Chimay is a revered Belgium brewery that dates to 1862, when Cistercian Trappist monks began producing beer and cheese to sustain the order, employ locals and generate money for their charitable foundations. For the past decade, brewmaster Dominique Denis has been entrusted with maintaining the consistent excellence of Chimay Red, White and Blue. On October 24, we met at the L.A. Beer Week Festival . He took a break from pouring Chimay in the Descanso Gardens rosarium to discuss his background

The L.A. BEER BLAST is designed to let Food GPS readers know about what’s new at select L.A. bars and restaurants with great beer selections. You’ll also discover great beer-related events in the area and learn about industry leaders. Expect a new L.A. BEER BLAST every Thursday evening, in time for the weekend rush. Look in the left sidebar, SUBSCRIBE to Food GPS and you’ll receive the L.A. BEER BLAST by e-mail. This week, Brew & You columnist Sean Inman discusses “trusted filters tha

Matt Brynildson is a Minnesota native who had a background in chemistry and was on the verge of enrolling in med school. Instead he got a job at Kalamazoo Spice Extraction Company (Kalsec) in Michigan and was fortuitously placed in their hops lab. He became a voracious home brewer and was inspired by Bell’s Brewery, “a pioneering craft brewery in the Midwest. Larry Bell, the original owner and brewer, was eccentric, brewing big hoppy beers before anybody in the industry was thinking about it.”

The L.A. BEER BLAST is designed to let Food GPS readers know about what’s new at select L.A. bars and restaurants with great beer selections. You’ll also discover great beer-related events in the area and learn about industry leaders. Expect a new L.A. BEER BLAST every Thursday evening, in time for the weekend rush. Look in the left sidebar, SUBSCRIBE to Food GPS and you’ll receive the L.A. BEER BLAST by e-mail. San Diego native Tomme Arthur, brewmaster for Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey,