LA's Craft Beer Scene Comes Of Age As Dozens Of Breweries Open Their Doors

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Whatever your flavor, the craft beers are here and the brewing in Los Angeles has never been better.

John Verive is a certified Cicerone - essentially a sommelier for beer - and he says while L.A. may have been a little bit late getting to the beer game, we're catching up in a hurry.

"Now there's almost 50 breweries in the County of L.A., a dozen opened in the past year, there's probably a dozen more that are going to open in the next year," says Verive. "It's exciting, it's a great time to love beer and live in L.A."

While L.A. doesn't really have a signature style beer yet, Verive says the brews are on par with the best in the country.

The Arts District Brewing Company is one of Verive's must-stop "hop spots" in the Southland.

"It's kinda like the keystone of the downtown scene," he says.

The 17,000-square-foot space features a sprawling main room loaded with classic bar games and a 15-barrel brewhouse, where they produce several India pale ales (IPAs), stouts and Saisons.

"Whatever flavors you like you'll find something here at Arts District," said Verive.

Next stop: Three Weavers Brewing Company in Inglewood.

"Three Weavers is cool because their tasting room is open to the brewery," Verive says. "You can smell the beer cookin', which is always an interesting experience."

An open, relaxed atmosphere with communal tables helps feed into their motto: "It's more than beer - it's community".

"A great range of IPAs, English-style ales, they cover the bases," he says. "It's a great place to go and get a flight of like 5 or 6 different things, experiment and find what you like there."

Round three: Smog City Brewing Company in Torrance.

Semi-hidden in an industrial park, Smog City is known for brewing outside the box - experimenting with fruits, herbs and eve beer-wine hybrids.

But the one fusion Verive says you have to try? The Coffee Porter.

"It's the best combo of beer and coffee I've ever had," he says.

Nestled in the back of a tiny beer and wine club called The Hermosillo lies the Highland Park Brewery.

The seven-barrel brewhouse is only capable of making about 200 gallons at a time, so crowds line up every time there's a special release.

"There's no reason the beers should be so good coming out of there," says Verive. "The most important thing for a brewery is making great high quality beer, he does that in spades."

Last, but certainly not least, is the Beachwood Brewery in Long Beach.

Located on the Promenade, Beachwood features 22 rotating taps and one cask-condition beer for your drinking pleasure.

They take their beer very seriously - and it shows.

"Beachwood is maybe the best brewery in Los Angeles, maybe the best brewery in California," according to Verive. "No one pays more attention to the way the beer's poured and the glass it's in, how it should be served, the temperature, all that geeky stuff. They do a really great job."

While Verive concedes it "can be a little bit daunting to walk into a place and not know any of the beers on the list", he says next time you're thirsty, skip the cocktail and try out a brewery instead.

"It can be intimidating, but it's beer," he says. "There's no reason to be intimidated by it."