University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Travel with beer: a Web travel guide to brews in Los Angeles

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Travel with beer: a Web travel guide to brews in Los Angeles

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Content TRAVEL WITH BEER:
A WEB TRAVEL GUIDE TO BREWS IN LOS ANGELES
by
Justin L. Abrotsky
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(SPECIALIZED JOURNALISM)
December 2013
Copyright 2013 Justin L. Abrotsky
Table of Contents
List of Figures iii
Abstract iv
PART 1: FEASIBILITY REPORT 1
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Chapter 2: Product 2
Chapter 3: Possible Competition 4
Chapter 4: Costs and Work Involved 6
Chapter 5: Sustainability 8
Chapter 6: Where to Start 9
Chapter 7: Metrics 10
Chapter 8: Social Media 10
Chapter 9: SEO and Advertising 11
Chapter 10: Future Considerations 11
Chapter 11: Escape Plan 12
PART 2: WEBSITE CONTENT 13
Chapter 1: Bar Features 13
Chapter 2: Regions 17
Chapter 3: Beer Terms 18
Bibliography 22
Appendix 23
iii
List of Figures
Figure 1: Home Page 23
Figure 2: Bars: Far Bar 24
Figure 3: Bars: Sunset Brewing Company 25
Figure 4: Bars: Father’s Office 26
Figure 5: Bars: Beerbelly 27
Figure 6: Bars: Surly Goat 28
Figure 7: Regions: West Hollywood and Santa Monica 29
Figure 8: Regions: Koreatown and Downtown 30
Figure 9: Interactive Features: Map 1 31
Figure 10: Interactive Features: Map 2 32
Figure 11: Interactive Features: Coaster Collection 33
Figure 12: Beer Terms 34
iii
iv
Abstract
The proposed product is a vertical website dedicated to North American travel
through the eyes of a beer enthusiast. This site fills a niche of travel interest and a growing
market in craft and regional beers.
The idea for the site came from two separate ideas: A travel site dedicated to a more
casual, fun-loving traveler, and a beer site dedicated to a more casual, fun-loving drinker. It
made sense to merge the two and launch a unique editorial product that fills the niche of a
week end newspaper travel feature.
1
Part 1: Feasibility Report
Chapter 1: Introduction
More people are traveling. Booking for leisure travel in October 2011 were 4.7
percent more than those in October 2010, according to a report by travel-industry marketing
firm Pegasus Solutions.
1
In North America, the intended—or at least beginning—market of
this site, that increase was an even-greater 5.8 percent over the same period of time. Business
travel also went up 3.3 percent in North America.
More people are drinking beer. Beer sales are estimated to increase 2.2 percent and
consumer spending on alcohol and bars were estimated to increase 2.4 percent in 2012,
according to a report cited by The Los Angeles Times.
2

Even more importantly, the craft beers of different parts of North America are
becoming popular, creating a regional personality for different brands and styles of beer.
The Brewers Association, a group aimed at promoting beer-makers, said that in 2010, craft
brewing sales grew by 11 percent in volume, and 12 percent in sales.
3
Jarrett Seldin, food and
beverage outlets manager at the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Airport Hotel in Fort Lauderdale,
Fla., a resort that caters to a large, wide-ranging and often out-of-town clientele, said not a
day goes by without a guest asking about local beers (Personal interview, Nov. 20, 2011).
None of this matters at all, however, if the staff doesn’t care.
1 “Leisure nightly rates increase by nearly +4% over 2010 while bookings jump +6%”, Pegasus
Solutions, Dec. 20, 2011. http://www.pegs.com/default.aspx?pg=news-20dec2011
2 “Alcohol sales projected to rise just a bit in 2012”, Rosanna Xia, The Los Angeles Times, Nov. 10,
2011. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/11/alcohol-sales-projected-to-rise-in-2012.html
3 Craft Brewing Facts, Brewers Association, http://www.brewersassociation.org/pages/business-tools/
craft-brewing-statistics/facts
2
As creator and eventual editor of the site, this is a work of interest. I grew up in
the tourism-focused area of South Florida, studied tourism and recreation as a non-major
focus at the University of Florida, and have been an enthusiast of local and craft beers for
nearly a decade. For the past six years, I have been traveling and sampling beers, bars and
breweries across North America. At this point, making a dedicated move to presenting this
in an organized fashion and building on my own information is a passion first and a business
second.
A strong amount of digital entrepreneurs in class started their products because they
wanted them to exist. Caring about the subject is primary, and continuing to care is vital.
In addition to my interest, I have been working on websites -- personal, journalistic,
not-for-profit and commercial -- for 13 years. My experience in building a site from scratch,
commandeering an evergreen site structure and tweaking a product to fit sundry needs and
feedback will all factor into the structure and maintenance of this product.
Chapter 2: Product
The site will be a reference, first and foremost. If has to work as a guide to potential
travelers or curious beer fans or else it does not serve a unique purpose.
Upon visiting the homepage, the user will find ways to explore by region, by beer
type, by bar type or by brewery. The backbone of this will be a well-honed taxonomy that
will allow the experience to revolve around the way any particular user wants to explore.
For example: A bar may be tagged as a type of bar, but it will also be tagged with the city/
area, at least one type of beer and at least one type of brewery. Any of these tags could have
been the avenue of discovery for the visitor. Of course, there will also be a very obvious
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search function for anyone who just wants to type in keywords. T raffic will not be lost for
incomplete or incomprehensive navigation.
In addition to the navigation, there will be at least one strong feature visible near the
top of the page (“above the fold,” to borrow a newspaper term that has been carried into the
digital space in less literal terms). This feature will be replaced or rotated at least once a day.
This will help the site look “live,” and thereby welcoming to people interested in continuing
to learn about the growing number of beer communities across North America, and not
necessarily gearing up for a vacation.
The site will include reviews of local beers, reviews of local bars, guides to regions,
reviews of breweries. Most of this will be first-hand responses from someone on the editorial
team, but can also include interaction from bartenders, bar owners, brewers and others in the
industry that aim to cater to the site’s customers.
Content can exist in various. Basic written stories, video features, interactive elements
(quizzes, polls, etc.) and audio slideshows will all be considered.
An easy way to draw in traffic and promote the site is to give out awards, make lists
and deliver superlatives (e.g. “best afternoon bar”). That will be an important part of features
as soon as the site is robust enough for that content to be believable. Lining up staff reviews
against reader reviews makes for further conversation and more time spent on the page.
Most importantly, the site will maintain a playful, casual and friendly tone. At no
point will the editorial direction pretend that this product is a white-collar travel magazine or
an overly technical, by-brewers, for-brewers site. The type of person this site aims to attract
is the casual person who would walk into a bar, restaurant or store and innocently ask about
local beers. Beer drinking is supposed to be fun, and so is travel. This site aims to remember
4
that, without lapsing into the flippant silliness, erratic grammar and stylistic abandon of just
another blog.
Chapter 3: Possible Competition (what they’re doing, what they don’t do, how they inspire)
1) Beer Advocate
Beer Advocate (BeerAdvocate.com) is a well-known site that provides well-researched,
intelligent and technical beer reviews. It was founded and is run by two brothers who want
people to drink better beer and share their experiences. It has become a strong platform for
beer reviews and also has its own monthly print magazine. It does not run many ads on the
page, but pushes sales of its magazine in several spots on the page.
The strength of Beer Advocate is its authority. It is known, is taken seriously and has
a large community of users that are dedicated to serious reviews. Being around since 1996
and supported by many, it is very comprehensive.
The flaw of Beer Advocate is that it is too serious. The site is heavy on text (reviews
of beers and bars sometimes have no photos) and features smaller links than most sites. It
also doesn’t serve travelers well, leaving you to get your own directions or determine travel
and lodging. The reviews are made for those who are well-schooled in beer terminology
may be lost. A glossary is hidden in the page, but not actively linked when terms are used a
la Wikipedia. It has the personality of a reference book and suffers from weak navigation/
taxonomy. Outsiders can get lost. All of these flaws will be addressed in the site.
The approach to ratings here works. The sense of community is also well-relayed.
That can definitely be things that my new site will take into account as the content is created
and fleshed out.
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Possible competition could come from Beer Advocate if they dedicated a small staff
to building out the travel page. The existing community would easily dwarf any I would
manage to build for at least several years.
2) Urban Beer Hikes
This product, at UrbanBeerHikes.com, has a more welcoming, casual approach. It
definitely appears to accept that travel and drinking beer is, in fact, fun and not a science
project. The site is dedicated mostly to walking around beer-minded spots in Seattle, Wa.,
The strength of this site is the personal take. It tells you about hikes as if you were a
friend of the writer. It tells you about the area you will be walking, and gives you tips related
to the actual act of travel. The writers appear to really know and love Seattle. Again, authority
and passion is important.
The weakness of this site is that it is based on a simple blogging platform with limited
tools. It is clear that this site was created by someone for fun with little experience in making
websites, taking photos, writing or producing multimedia elements. While the simplicity is
endearing, it makes the site extremely less likely to grow. It is also confined to just the Pacific
Northwest.
What the new site can learn from Urban Beer Hikes is that, even when presented in
a rugged manner, human perspective and acknowledgement of the entire traveling-to-drink-
beer experience can work.
Possible competition could come from Urban Beer Hikes if the site decided to grow
and use the same approach in multiple cities with a better design and stronger photography.
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3) Lonely Planet
This company is a tremendous inspiration for any travel site.
The well-researched suggestions, delivery of information and fact that nearly every
possible angle is covered has led to some valuable and thorough travel guides over the years.
The strength of Lonely Planet is the wealth of information and quality of staffers.
A formidable staff of published writers are producing this work, not untested volunteers,
unreliable readers or a single person with nowhere to start. The books reflect that.
The weakness of Lonely Planet is the lack of dominance in the digital space. The
company’s website is the near-opposite of the books. Information is limited, difficult to find,
and generally geared at making the user pay for the book or at least a PDF of a section.
The welcoming, let’s-break-it-down-for-you delivery of the books will be factored
heavily into a lot of the new site’s content.
Possible competition could come from Lonely Planet if its website became as
thorough as its books and had a separate section for beer drinkers. It would, however, take a
larger online staff to do this.
Chapter 4: Costs and Work Involved
The hosting and domain name of the site can be reserved through Dreamhost, a
reliable company that I have used before. The domain name cost is $10, and yearly hosting is
$9 a month ($108 a year).
The site is built using the Wordpress content management system.
Using HTML and CSS, the source code of a Wordpress theme Custom Community
was heavily edited to produce the project. The intention is to make a aesthetically appealing
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site with a scaleable interface that multiple editors and contributors could add to without
deep (or perhaps any) technical acumen. The principal weakness of any potential or actual
competitor right now is that they do not have graphically rich, visually striking, friendly and
easy-to-navigate design.
Relying on the passion of beer by a significant number of colleagues, reliable
content can be outsourced. I would start at offering $50 for a beer review, and $75 for a
more involved bar or brewery review, taking an average of ten each from outside sources per
month.
I will do my share for free, taking a profit when the site becomes profitable, and
working a regular salary-based job in the meantime. However, let’s, in this case, also consider
a best-case scenario where I am able to raise immediate funding and dedicate all my time
to this project. I have recently lived on a yearly salary as low as $35,000 a year, often with
thousands in leftover funds, so I am considering a potentially liberal annual cost-of-living
expense.
Other costs to consider include buying beer and paying for brewery tours. Per
journalistic ethical standards, nothing offered for free will be taken. Cost of beer and brewery
is considered in paying contributors, so this becomes a personal matter. The average beer will
be $6 after tax and gratuity, as will the average price of the brewery tour (taking into account
that many tours are free to all). I anticipate doing ten beer reviews and three brewery reviews
per month. Bar reviews are included in the cost of beer.
In, the costs for the first year are estimated as such:
• Domain: $10
• Hosting: $108
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• Design: $750
• Outsourced content: $15,000
• Beer: $720
• Brewery tour admissions: $216
• Year one cost: $16,804
• Year-one cost with my cost of living included: $51,804.
Investors will be needed to meet early costs. Considering the break-even cost $16,804
as 50 percent of the site’s value, interest in the site can be sold for $336 for one percent of
ownership, or $1,036 if my cost of living is considered. This number can be adjusted from
investor to investor and depending on period of time (for example, a pre-launch interest
will cost less than a post-launch interest, or higher investments will run for better values per
percentage point than lower ones), but it is a solid reference point to take into pitches.
Chapter 5: Sustainability
Other sites lean towards using Google-powered ads. This will certainly be an
important, well-used part of the profit plan, as it is easy, painless and still brings in money.
The time spent on trying to bring in every advertiser in person for a slightly larger amount of
revenue would be better spent on developing the site.
However, since the site is a particular, niche, the following types of businesses will be
approached directly for advertising on the site:
• T ravel booking sites (Orbitz, Kayak, Hipmunk)
• Bars
• Breweries
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• Beer companies
• Hotels near featured spots
• Non-competitive travel sources (outdoor adventure magazines, for example)
• Car rental companies
• Mass transit options (Amtrak, Metro passes, etc.)
Eventually, possibly still in the first year, merchandise and byproducts (ebooks,
printed guides, etc.) can add to profits.
Chapter 6: Where to Start
The site is being founded in Los Angeles, Calif. The logical beginning, therefore, is
Los Angeles, Calif. Los Angeles, while not being one of the most respected cities for beer in
America (or California, even), is a strong starting point due to its growing scene.
4

After Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco are both good options, home to
renowned breweries and easily visited airports.
From there, the site would branch out, never overreaching, to slightly farther cities.
Portland, Ore., Phoenix, Ariz., and central Colorado (namely Denver, Boulder and Fort
Collins) deserve early mention.
Being from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the Fort Lauderdale/Miami/West Palm Beach area
would be an easy and fast expansion for me early on. The area, however, is not a priority due
to a relatively young beer scene there.
4 “Tapped Into L.A.” Joshua Lurie, The Los Angeles Times, June 2, 2011. http://articles.latimes.
com/2011/jun/02/food/la-fo-los-angeles-beer-20110602
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Chapter 7: Metrics
I will be watching site metrics closely from day one. They will play an important role
in the evolution of the site’s design, which will be somewhat fluid over the first year as an
identity and form takes shape.
My main concerns are finding out what pages get the most entry clicks, what parts
of the site vary most wildly in page views (and what makes that happen), where the traffic
is coming from (Google is good. Elsewhere is better, since it shows an endorsement and
potential relationship.) and what is being entered in the search bar if readers are thining in
completely different term, then massive changes need to be made).
The complex categorization of both beers, vendors and breweries will be helpful in
producing well-defined terms to follow in metrics studies.
Chapter 8: Social Media
Local beer enthusiasts in each targeted region will need to be contacted and
relationships will have to be established and nurtured. People will be encouraged to
evangelize the guides to their hometowns, feeding on their pride. Bars and restaurants that
want to cater to beer drinkers will also want to get involved.
Readers need to feel like they can have a conversation with the people behind this
site. If they disagree or see something missing, feedback needs to be obvious and easy to
provide. An active T witter and Facebook presence is the backbone of this.
I have a solid experience in co-founding a T witter strategy at a large newspaper,
reaching out to readers through social media and organizing a “T weet-up” that drew over 100
people. I will definitely use this past experience to fuel the relationship with communities.
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Chapter 9: SEO and Advertising
Using my experience in gearing sites towards strong search engine optimization, I will
try to get onthe first page of Google searches for every possible beer, brewery and bar name.
The best way to do this is through clean code, clear usage of the names in prominent
places (titles, headlines, subheadlines), and not resorting to nicknames, abbreviations or
any inconsistency. Since a lot of sites do not consider these things, this should be a winning
combination more often than not.
Through social media, a strong number of incoming links will eventually add an
essential boost to make the site appear strong to most Google users.
The advertising should be largely reliant on a strong social media strategy, but
producing coasters or small flyers to distribute at bars could be a cheap and effective way of
generating awareness of the site.
Chapter 10: Future Considerations (a possible app, hosted video guides, publications)
A mobile version of the site is a must and will launch with the site itself. A more
specialized smartphone app will follow.
Untappd, a social beer app that already exists, is a strong inspiration and possible
competition. It makes beer drinking social and thereby fun. While a great product on
its own, my app will instead focus on information and resource with a location-based
infrastructure.
Video is important. A strong 90-second review can go viral, be shared, and
potentially add visibility to the site’s brand faster than anything else. Producing the right
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video will be an early goal and challenge to the site. If the videos are a big success, it may be
prudent to aggressively sell the concept as a television show.
Publications are a natural, profitable byproduct. A magazine would be an ideal form
for the site’s content. Print advertising profits still trumps those of online advertising.
5
If all
the content is created, it just needs to be converted to print form. This will take additional
staffing, which will be taken into consideration when there is enough content to warrant
making a magazine.
Ebooks will also be considered. A simple sale of a PDF containing an organized
collection of reviews and other content could bring in easy profits.
Chapter 11: Escape Plan
The site is aimed at being an authority and being at least buoyant in profit.
If the site is losing money, I’ll scale back efforts and do a personal beer blog, hoping
that I can do it professionally.
If the site is making money, I want to hold onto it as long as possible.
If I want to be done with managing the site, selling to a travel publisher or other
beer-minded site (such as Beer Advocate) is possible, but it seems more realistic that it is
taken over by an active contributor to the site. Again, without passion, the site will fail
under anyone’s watch.
5 “Magazines: By the Numbers,” Katerina-Eva Matsa, Tom Rosenstiel and Paul Moore of the
Pew Reasearch Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, The State of the New Media 2011, http://
stateofthemedia.org/2011/magazines-essay/data-page-4/
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Part 2: Website Content
Chapter 1: Bar Features
Far Bar — Downtown
Among a string of First Street restaurants in Downtown’s Little Tokyo is a place with
iconic neon signs saying “Chop Suey” and “Far East,” but that’s merely a historic holdover:
you’ve arrived at Far Bar.
There isn’t much of a beer-bar vibe at Far Bar. It’s merely a bar and restaurant with an
excellent, well-curated beer menu. Happy hour specials have a rotating $4 craft tap that runs
a fairly diverse gamut and there is always a cask selection.
A key feature of the beer selection is the seemingly constant presence of Firestone
Walker’s Wookey Jack black IPA. It’s a strong and complex beer but an ultimately rewarding
taste — just remember that it’s 8.3 percent alcohol by volume, so enjoy in moderation.
Televisions, tables and bar seats are plentiful, so it’s a relaxing place to hold court over
one or two beers with a large group or watch a game.
One more convenience of note: A Metro Gold Line train stop is only two blocks
away.
Sunset Brewing Company — Echo Park
Is it fair to call Sunset Brewing Company a bar?
It may be better to refer to the unassuming spot, nestled in the corner of a small Echo
Park shopping center, a store with a lounge.
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Above all, Sunset Brewing Company is a place wherein you can buy bottles and cans
of beer — in singles or packs. Whether or not you drink said beer on the spot is entirely up
to you. There are chairs, couches and places to stand around, but it’s no big deal, man — do
what feels comfortable.
There is also, in the corner of the lounge area, a small bar. The tap selection there is
short and extremely sweet. Our visit was met with an exclusive set of beers from Eagle Rock
Brewing Company, providing perhaps the most convenient way to sample the single local
brewery’s output.
Aside from apartments and sitting on a curb somewhere, Sunset may be the most
casual beer-drinking experience in Los Angeles. It’s easy to forget you’re at a store and instead
think you’re at an apartment party.
Father’s Office — Santa Monica
When you tell anyone who lives or works west of the 405 that you are a fan of beer,
they will almost definitely ask you if you have been to Santa Monica’s Father’s Office. And
rightfully so. The place is clean, cozy, clever and features a smart menu.
But enough about all that — let’s talk about the beer. Father’s Office certainly has a
bit of that, too — especially if you are looking for as-local-as-possible brews.
The tap list at Father’s Office is a smart one. The selection is not small, but also not
on the sheer-volume level of a stereotypical “beer bar” — you know, the one with a “100+
beers!” sign out front and a daunting, U-shaped array of handles bookended by domestic
lights and Guinness. Instead, it is a smart selection of 50 or so taps with a side collection of
what they call “The Really Good Sh..” (we’re quoting the menu here, folks).
15
Beers are categorized not by style, which is being eternally blurred as modern beer
culture develops, but by taste: Malty, hoppy, yeasty/spicy and fruity/herbaceous. This is a
fantastic idea, considering, for example, someone who loves hoppy IPAs may be interested in
a hoppy pilsner, and would have never otherwise discovered one.
While it may have been added merely because it looks cool, the zig-zag presentation
of taps makes them awfully easy to read, a plus on a crowded day when all the nearby menus
have been nabbed.
About a dozen beers can be traced to one of several breweries within a three-hour
drive, so if you’re looking to venture out to an individual brewer and don’t know where to
start, this is a tremendous starting point.
While the place is fairly small, they make the best of it with a long bar and plenty of
seats. The staff is friendly (easy to be amiable when you’re working ten blocks down Montana
Avenue from a tremendous Ocean View, we suppose) and knowledgeable.
Note: There is another location (unreviewed) near Culver City.
Beerbelly — Koreatown
Every group of friends has the one person who has the preferred home for group get-
togethers: The ambiance is cozy, the seating is ample and good drinks are generally available.
That’s what Koreatown’s Beer Belly feels like. K-Town has no shortage of places that
are flat-out fun to hit with a group of friends (including neighbor Frank N Hanks, which is
a cool little dive bar), but Beer Belly brings a unique mix of local taps into a friend’s-living-
room setting.
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Almost all the beers on its short list of taps and longer list of bottles are from
Southern California, and the bar is a couple blocks from the Wilshire/Western Metro station,
making it a unsuspecting perfect spot for any beer loving tourist staying within the subway’s
reach.
Be warned, however: For those who prefer the comfort of a bar stool (and you
should), bar space is limited. Chances are you are going to be sharing a table with your group
(and really, the best way to hit this place is with a team).
Added bonuses: You can control the bar’s soundtrack if you have an iPhone and beer-
tasting books on nearby shelves.
Surly Goat — West Hollywood
Now here’s a beer-focused bar that everyone can enjoy.
Sure, the Surly Goat has a tap selection of nearly thirty draft beers that range from
southern California staple Stone Brewing to Boulder, Colo., export Avery Brewing to
Germany’s Schneider Weisse. But also, it’s a huge place. If you knew nothing about beer and
didn’t recognize any of the taps, you would still recognize it as a legit and welcoming late-
night spot.
The best draw, however, it the happy hour. It runs late, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., so it
can roll right into your evening out, and features a number of quality craft beers for great
prices (not just the customary $1 off). In at least one case, Avery’s White Rascal and Firestone
Walker’s Pale 31 were part of the specials.
The crowd is a clever West Hollywood one that is friendly and energetic regardless of
beer knowledge.
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All in all, once you get past its unassuming, single door, this is a really relaxing place
to nerd out on beers without feeling too intimidated.
Chapter 2: Regions
West Hollywood and Santa Monica
Once you get west of La Cienega Boulevard, the pace tends to get a little slower. This,
of course, is great if you like to savor your beer.
West Hollywood is a generally quiet neighborhood, and probably isn’t suited for the
beer-minded tourist.
Just kidding! It’s a virtual beer heaven. While many places aren’t geared towards the
growing beer culture, it’s easy to find at least one quality brew at any given place. If you don’t
like where you are, walk fifty feet and you will be somewhere almost entirely different.
A notable high point is the Surly Goat, whose review is located within.
Farther west, Santa Monica features an assortment of bars, with Father’s Office on
Montana Avenue being the indisputable star of the show.
Koreatown and Downtown
Welcome to a real treasure hunt.
Koreatown is a world unto itself, and the bar scene has a distinct personality. Many
places are geared towards sitting at a table with a half-dozen friends and draining large
amounts of beer. Several spots have respectable beer selections, but may not be immediately
obvious from the sidewalk. Poke your head into some doors and you may be pleasantly
surprised as to what you find.
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The Metro purple line runs along Wilshire Boulevard with three stops in K-Town.
Each stop will bring you another set of beer-soaked possibility.
Downtown’s beer scene is about as patchy as downtown’s social and economic scene.
Expect some of the best and worst of everything here, often within blocks of each other.
Easy access to buses, subways and cabs make it a strong destination for beer-hunting,
but there is a current lack of a quintessential beer bar at the moment.
Expect to pay $6 a glass for any decent beers, with pretty much everything at $4 or
above.
Chapter 3: Beer Terms
Did your bartender just throw a confusing term at you? Relax, while the beer world
has it’s own vernacular, it’s manageable. Here are a few terms you will probably need to
know:
ABV: Alcohol by volume. An ABV of 5% is pretty standard in the United States. An ABV of
3% is really low. An ABV of 10% is pretty strong. Beer bars will almost always tell you the
ABV of each beer on the menu as craft beers tend to vary often.
Ale: I’ll let Webster’s handle the literal definition: “an alcoholic beverage brewed especially
by rapid fermentation from an infusion of malt with the addition of hops” (http://www.
merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ale). A very common and old style of beer. Much like not
all dogs are hounds, not all beers are ales. I hate it when people fail to understand that.
Bottle-conditioned: Beer that finishes the fermentation process after it is bottled. (See cask-
conditioned)
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Brewpub: According to the Brewers Assocation, “a restaurant-brewery that sells 25% or more
of its beer on site.”
Cask-conditioned: Beers that finish the fermentation process in a cask, and are served from
the cask. They won’t be as bubbly as most beers, but that’s okay. Just be brave and take a sip.
I’ll hold your hand if you want me to. (See bottle-conditioned)
Coaster: A small, usually paper-based, item that will keep your beer from sliding around or
causing water damage on a wooden counter, table or bar top.
Craft brewer/craft beer: The Brewers Assocation defines a craft brewer as a brewer that 1)
produces fewer than 6 million barrels of beer a year 2) Not owned by a alcoholic beverage
company that isn’t a brewer (partial ownership under 25% is allowed) and 3) features
traditional, all-malt beers.
Growler: A larger, sealable bottle that you can take beer home in. A lot of breweries and beer
bars sell these for, if nothing else, souveniers.
Hefeweisen: A beer brewed with wheat. Commonly known as a “hef.” Has a signature flavor
and generally a whitish hue.
Hops: From Webster’s “the ripe dried pistillate catkins of a perennial north-temperate zone
twining vine” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hop). An ingredient in nearly
all beers. Many bars will describe certain beers as hoppy. Many IPAs have this characteristic,
often hinted by the word “hop” in their name. Thanks, breweries!
IPA: Indian Pale Ale, which is basically a hoppier version of a pale ale. (See pale ale)
Keg: A steel barrel that contains pressurized beer. Beer is pumped out by being tapped—
usually from a valve on top. A regular keg holds well over a hundred beers. You can have a lot
of fun googling peoples’ efforts to discover the exact number of beers within one, or getting
20
some friends together and doing it yourself (just remember, no drunk texting!).
Lager: From Webster’s: “a beer brewed by slow fermentation and matured under
refrigeration” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lager). A very common and old
style of beer. Like ale, it is not a catch-all synonym for beer, no matter what that sign says at
your local restaurant.
Malt: From Webster’s: “grain (as barley) softened by steeping in water, allowed to germinate,
and used especially in brewing and distilling” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/
malt). An ingredient in most beers. Beers with high levels of it will be described as malty,
which is good to know when you’re at a bar and want to ask for recommendations from the
staff.
Microbrewery: According to the Brewers Assocation, “a brewery that produces less than
15,000 barrels (17,600 hectoliters) of beer per year with 75% or more of its beer sold off-
site.”
Pale ale: From Webster’s: “a usually medium-colored very dry heavily hopped ale.” Have
you had Sierra Nevada? That’s a damn fine example. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/
dictionary/pale%20ale)
Pilsner: From Webster’s: “a light beer with a strong flavor of hops” (http://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/pilsner). Almost every major run-of-the-mill American beer is more
or less a pilsner, but don’t let that ruin the style for you.
Pint: Yes, I’m aware you passed elementary-school science and know that a pint is 16 ounces.
I’m proud of you. But, in many bars — especially Irish and British pubs — a pint of beer is a
whopping 20 ounces. Pretty cool, eh?
21
Stout: From Webster’s: “a very dark full-bodied ale with a distinctive malty flavor” (http://
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stout) The most well-known stout is Guinness, but
keep in mind tastes can vary pretty heavily from that.
Tap: The handle that controls the flow of beer from a keg or cask.
22
Bibliography
Craft Brewing Facts, Brewers Association.
http://www.brewersassociation.org/pages/business-tools/craft-brewing-statistics/facts
“Leisure nightly rates increase by nearly +4% over 2010 while bookings jump +6%”, Pegasus
Solutions, Dec. 20, 2011.
http://www.pegs.com/default.aspx?pg=news-20dec2011
Lurie, Joshua. “Tapped Into L.A.” The Los Angeles Times, June 2, 2011.
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/02/food/la-fo-los-angeles-beer-20110602
Matsa, Katerina-Eva; Rosenstiel, Tom; and Moore, Paul. “Magazines: By the Numbers”, Pew
Reasearch Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, The State of the New Media 2011.
http://stateofthemedia.org/2011/magazines-essay/data-page-4/
Xia, Rosanna. “Alcohol sales projected to rise just a bit in 2012”, The Los Angeles Times,
Nov. 10, 2011.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/11/alcohol-sales-projected-to-rise-in-2012.
html
23
Figure 1: Home Page
24
Figure 2: Bars: Far Bar
25
Figure 3: Bars: Sunset Brewing Company
26
Figure 4: Bars: Father’s Office
27
Figure 5: Bars: Beerbelly
28
Figure 6: Bars: Surly Goat
29
Figure 7: Regions: West Hollywood and Santa Monica
30
Figure 8: Regions: Koreatown and Downtown
31
Figure 9: Interactive Features: Map 1
32
Figure 10: Interactive Features: Map 2
33
Figure 11: Interactive Features: Coaster Collection
34
Figure 12: Beer Terms

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The proposed product is a vertical website dedicated to North American travel through the eyes of a beer enthusiast. This site fills a niche of travel interest and a growing market in craft and regional beers. ❧ The idea for the site came from two separate ideas: A travel site dedicated to a more casual, fun-loving traveler, and a beer site dedicated to a more casual, fun-loving drinker. It made sense to merge the two and launch a unique editorial product that fills the niche of a week end newspaper travel feature.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Abrotsky, Justin L. (author)

Core Title Travel with beer: a Web travel guide to brews in Los Angeles

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Specialized Journalism

Publication Date 11/08/2013

Defense Date 11/08/2013

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag digital journalism,OAI-PMH Harvest

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Hernandez, Robert (committee chair), Parks, Michael (committee member), Westphal, David (committee member)

Creator Email justinabrotsky@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-344720

Unique identifier UC11296686

Identifier etd-AbrotskyJu-2141.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-344720 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-AbrotskyJu-2141.pdf

Dmrecord 344720

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Abrotsky, Justin L.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA