Dining Review: A fun taproom worth exploring
Brewyard Brewery & Taproom owners Kirk Nishikawa, left, and Sherwin Antonio at their brewery, located at 906 Western Ave., in Glendale on Thursday, March 3, 2016.
The hardest thing about visiting Brewyard Brewery & Taproom is getting there. Follow your GPS carefully and even then, look for dimly lit signs. Don’t be deterred by loiterers under the Western Avenue overpass. Just pull in to the back of the small industrial park and follow the hoppy aroma and sound of laughter.
Once inside, everything relaxes. Warm smiles greet you at the bar. A chalkboard explains the six beers brewed on site as well as the home-brewed root beer and barley tea. Gleaming steel vats are within eyeshot. A brick building facade looking straight off the Universal back lot hides some secret rooms. Strung lights illuminate the rest of the pub dominated in the best way possible by a ’36 Ford pickup whose flatbed has been converted into a giant table with barstools all around.
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Co-owners Kirk Nishikawa and Sherwin Antonio did the majority of the taproom’s finish work themselves from the counters to the tables, the tap system to the tile work. The whole ambience is meant to feel like a 1930s post-Prohibition outdoor loading dock. Not sure how these high school friends from L.A. made a loading dock feel warm and welcoming but they did.
The Brewyard Brewery & Taproom is located at 906 Western Ave., in Glendale.
My husband and I sampled all their wares, from the light aled lager, Sunday Morning, to the hoppy Soul California, to Black Sunrise, kind of a “diet” stout. Taken as a whole, the beers are, to my tongue, softer, with few sharp edges, less “punch you in the face” hoppiness, more old school flavors, comforting but not in the heavy British pub way. No, they’re totally California and if possible, totally Glendale. There’s even a saison named after the Glendale neighborhood of Tropico with healthy doses of passion fruit.
Antonio’s and Nishikawa’s beer-making philosophy stems from a method that goes back to the California gold rush when lager yeast was fermented like an ale in the warmer temperatures of the West. Called a California common or “steam beer,” these hybrids have a clean, light lager finish but a flavor profile with the complexity of an ale.
Food trucks can pull up next to the taproom’s open garage door. It’s remarkably convenient how it fills the wall as if it’s a food counter. Big wooden picnic tables are nearby to sit and drink your beer and maybe play a round of Jenga while you wait — so much better than sitting on a cold sidewalk curb.
From left to right, the Tropico Saison, Split Shift IPL, Soul Cal Hoppy Cali Common and Black Sunrise lager at Brewyard Brewery & Taproom in Glendale.
The Thursday night we were there the Curb Appeal truck happened to show up. The slow-cooked pork was killer as were the Brussels sprouts. Normally only Fridays and Saturdays have food truck offerings. On other nights, ask to look at the stack of menus from local restaurants. They’ll be happy to deliver pizza, chicken, falafels, sushi ... you pick it.
The crowd is millennial-aged, friendly and male-heavy (that’s a hint, ladies.) The music and sound system are great. I wouldn’t come alone or on a quiet date — it’s too spacious and warehouse-y to be intimate. This is more of a place to bring a carload of friends for fresh brews, laughs, board games and truck snacks.
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What: Brewyard Brewery & Taproom
Where: 906 Western Avenue, Glendale
When: Wednesday through Friday, 4:30 to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 1 to 10 p.m.; Sunday 1 to 6 p.m.
Prices: Glasses $6 to $7; Growlers $16 to $21
Contact: (818) 409-9448
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LISA DUPUY has reviewed more than 200 local restaurants for Times Community News. She can be reached at LDupuy@aol.com.
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