Fri Apr 11, 2014 12:49 pm
I guess I'll answer my own question after the fact. There are a few places:
1. Wally's (on Westwood, 1-2 miles south of campus). pro: amazing selection of stuff I've never seen anywhere else, and a knowledgeable staff; most what I bought there was fresh. con: extreme prices and not much mainstream craft beer. Go here to find something new, not to pick up a sixer of your favourite craft beer.
2. BevMo (just off Westwood, on the way to Wally's). pro: huge selection of domestic craft beers, decent selection of foreigns. con: some of what I bought here tasted very, very old. Very nice hoppy beers I'd come to love while living in Northern California tasted harshly bitter, with no hop aroma -- consistent with having sat on the shelf for too long. I actually dumped some beers I bought there, they were so bad.
3. Whole Foods (in Westwood village). pro: nice selection of 750 mL bottles, ok selection of 6- and 4-packs. The beer guy was helpful and went out of his way to look out back for something I was seeking. con: as with BevMo, some beer was very old and stale (but not all -- I found a nice, fresh 4-pack of Dogfish Head 90-minute).
4. Ralph's supermarket (on le Conte, adjacent to campus). pro: some decent prices on sixers; what I got there was fresh. e.g., a Hop Stoopid from Ralph's was way better than one I got from Whole Foods (though I will note that this was never the case with the Whole Foods in Santa Rosa, where I previously lived -- their beers were always fresh and amazing). con: minimal selection.
5. Various restaurants (can't remember any names). The few times I went out for dinner with my friend, there was at least drinkable (i.e., non-megaswill) beer available. Never a wide selection but always something good. Uinta's Hop Nosh appeared in a few places. Another had some Unibroue beers, including le Fin du Monde, which is fantastic.
Beer review: I have only one beer review. It was a Ballast Point Sculpin IPA in a can from Wally's. I tried this out of curiosity, because Ballast Point Big Eye IPA is the only good American IPA that I can get in the beer desert where I currently live in Australia. The Sculpin was unspeakably horrible. 100% bitterness, no hop flavour or aroma. At first I thought this was because the beer was too cold, so I continued tasting it as it warmed towards room temp. No change. I dumped the rest. This is not something I do regularly (particularly not while on a 2-week reprieve from Beeritary Confinement in deepest Oz), and I am a dyed in the wool hophead, so I assure you the beer was f-ing terrible. Given the high ratings this beer has received elsewhere, I suspect I just got a very old can. Moral of the story: always look at the bottling date!
Summary: despite being in California, and in an exceptionally wealthy area, Westwood is no beer destination. But you can get by. Check out Wally's for a treat, but bring your credit card, and check the bottling/canning dates wherever you shop.
