Lucky Baldwin's taps into IPA mania

If you like your beer to be hoppier than a pogo stick competition, here's some hoppy (er, happy) news for you: Lucky Baldwin's is throwing its 11th annual IPA festival June 13-21.

More than 50 of the 62 taps at each of its two locations will be devoted to IPAs, including such cult beers as Dogfish Head's 90 Minute and the rarer 120 Minute IPA, Russian River's Blind Pig and double Pliny the Elder (that scholarly libation was already on tap Thursday but wasn't yet on the menu -- consider it a festival preview) and Victory's Herkules IPA. ("That's a rare keg," Lucky Baldwin's owner David Farnworth says. "I only have one.")

Celebrants get a glass for $8, which includes the first pour. Standard IPAs will be $3, doubles $4 and Belgians $6 (they have to get through customs, y'know).

"The interesting thing is that when we first started the IPA festival, we used to have to drive up to San Francisco to find IPAs," says Farnworth, noting that now Southern California has become renowned for its IPAs. Indeed, the two IPAs usually available at Lucky Baldwin's are from Escondido (Stone) and Pasadena (Craftsman).

Lucky Baldwin's' Pasadena location is at 17 South Raymond Ave. The Sierra Madre pub is at 21 Kersting Court.

-- Blake Hennon

Photo by Blake Hennon / Los Angeles Times

English villagers try to save struggling pubs

Reporting from Kentisbeare, England -- Money woes brought on by regulations, taxes and competition force many beloved taverns in the countryside to close their doors. But locals in a few spots have managed to keep the ale flowing. Read more here.

Photo: Bridget Jones / Associated Press

Simmzy's: Savvy suds by the surf

Mike Simms looks around his compact, 47-seat new Manhattan Beach pub and says, "We had two options -- beer or food. You can see which one kind of won out. We have more beer selection than food selection."

Not that anyone in the packed Simmzy's Saturday lunch crowd was complaining. The limited menu, from Anne Conness (who has had stints at Napa Valley Grille, EM Bistro, Campanile and Saddle Peak Lodge), is varied enough to keep things interesting. Offerings include two gourmet burger styles, a chateau steak, pulled pork panino, market greens and more. The menu expresses a dedication to seasonal, local, responsibly grown ingredients, with one caveat -- "OK, well, the beef is from the Midwest, but let's face it, that's where a lot of cows live." Granted, there are a lot of cows near Coalinga too, but Simmzy's goes with Niman Ranch, which includes Midwest farms. And some of that meat goes into "Simmzy's Awesome Chili," a concoction involving beef and pork, Fritos, cheddar, sour cream and Boont Amber Ale, which brings us back to the beer.

Sampler Platter: Caroline on Crack's L.A. 'bucket list,' cheap beer & freebies

If you had it to do all over again, where would you eat, drink, dance and visit in Los Angeles? Caroline on Crack has posted a subjective and most excellent list (I'd argue that the subjectivity of "best of" lists is what makes them so intriguing) of what to do in Los Angeles before you die. What's on your list?

• From sauerkraut cocktails at Copa d'Oro to roasted bone marrow at Church & State to taro ice cream at Fosselman’s, Caroline on Crack posts her list of 100 Things To Try in L.A. Before You Die.
• Two Fullerton college students have joined forces to launch ThriftyBeer.com: You input your city or neighborhood and it outputs the top 10 locations that sell cheap beer (with a Google map too). LAist
• McDonald's dollar menu vs. KFC's ultimate value menu vs. Taco Bell's beef-and-cheese volcanoes: which fast-food value items are worth the money? Salon
• The planned Whole Foods at Selma and Vine is on hold until the market takes a better turn. Racked LA 
• Sinosoul ponders the morality of freebies while sipping free beer and eating free sliders at newly opened Pasadena brewpub. Brix 42. 
• La Cachette will close when La Cachette Bistro opens at the end of July. Eater LA

-- Elina Shatkin

Photos, from left: Dinner at the downtown restaurant Church & State. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times. Right: Miller Genuine Draft and Olde English 800. Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times