18th Street Arts Center’s 4th Annual BAM Fest (Beer, Art and Music Festival)

40+ Craft Breweries, 3 Bands, Contemporary Art Galleries, Open Artist Studios, 4 Wineries, and Gourmet Food Truck

All proceeds benefit 18th Street Arts Center.   Event Produced by Tap & Cheer Events

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Article by Venice Paparazzi beer connoisseur Josh Black:

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Time flies when we’re having fun, the saying goes.  It is certainly true in this case.   It has been a year since VP attended its first BAM Fest.   This year was the 4^th annual BAM Fest celebrating fine arts, music, food, craft beer and wine.  Having so many choices each weekend in Los Angeles it is often a tough choice.  For those who attended the BAM Fest over the weekend can tell you it was a great time with so much to see and experience.  The organizers bested themselves again this year.  There were an abundance of art studios and craft beer purveyors.  One day was not enough to sample it all.

The organization behind BAM Fest is the 18^th Street Art Center. The non-profit was founded in 1988.  The mission of 18^th Street is to bring together the community and artistry. The center has served as a workspace for over 700 artists from 4 continents. 18^th Street supports an international artist exchange, one of a few in Los Angeles. For more information regarding involvement with the Art Center, search opportunities under the “get involved” tab http://18thstreet.org/.

The music line up this year included four groups each with a different sound.  The line up consisted of Raul Pacheco and the Immaculate Conception, a band of musician all-stars (members of Ozomatli, Jack Johnson and DeLaSoul) to name drop a few.  KoTolὰn is an octet that brings a global music and vocal fusion to a modern musical sound.  Solo artist Ben Bateman performs fun cover songs that cross genres (Bon Jovi to Keith Urban) and Cory Phillips and the Groove Orchestra blended rock and soul.  A Great line-up of musicians kept the crowd entertained though out the afternoon.

About the beer at the 4^th annual BAM Fest, wow more than one person can taste.  40 breweries represented at the festivities this year.  The organizers certainly had a tough job assembling this event; however they really have proved that craft beer culture is at an all time peak.  This writer believes the craft beer culture will continue to grow and thrive to greater heights.  In consideration of so many labels offered this year, it was tough to decide which to sample.  Sometimes you just have to dive in…

My beer enthusiast compadre and I did just that, started off with Port Brewing.  Port is a pizza shop and awarding winning brewery from San Diego.  We sampled the amber ale and the IPA.  Both did not disappoint.  After touring some of the art exhibits we filtered back to the beer garden.  This time, had to go with an old favorite (it was a true surprise to see them there, thanks BAM Fest!), Ommegang Brewing from sleepy Cooperstown, NY (home of the baseball hall of fame) was there sharing their Hennepin, a saison style.  Also known as a farmhouse style, it is has a lighter, grain and citrus palate.  A simple beer with a lot of texture.  If the opportunity arrises, Ommegang’s prolific brew menu is well worth the sampling.  One may find several of their offerings at Whole Foods, Queens Market and local pubs on draft.  We were able to try some brews new to us as well, Phantom Carriage.  A local start up, their offering Muis is an interesting beer.  It is a wild Belgian blonde.  For the average beer drinker this one may seem a bit off; however to the beer lover (there are a lot of us out there), they have produced a unique brew.  It will be interesting to see what else will be produced in the future. The brewers are not just beer makers, they are also beer historians.  Making small batch beers in styles that in many cases are just notes in history books.

And of course some of the favorites, we had to have a sample, Anchor Brewing’s California Lager is an outstanding, simple clean refreshing selection, perfect for the warm day.  We also sampled the offering from Ladyface Ale House.  A San Fernando Valley beer maker with a long list of beers, from traditional to eccentric styles fill out their menu, the next trip to the valley will include a stop at Ladyface.

The presence of Duvel and Brasserie D’ Achouffe, both from Belgium made the beer garden a world event.  Through the course of the afternoon, both tents saw steady long lines.  They were both rock stars amongst the brews offered.

The beer of the day was a pleasant surprise this year.  It was a new brewery to both of us, Noble Ale Works (Orange Co.).  English 101 is a fine representation of a traditional English pub ale.  A smooth, cream style ale.  It is dispensed with a nitrogen system, which helps the beer maintain its smooth flavor.  A spot on representation of a classic English ale.  Their IPA was also on tap.  It is right in line with all of the West Coast hop monster brews for the hop heads, you have another to add to your list.

The list goes on; however the tasting could only go so far.  There were several other excellent breweries represented at the event, time permitting we would have indulged, Lagunitas, Sierra Nevada, Anderson Valley, Beechwood, Dog Fish Head and Green Flash to name a few.

The event continued to surprise.  There were at least two beer tasting classes during the day.  The first was hosted by Christina Perozzi, one half of the Beer Chicks.  The two are considered beer celebrities and authors of the highly acclaimed, “The Naked Pint”.  She and her friendly cohorts poured a sampling from Goose Island (Chicago).  Their selection included, the Goose Island IPA, Honker’s ale and Pere Jacques, a double Belgian style.  She shared how flavors in beer; paired with food enhances the beer drinking experience.  We also had a presentation from Alex Davis, the GM at one of the West Sides most well known beer houses, The Library Ale House in Santa Monica.  He demonstrated that one should not judge a beer by its color alone.  Many beers have one characteristic (its color) that may discourage a beer drinker from trying something new.  In one example, he poured the Brewery’s sour stout.  To his point, most beer drinkers wouldn’t consider a dark, black beer to have a sour, tart taste.  He also poured a local favorite, El Segundo Brewing’s White Dog IPA.  The beer demonstrations were both at capacity and a highlight of the day’s events.
A nice addition this year was wine tasting.  Since not all of us are beer fans, there was something for the wine enthusiast as well.  In the cool shade of the many art studios were wine makers sharing their fine skills.  They were also great at sharing tasting notes and information about the winemaking process as well.  Next year attendees would likely vote for more wine makers at next year’s BAM Fest.

For those who are artistic or appreciate the arts, this local event is a celebration of our social, ethnic and artistic wealth we have in the Los Angeles area.  The arts community and the organizers have assembled an event that will continue to promote the importance of our arts community as well as demonstrating the incredible diversity in our community, one of the most diverse in the country and the global community as well.

Have your calendar for next year highlighted in early October to make the short trip by bike, bus, foot, skate, taxi or car (if choosing to drive, please have a designated driver) to the 5^th annual BAM Fest.  It will be another great Westside event not to miss.  VP will see you there.

FOR MORE INFO ON BAM (BEER, ART AND MUSIC) FEST, visit