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Dear LAist,
I could've sworn when I randomly popped into the Library Bar last night I saw you carousing with a bunch of people who all had name tags and were drinking free beer. What's up with that? How do I get in on the free beer action? And who was that dude with the bandana?!
Love,Good eye, Little Jimmy! You did indeed spot us at the Library Bar last night, where we were indeed carousing with other bloggers at an event that involved wearing name tags. Bloggers 'N Beer was hosted by gracious beer sommelier Christina Perozzi AKA The Beer Chick, who hand-picked nine beers for us to taste, beginning with a light, crisp brew from Craftsman known as the 1903 Prohibition Lager. The beers were excellent, except for #6 & #7, which tasted like somebody had accidentally ashed into my glass (it turns out I don't like porter AT ALL), Christina's knowledge of beer was impressive (did you know that India Pale Ale was once a normal English beer but brewers upped the hops and alcohol content so it would better survive the boat trip round the Horn of Africa as it was being shipped to India where British expatriates had worked up a powerful thirst while colonizing India, which explains why IPA is so bitter?), the staff was friendly (props to Christina's brother Dan and Amazonian barmaid Kasey) and the company was excellent.
We palled around with Pat Saperstein of Eating L.A.; Erin of Erin's Kitchen; Caroline of Caroline on Crack, who (disappointingly) doesn't smoke much crack (talk about false advertising!); and Elliot of Urban Daddy, which is neither a site for hip, young fathers nor a site for gay leathermen, but is rather the male version of Daily Candy, or as we like to call it Man Candy.
As for your questions, Little Jimmy, you too can gain access to this fast-paced, high-powered world filled with beautiful, glitzy people simply by blogging. I asked Pat Saperstein, who has a 9-5 job working at Variety, why she started her blog, which is strictly a labor of love. She said that after all that time writing about movies, she needed to focus on something else. Plus, you sometimes get to go to cool events and drink free beer. If you don't feel like starting your own blog, you could always write for LAist. Rumor has it that we'll soon be posting a public call for music reviewers.
As for the guy you mentioned, his name is Bongo, he's a musician from Slovenia and he rocks a bandana harder than anyone since Jon Bon Jovi circa 1984.
Picture courtesy of Caroline on Crack.
