LA Weekly Burgers & Beer

I’m finally getting around to reviewing this event that occurred in August because I finally recovered from all the burgers and beer they served. They are served slider-​size for the most part (some places such as Hawkins were serving a half of their massive burgers) but you will get completely stuffed!
This is definitely the best way to try tons of different burgers from LA restaurants and also wash them down with craft beers from various breweries from LA, Oregon, Hawaii, and more. Having the event at the Coliseum made it easy to walk around and visit each restaurant.
Ultimately the main attraction was Animal and their «boner burger» which included bone marrow. For me this was the tastiest burger.
I also liked Plan Check which featured a quail egg burger that was impressive to photograph but even more delicious to eat.
Other notables included the Pono Burger (with guac and a crisp potato), Cassell’s, and Badmaash (lamb burger for a change of pace).
For advice, I’d say that VIP pass is definitely worth it. It lets you in at 2pm, an hour before general admission, and that way you can get to the big attractions like Animal with minimal wait. Towards the end of the event, Animal had a line that stretched for awhile. We didn’t have to line up for the VIP line and there wasn’t hysteria to get in right at 2pm so that was nice.
If you want to do general admission, 3−7pm is plenty of time but you may not be able to get to everything you want. With the VIP pass, we were able to get to every burger place we wanted to try without waiting in line that much.
Another tip is that the Coliseum doesn’t afford much shade and their aren’t too many tables so you’ll want to stake out your area pretty early.
For non-​beer drinkers there are booths giving out Jarritos and various delicious sparkling energy drinks. There are also jugs filled with water bottles so make sure to stock up on those first because later in the day they run out or only have warm water bottles. There was an Icelandic water that was really good.
Overall, this event surpassed my expectations and is one that I’ll want to come back for sure. It’s a burger and beer lover’s dream.

This is a 4.5+. The options were insane and lines were minimal. Fellow Unilocaler JL and I were beyond impressed. Most of the times, the lamest thing about these types of things are the lines. Even with VIP passes, the lines can take up the premium hour or two you pay for in order to avoid the mess. However, this was not the case.
Arrived one hour before the 2pm VIP admission time and soon realized that we could’ve cut ourselves some slack and kicked back a while. Having been burned by other festivals that tended to oversell, so much that we would spend most of our time waiting in line to get our ticket scanned or waste an hour in a line for a small sample, we’ve learned to err on the side of caution. Oh so ridiculously happy to report this wasn’t the case this year. So superbly well coordinated.
Pretty much tasted everything (some things maybe twice) and never waited longer than 5 minutes. Fantastic way to spend a summer Saturday. For me, the standouts for burgers and brew were Beachwood, Hawkins, Pie N Burger, Mykes, Vaka, Ladyface, Elysian, and Bottle Logic. Fantastic environment, great people, wonderful cross-​section of everything burger and brew in LA. Definitely will be back next year! The swag bag was pretty sweet as well.

This was a huge Burgers event and some of the burgers like Oinkster were full sized! Crazy!
The line was long but having the people check IDs in advance was a good touch. (Thumbs up!) I don’t even know why a directory was necessary since you can walk to everything within 1 – 2 minutes.
It was hot but you can find shade easily.
The Longest Line: Animal’s bone marrow burger-​quite good
The Best Attention to Detail-​Plan Check’s burger with quail egg and Ketchup leather.
The best one biter: Cassells
The Best burger I went back for: The Counter’s short rib burger. So good!
Best drinks I’ve had:
Ace cider-​Pineapple cider
Belching Beaver –PB Stout
Phantom Carriage-​Berliner Weisse
Lagunita Sucks
Some points I noticed.
Budweiser had no lines.
Bathroom inside the stadium is clean but it’s way out on the sides.
I didn’t see Bacaro LA.
A lot of meats were WAY underdone from various restaurants, just not the ones above.
Quite honestly, it was so much, I cannot fathom eating at every booth here. I was so full and I was glad I parked ½ mile away so I can walk some of it off.
Thanks LA Weekly for my heart attack.

New to LA Weekly’s event roster and curated by LA Weekly’s own staff of award winning food writers and special guests, the event will feature burgers from some of Los Angeles’ hottest spots and burger joints. And what pairs best with burgers? That’s right, a nice cold beer. Partnering up with the best craft breweries from around the world, guests will be able to sample the best of the best craft brews. Put all of this together on a hot summer Saturday afternoon and you have the recipe for success, an event that is sure to become a LA Weekly signature in no time!
Burgers & Beer
Saturday August 8^th, 2015
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
3pm — 7pm
VIP Hour begins at 2pm
Featuring over 35 of Los Angeles’ best burgers and more than 30 craft breweries, this event is not to be missed.
*This event is 21+. Anyone who is under 21 is not permitted, even when accompanied by an adult. All guests must present a valid ID at check in to show proof of age and be admitted.