best belgian beer selection in scal

[mr mouther]

I've been on a belgian/top-notch beer rampage for the last couple of months and I can't seem to find a place that has a very good selection to buy (not tALKING ABOUT ON DRAFT/ bar scene.)

Anyone got any places atht have a good selection. Bevmo in pasadena is out; galco's is out; gerlach's is out.

Thanks!

[rickpoet]

On the subject of Belgium beers...just came back from Belgium and really enjoyed the Cantillon Gueuze at the brewery. Anyone know of a place in LA where one can buy bottles of this specific beer? I didn't see it in the otherwise nice Belgium beer section at the Van Nuys BevMo. Thanks!

[Diana]

BelgiaN beers, gang. it is BelgiaN beers, BelgiaN fries, and BelgiaN chocolates, BelgiaN waffles, BelgiaN malanois-all from BelgiuM. Or, if you are actually a BelgiaN person, 'Belgique Biers".

When I find whichever twit started the whole "Belgium Fries, beer, whatever" affectation, I shall cram an Orval chalice somewhere sensitive.

See picture here:
http://www.truebeer.com/Orval-Chalice...

You can find Cantillon sometimes at Galco old world grocery. I have also seen it sometimes at Whole foods. Also try Vendome in Toluca Lake or Beverly Hills ad Red Carpet Liquor in Glendale. It isn't always on the shelf. Cost Plus sometimes has it...keep looking!

[rickpoet]

My jetlagged apologies to anyone from the Benelux or adjacent regions for my grammatical error.

[PaulF]

Damn ... I just started a thread on this same topic ... I totally missed this one ...

I hate when I do that ... really ...

Poorly started thread (by me): http://www.chowhound.com/topics/403640

[mr mouther]

i've been frequenting cap n cork because it;s closer to the eastside and they have s nice selection. one problem with them is that their beers get very old, and go bad.

i think it's a problem with their distributor.

i know four people who bought Phatome Saison's from them and ALL were spoiled.

I bought two six packs of Old Thumper and when I got home all the bottles has "best by May 06" etched into them.
That was last week.

great selection. but it's one of those places where you have to be careful and buy their more popular selctions, becuase those are the only ones that are reliably fresh

[bulavinaka]

Just came back from Beverage Warehouse in Mar Vista with among other things, a bottle of Petrus Winter including a beer glass - really didn't want the glass, I'd rather have more of their beer - but was impressed with Beverage Warehouse's ever-expanding collection of beers from around the world, especially their offerings from Belgium as well as ones from the US that state they are Belgian-style. For you Belgian beer lovers, I found four different varieties of Petrus - two in the 750 ml size and also in four-packs.

I go there about once every couple of monthes when I'm in the immediate area or just want to be surprised with items one typically won't see at supermarkets or TJ's. They carry a good inventory of wines, liquor, beer and nonalcoholic drinks/sodas of all sorts that are domestic as well as imported. They're definitely worth considering if you're in or around the neighborhood.

Beverage Warehouse
4935 McConnell Ave #21
Los Angeles, CA 90066
310-306-2822

[carter]

http://www.beveragewarehouse.com/sear...

Here is their list of imported beers at Beverage Warehouse - any of interest?

[bulavinaka]

I saw lots of Belgian dubbels and tripples as well as Belgian-styles, even a Thelonious Monk Belgian-style brewed up north :) - and a small amount in four and six packs - didn't expect to see any except Stella Artois (which they had cases upon cases). I've been drinking Belgians now for about 2 1/2 years now - not alot but when I do drink beer, that's it other then hefewiesens... Started out with Chimay and Duvel via Trader Joe's and haven't stopped since. Tried alot of US-brewed Belgian styles just by grabbing what looked interesting and have enjoyed alot of it including a few from Canada. The Achels and Affligems at the top of the list caught my eye there - picked up the Affligem Dubbel Ale and the Ommegang Witte from New York as well since I like wheats... I'll try to get back to you on what I thought about them... Also tried the Sierra Nevada Wheat which was good but different from Bavarian hefs. Nice refreshing beer - but no sediment to speak of :( - that went well with my Tacomiendo adobada tonite!

[afs]

the library bar in DT has a nice little selection on 6th and hope

[bulavinaka]

Thanks - not in DT too often but I get called to jury duty often enough to where this rec will come in handy... thanks again!

[kevin]

the best place bottle wise is Stuffed Sandwich in San Gabriel by far.

over 100 different bottles of belgian beers.

[bulavinaka]

Now that's impressive - the only thing I need now is the greatest excuse in the world to peel away from my family when we are out in SGV
for Chinese...

[travistarr]

go on Thursday night for wine night, bring a bottle per person to share, buy some food (always check the soup list as they are always good), then they close down the store and you sample everything till Sam kicks you out.

just remember to bring your own glassware

[kevin]

why'd you have to give wine night away???

just joking.

yeah, thurs from 530pm or so, and you have to buy food there. and make sure to buy a bottle from their cellar every now and then.

[bulavinaka]

Trav and Kevin: you two are having way too much fun at this place... and I'm really envious... sounds like a truly great stop... as the folks at Petrus say, "The key to heaven..."

[mr mouther]

That is a nice recommendation - does that mean that the food actually lives up to the wine?
I like Sam and the stuffed sandwich well enough, but the hoops that one has to jump through to get a beer there can be a bit much (I;m not a fan of the food, the bring your own glassware, or the incredibly limited hours)

[kevin]

just get a salad and you're ready to go, unless you actually want food food.

don't get chips, doesn't can't as food according to their sandwich shop liquor license.

[holy chow]

Say it with me...

Hollings-head in Orange.

Behind Duke's Burgers and in the Staples shopping center.

15 rotating taps and two walls of beers from the best in the world. Go see Kenny!

[Diana]

The OP specifically asked above for not on draft..bottles to buy and take.

[Grubber]

What makes you think that Hollingshead only has Belgium on tap? They have plenty to "buy and take" !!
As Holy chow says, "Go see Kenny!"

[holy chow]

That would be two walls of beer to take home. Amazing selection and releases that many don't get or wouldn't be offered.

Hollingshead in Orange.

Go now.

See Kenny.

[bigsleep]

The Sierra Madre location of Lucky Baldwin's sells beer to go. Stuffed Sandwich sells bottles to go if you buy some food.
Whole Foods Studio City and Third Street have pretty decent Belgian selections. Cap 'n Cork has a great selection. Vendome in Studio City on Ventura and Vendome on Riverside/Cahuenga in Toluca Lake have good selections. Blair's in Silverlake has a good selection for a restaurant - eat at the bar.

[scoot]

Try:

Vendome Liquor - Olympic and Doheny in Beverly Hills.

Bristol Farms - Doheny and Beverly, border of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. I imagine other Bristol Farms also have a good selection.

Both have all the major Belgians at reasonable prices. Plus a few unusual ones.

[writergirl]

I second Bottle Rock in Culver City (you don't have to drink them there, they have a retail license.) Also, Trader Joe's has a small selection, but I can't remember if they have anything other than Chimay (sp?)

[mr mouther]

not belgian, but the best thing i've found at trader joe's is Shipyard export - wonderfuly milky (strange to say since i hate milk) and it's only 5 clams my lady said

[money B]

if you're on the westside, i have two good recommendations for you. i'm an aspiring beer connoisseur myself, so i have spent many a day hunting for good places to get my stash. if you haven't been already, you should swing by the following:

wine house
2311 cotner ave. (just S of olympic)
310 479 3731

beverage warehouse
4935 mcconnell ave.
310 306 2822

both have a pretty decent collection of belgians for sale. also, if you're looking for something in particular, let me know and that would help narrow down the search... good luck!

[Cinnamon]

I 2nd the Wine House... they have been the only source I've found in L.A. for my favorite Belgian, Hoegaarten. (An unfiltered whitbeer brewed with coriander.)

[carter]

Might check my post below regarding Beverage Warehouse - I see one mentioned on their list. Not sure if the particular one you want, but...

[a_and_w]

I bought a six-pack of Hoegaarten at Albertson's just the other day. The one in Santa Monica on Wilshire at Berkeley(??).

[ladelfa]

Um ... Cap'n Cork on Hillhurst in Los Feliz?

[mr mouther]

ladelfa - you're an angel. cap n cork is close by and somehow was not on my radar. (somehow they fell off my radar after they moved to the other side of the street - go figure)
Not only are they close, but they have tons of Petrus and Ale Smith beer!
Yes!

[ladelfa]

Their prices are quite good too, at least on the handful of liquors I've comparison-shopped.

[bobbyperu]

The Whole Foods in Glendale has a surprisingly large selection.

[travistarr]

Cap'n Cork = Best Liquor Store Ever

or at least in Metro Los Angeles....

Hi-Time in Costa Mesa / Newport Beach might really be the best ever.

[AquaW]

There's also Wally's on the Westside, here's their online page to their Belgian Beer selections:

http://www.wallywine.com/s-126-belgium.aspx

-AquaW
http://la-oc-foodie.blogspot.com

[JonathanK]

Check out Wine Expo in Santa Monica. Great selection of grower Champagne, Italian wines AND Belgian beer.

Hope that helps.

[Hypnotic23]

After returning from Belgium my favorites which are easy to find here are:

-Kriek-a cherry beer
and
-DUVAL-delicious, you can also order this at BJ's Brewery Restaurant

Enjoy,

Stuart

[luvgrub]

yummmm...i used to live in belgium. and was so happy to find kriek at trader joe's and whole foods!!

[heckonwheels]

Stuffed Sandwich in San Gabriel has the largest selection in a restaurant/bar that I know of. Stores? Hard to say but the Bottle Shop in Sierra Madre has a top quality selection of Belgian Beers, not huge, but probably a dozen or more varieties.

On tap, I like Lucky Baldwins in Pasadena or Sierra Madres and T. Phillips in La Verne.

[JBC]

The Stuffed Sandwich has about 126 Belgian Beers out of about 700 beers on their list:

http://www.stuffedsandwich.com/beer_menu_pg_1.htm

And Lucky Baldwins has the largest most expensive single bottle of beer (Belgian) that I've seen in LA:

St. Feuillien Triple 8.5% - 9 Liters for $185.00

http://www.luckybaldwins.com/specialt...

[mr mouther]

Sorry folks, I am specifically NOT talking about on draft/ in a bar (sorry for not making that clear above, accidental caps probably defused my meaning)

I love the stuffed sandwich but the hours suck. who wants to drink more than one belgian beer before 8pm? anyway, a smidgen of their selection is what I am loooking for, especially if anyone knows where to buy Petrus

[heckonwheels]

I wasn't quite clear on what you were asking, but the Bottle Shop is a liqour store in Sierra Madre. While they don't have a vast quantity of Belgian Beer, what they do have is quite good. I can't remember if they have Petrus, but if you're in the area, it'd be worth a trip (especially, if you're in the Pasadena area as it seems). If they don't have what you want, you can cross the street and drown your sorrows with what you do want at Lucky Baldwin's. The Bottle Shop is on Sierra Madre Bl., about 1/2 block west of Baldwin on the south side of the street.

[mr mouther]

That place looks great and worth a trip - but is it across the street from lucky baldwin's or in sierra madre? (googling found just the sierra madre locale, which is about 8 miles from baldwin's)

[heckonwheels]

Lucky Baldwins also has a branch in Sierra Madre, on Kersting Court, just a few feet west of the intersection of Sierra Madre Bl. & Baldwin Avenue.