LA Weekly has a story on 2 microbreweries seeking to open in the SFV, including one in our neighborhood, if all the bureaucratic dots line up. I would love to have this nearby and walkable. I think it would be a great addition to the neighborhood.
Craft Brewing Coming to the San Fernando Valley
“After a divorce, Jennifer Boase was looked for a new business opportunity, and with her new husband Alastair, hired a brewer and set out to open a brewery.
Boase was born in Pasadena and grew up in Britain, but she and her Scottish husband Alastair have settled in the Valley. “We just kind of thought, ‘What the hell. This could be good for a lot of reasons,'” says Jennifer. “We don’t have any regrets. We’re really excited to be in Van Nuys.” MacLeod Ale will focus on British style cask ales, which Boase sees as a draw for beer lovers.
MacLeod Ale has run into speed bumps en route to quenching the Valley’s thirst. Boase says that craft breweries are not something that the city’s planning department sees very day, and she gets lost in the labyrinth of L.A. bureaucracy. She says there’s been disputes about zoning variances and parking, and likens the experience to walking into a dark room full of marbles, with the goal of picking all the marbles up. “You kind of discover as you go along,” she says.
While both MacLeod Ale and San Fernando brewing companies have made progress in their quest to bring craft beer to the Valley, flowing suds is not quite imminent. Boase hopes MacLeod launches in the first quarter of next year. Rogers initially pegged San Fernando coming online in six to eight months, but maybe even sooner if things with the City of San Fernando continue to go smoothly.”
