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Brett Keating
Oct 21, 2022
Lincoln Heights has beer in its DNA. Home to one of the West Coast’s first breweries – Los Angeles Brewing Co., which began brewing in 1897 and eventually sold to Pabst in the 1940s – this neighborhood opposite Chinatown on the LA River is having a beer renaissance. There is a whole host of great craft beer bars, beer-serving restaurants, bottle shops, and even a brand-new brewery, which opened earlier this year. These are four of our favorite places to drink beer in Lincoln Heights.
2118 N Broadway | Lincoln Heights
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For every rule there’s an exception; so when people say there’s no good Texas BBQ in LA, I point to the one big exception: Moo’s Craft BBQ. A Latinx-owned Lincoln Heights spot, Moo’s serves up beautifully dark, juicy brisket, heavily-spiced and smoky sausage, and some genuinely absurd sandwiches like the Sloppy Moo, which piles pork, sausage, and brisket all into one behemoth. And their beer list is just as exciting as the food – the incredible 27-tap bar largely features locally-brewed favorites like Enegren, Green Cheek, Crown & Hops, and Homage.
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2927 N Broadway | Downtown LA
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The Heights Deli opened in 2015 and has some genuinely great sandwiches, if that’s what you’re in the mood for. But the craft beer selection is up there with the best shops in Southern California. They’ve got cans from all over the country that you’ve never seen before. Take, for example, beers from Hello Friend, which is Berkeley wild ale specialist The Rare Barrel’s new non-sour project. You’ll also find freshies each week from places like Chapman (Orange), Radiant (Anaheim), Urban South (New Orleans), and Moksa (Sacramento).
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620 Moulton Ave #110 | Downtown LA
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After an extended closure due to the pandemic, Barbara’s opened back up after two years, and is as reliable as ever. This fantastic beer bar that’s been a staple of The Brewery since 1999, making it one of LA’s oldest craft beer bars – it also happens to sit on that site where Los Angeles Brewing Co. opened back in the 19th century, but that’s a story for a different day. Barbara’s has 15 taps of classic California beers, like lesser-known Russian River brews, a wide variety of Bottle Logic kegs, and plenty of other LA locals.
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1821 Daly St | Lincoln Heights
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Benny Boy Brewing is a beautiful new brewery and cidery in Lincoln Heights. You can hear all about their story here, but suffice to say, their backyard is a great place to close out a night of drinking in the neighborhood. Home to LA’s first tank bar – meaning they pour directly from fermentation tanks – Benny Boy specializes in old world, Belgian-inspired flavors. They also have a seven tap bar for house-made ciders, largely bone-dry and many co-fermented with other fruits. They’re known for bringing in some of LA’s top food vendors as pop-ups, so always keep an eye out for whoever’s serving.
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Keep your beer hop going with recommendations from our Beer Finder. Discover all the best breweries, beer bars, and bottle shops in neighborhoods all across Los Angeles, Orange County, and Ventura!
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Originating as an underground BBQ popup in East LA, Moo's Craft BBQ is a...
Located in Lincoln Heights, The Heights Deli & Bottle Shop features 15 taps of...
Barbara's at the Brewery is a historic, family-owned bar located at The Brewery Artist...
Benny Boy Brewing is a brewery, cider house, and beer garden located just off...
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1 thought on “Beer Hopping: Four Spots to Drink Beer in Lincoln Heights”
While the Los Angeles Brewing Co., founded in 1897 (in what is now Lincoln Heights), was indeed one of the city’s early breweries, it is far from even the first commercial brewery in LA; that was the New York Brewery in 1854. And as for the first brewery on the West Coast? That would be the Adam Schuppert Brewery, founded in San Francisco in 1849 — when California was still a US territory, recently ceded by Mexico as part of the spoils after the Mexican-American War.