Verdugo Bar, My Bloody Valentine, and 6.66% abv

So last night to celebrate some friends of mine and I went to Verdugo Bar. A friend knew where to go but the rest of us in the car were going, "This is a residential street, isn't it? Where's the bar?". You expect to find a craft beer bar standing out amongst houses and convenience stores, truth is, it's not in the greatest part of town. Nestled in a completely random spot you'll find it, the only real way of knowing you're there is the food truck (which is amazing and super cheap) parked outside a shady looking place that says "cocktails". Even on a Wednesday, this place was packed. It was either stand around or else sit outside in the freezing cold on the patio. Now, the fact that they have this room behind the actual bar (as you make your way to the patio) that sells/houses (not sure what the story is truthfully) boxes of records--like old timey vinyl records. The DJ playing last night kept us entertained for the duration of our stay, which sadly, wasn't very long. The beer menu is short, but semi informative. When I asked the bartender what she recommended she gave me a look and said, "All the beers that are in black are the ones we have currently." Frankly, neither of the girls tending bar last night were very friendly and/or helpful. They just sort of poured your beer and gave you a total. I had Delirium Tremens, which normally out of a bottle I know is magical--but either something was off with the keg or it was near the end--either way--it didn't taste right to me. Even when the girl poured me my beer she seemed to show little interest "how is it?". My buddy got a Shakespeare stout which while poured rapidly, turned out fine. They had a few other beers on the menu--but we all just sort of stuck with what we knew. On a Wednesday it was packed and more people were showing up after 10pm, like flocks of them. The bartenders didn't seem like happy friendly people, that's for sure. So after round one we all looked at each other and said, "do we really want to stay here standing around waiting for a table to open up?" No. We ended up grabbing my buddy's girlfriend (to right a horrible wrong) and firmly decided we were going to Tony's (since Burbank is closer and since it's a bar I love). No offense to Verdugo Bar but, it's not my kind of place. Especially the neighborhood, it's one of those parts of town you try to avoid at night or at least, it appears so. If you like music and you enjoy being around hipsters, by all means, Verdugo Bar is the place to be. Me, personally, I'm sticking to Tony's and 38 degrees and Champs (not a craft beer bar, but it is one of my favorite bars). Which once we got to Tony's, situations were amended and we were well taken care of. We found a seat and played some board games until 1am. Now, getting to the actual beer. Delirium Tremens, while I'm sure if I had gone to Verdugo sooner--it would've been awesome on tap but what I got was a semi-flat stale tasting beer. No bueno. At Tony's I debated between a Rye IPA and the Bloody Valentine. For a moment I thought it had said "Bullet for My Valentine" but I think that the band just comes to mind whenever someone says "My" and "Valentine". Now, My Bloody Valentine is a red ale and it packs--wait for it...6.66% ABV. However, aside from the number of the Devil popping up on this beer (I've seen it in Phone numbers too, a friend and I nicknamed a former suitor 'The Prince Of Darkness" because he had a 666 in his phone number), it's actually really good. The girlfriend of my buddy preferred it over the Solidarity. The Bartender at Tony's, Sandra also gave the girlfriend a taste of the Manifesto, but the girlfriend still preferred the Valentine. Mind you she's not a big beer drinker. So girls, if you're looking for a light beer with easy drink ability and you like the color red--then yes. To me, it had a sort of cheesey aroma and the aftertaste was a bit like an IPA toned down. I prefer warmer homey feeling bars, compared to trendy darkly lit bars. Look for me at ColLAboration, Sunday the 26th at the Belasco Theater. Pliny the Younger is being premiered there--I suggest you buy your tickets in advance. Until then... Hope you spend your thirsty Thursday well. As always if there is a place you'd like to recommend, let me know. Same goes with beers.