I visited Golden Road Brewing on a Thursday afternoon in February. It’s located in an industrial area along the railroad tracks, just down a dusty gritty road from a strip club and a restaurant supply store.
Golden Road sold out to Anheuser-Busch InBev in September
2015. Among craft beer fans this gave them a reputation as
opportunists. Yet, the founder claims that the money from the sale will help
with expansion (although, as a mid-size brewery it was already a large player
on the LA craft beer scene) and, of course, distribution.
The bar/restaurant doesn’t look like much from the outside.
A large corrugated iron building with some lines of twinkling lights adorning
the eaves. One enters through the large parking lot (which even features valet
service – hey, this is LA).
Seating is divided into three sections: an inside bar, a
wide covered deck, and a lower seating area with sun umbrellas right next to
the huge parking lot. The noise level was fairly high in the inside bar area,
with sports on several TVs and lots of semi-shouting conversations. The deck
area was occupied by several family groups and businessmen.
Now, the beer: 18 taps of Golden Road brews, plus a few guest
brews, were on. The menu has three types of fixed flights, a consisting of four
glasses: a "Core" flight for $8; a "Hoppy" flight for $9;
and a "Specialty" flight for $10. But.... when I asked, the server
said flights were not available that day because they were "changing their
glasses." Hmmm… indeed. So, I chose four different 8oz. beers. They were
out of one, and the server included a free glass of another, similar, style.
The beers were all pretty good. Nothing really outstanding, but all well made.
Not a place for hardcore geeks, but not bad.
The food menu seemed fairly basic and uninspired: snacks,
salads, burgers, and sandwiches. But the service was friendly.
Golden Road is certainly not a top beer destination in Los
Angeles. But, should you find yourself in the Glendale part of town, it is
certainly worth a visit.
Golden Road Brewing
5410 W San Fernando Rd.
Los Angeles, California United States 90039
Tel: (213) 373-4677
Hours
Mon-Thurs: 11:00 am - 12:00 am
Fri: 11:00 am - 2:00 am
Sat: 10:00 am - 2:00 am
Sun: 10:00am - 12:00am
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