October 18, 2009
Thanks to IPAfiend for inviting us for his (and Gloria’s) concert at Blue Palms. It’s a nice, clean, cozy place inside. Great tap selection and kudos to Blue Palms for their beer bottle menu. The bottle menu also explains the various styles of beer (as do some signs around the place). I think this is a great way to get some folks to try craft beer. The food was good. I had a nice Kobe burger; my wife had a pulled pork sandwich that was good. The only negative was on the ’wings and rings’ appetizer, we got precisely four (4) rings. That was a little tight. All and all I’d recommend this place highly to anyone in the area. The one Big negative is parking, altho there was ample parking next door, it was expensive.

October 1, 2009
Really enjoyed my visit to the great bar in the heart of Hollywood. Stopped by on an early Friday evening right when they opened at 5pm, and was pleasantly surprised to find out it was happy hour, which meant a lot of their tap list was available for $3 a pint. Can’t beat that, especially in L.A.! Selection was really good, particularly strong with local California selections. Bar tenders were really nice and very attentive (although we were virtually the only people in the place). Ambiance was good, if nothing special--pretty typical bar feel, with a few flatscreens around showing sports. Had a really great time, wish I could have stayed longer-I’ll be visiting again next time I’m in the area.

August 9, 2009
Blue Palms has become a secret "must go" for beer types that live or are visiting LA. Their events are thoughtfully organized (Anniversary Party, Stone release bus trip, etc), their walls are covered with quirky descriptions of beer styles, and their tap list is ALWAYS very, very good. I have been to Blue Palms twice now, both very impressive. They seem to go out of their way to make your experience everything a beer geek could want: convenient pick-your-own taster sets, proper glassware, rare cask offerings, etc. Keep up the good work Blue Palms! Now if I only lived a bit closer . . .

August 9, 2009
Went there for the first time last night (the night before their anniversary party). I don’t know if this is normal, but holy shit, what an amazing tap list. Barrel aged Oskar Blues, Barrel Aged Santas little helper, Russian River, Ommegang Rouge, Bruery Sours, Exponential Hoppinness on Cask!, and a ton of other Alpine beers. Also, don’t get me started on the Firestones...double jack, double dba, and pretty much all the components of 10, 11, and 12. Nuts! Didn’t see the bottle list, but that night, I didn’t need too. Tons of ratebeerians hanging out and chatting, including the very generous Chris (cquiroga), who now works there. The ambiance is interesting. Fun, lots of beer people in what seems like a converted Hollywood Theater. A few of the West Hollywood types, surrounded by a small amount of yuppies, and then a whole lot of beer people. Spacious interior. Food seemed pretty good (I didn’t eat, but my friend did). Awesome beer selection, I will return again!!!

August 2, 2009
Great lighting, nice layout. The bartenders are always cool, always helpful, and very attentive. The selection is great in my view, because it is local and fresh. In this region, you can make an all-star lineup of a beer list that way. They also always have a nice cask going. My only advice would be to not have it at 40 degrees, too cold for creamy goodness. The food is above average pub grub. The prices are perfect, and exceptional for such a fancy area of California. You can always find some goodies, as the owner goes out of his way to cater to the beer dorks (and maybe his beer dork self). Barrel aged goodies from Firestone Walker, Lost Abbey and more will be found there. Hooray for Hollywood.

July 17, 2009
Nice and laid back. Easy to move around. Service is always good. Brian Lenzo is very helpful. Never the same selection. I love the rotation and the choices. Food is pretty good. They have a small menu which I prefer. It means they focus on what they do well. They have great events here.

July 1, 2009 [ Updated July 5, 2009 ]
We spent a superb evening at the newish Blue Palms, but lots of the credit must be attributed to the good company of Cap’n Cougar and Chris Quiroga. Another part of the credit must be given to the bottles they brought! Still, I had the chance to get a feel for the place and there is no doubt that this has to be one of the top destination in a prime LA location. Other good places exist in the suburbs, but on Hollywood Blvd.? I would find it hard to imagine it gets better than that. Still, it keeps a lot of the Hollywood blvd. character. That is, the Blue palms name is justified by the fake palm trees which occupy the main room’s corners. I don’t find the place very pretty at all and would probably not spend whole evenings here on my own, but I’m about as far from an LA type of guy as one can get. As far as the service goes though, I was in a bit of a particular situation, but I presume it’s very good as the owner seems quite intense about getting a hard to convince LA crowd into beer. The selection can only follow and improve on that, Brian is not the shy type and will certainly contact the best breweries out there to get their stuff in. The Craftsman La Luz I tried on tap was my first chance to discover that brewery I longed for and was in good condition. Besides the Craftsman, they had a very fresh keg of Maharaja which, surprisingly for me, smelled as good as any IPA out there. They may not have had their best selection up on that night, but I’ve browsed through their online menu a few times and there was always a couple of beers in there I’d gladly be drinking. They also have a broad bottle menu including the likes of Cuvée de Tomme and Older Viscosity. A good place at the moment and quite likely an excellent place in becoming.

May 26, 2009
Stopped in a couple saturdays ago and they were having Firestone Walker night for craft beer week, with Parabola, Abacus, and a three year vertical of the anniversary beers (10,11,12) available. That was pretty cool by itself, but the rest of the tap list was also solid, and they have a solid bottle list as well. Big bonus point for having a current tap list on their website, as well as upcoming stuff listed. I wish I could have stayed for the food, but it was pretty crowded as it was later in the night, and a live band was starting to kick out the jams. A little hot and hectic if you were eating dinner, but I think almost everyone was there for the Firestone anniversary vertical dinner, so they probably knew that they had it coming. Overall, a cool bar that I wouldn’t mind hanging in again, with the great beer selection further sweetening the deal. The super easy access off of the 101 (like a block from the exit) also makes Blue Palms a very convenient stop for, say, a tulip of a

February 9, 2009
Went on a Friday night with my wife and 2 friends to see a friends band play. Really enjoyed this place. It was rather packed which made it very loud and difficult to carry conversation. Beer selection was great. I had Port Brewing High Tide, a Rubicon BLack IPA and then the delicious Marin White Knuckle, I could have drank a ton of that but I would not have been coherant whatsoever. We had already eaten dinner so just ordered some appetizers, this fried mozzarella and the nachos. Very good. Nice to meet Brian and enjoy a cool craft bar in Hollywood. A must go for any local craft beer lover.

January 25, 2009
cool lax environment. Very solid tap and bottle list with 24 taps and maybe around 40 bottles. I Had Port High Tide on tap, Green Flash IPA bottle, and Hair of the Dog Adam (which I wasn’t expecting to see). The values weren’t that bad on beer, about 6 to 7 dollars for each of those. Filled my tap beers all the way t the rim to ensure and entire pint. I got the fish and chips, which was also pretty damn impressive. Great pretty helpful attentive waitress. Cool place that you should certainly check out if you are in the area.