Stone Brewing Co.’s solid IPA and Smoked Stone Porter are regular guests in our house. Come payday, we might even treat ourselves to a four-pack of its excellent Oaked Arrogant Bastard. But we’ve yet to feel a compulsion for Ruination IPA soap, Cali-Belgique mustard, or dog collars embossed with Stone’s insolent incubus motif. But this sort of Stone-branded merchandise, and much, much more, is now available within an arm’s reach of L.A., as Stone Brewing Store fixed its final details to grand-open in Pasadena yesterday, just a pint’s hurl from Congregation Ale House. Stone joins a Pasadena scene that also includes Lucky Baldwin’s, Haven Gastropub, and Craftsman Brewing, with Eagle Rock Brewery and 38 Degrees on its periphery, turning Northeast L.A. into the county’s vital beer country.
Even if Stone beach towels, Arrogant Bastard hot sauce, and baby tees might whittle away some of the mystery hovering over San Diego’s Satan-embracing ale-maker, a new space with 20 taps, blown-glass growlers, and cases crammed with Stone releases known and rare should transform Del Mar Station into a pumping drinking destination for both the brewery’s cult base and curious beer buffs. Come take a look at our slideshow as we scope the brews, stroke CEO Greg Koch’s beard, and get our swerve on at Stone’s new satellite.
Stone Brewing Co. Store, 220 S Raymond Ave. Ste 103. Pasadena; 626-440-7243.
