highly reccomend this place to any craft beer fan, someone looking to grab a bite, or someone trying to understand why craft beer is so cool.
