By John Pecorelli
Los Angeles Times’ www.calendarlive.com
Barney's Beanery
West
This big, fat roadhouse used to the stomping grounds of '60s drug-rockers Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison. But these days Barney's plays host to a more conservative crowd. UCLA baseball caps and sports fanaticism are now the rule, but one of the most impressive beer selections in Los Angeles can amend a lot.
Barney's carries about 50 brews on tap and nearly 300 bottled varieties, everything from no-brow malt liquors to fancy-pants cherry wheat stouts. More than 30 countries are represented in the libations department, including two dozen English ales and a like number of German biers. The portions ain't stingy: 3-liter bottles of Corsendork are available for the desperate, while those with more delicate appetites can opt for a half-yard glass of Devil Mountain Tasmanian Pale instead.
Don't fret if you've gotta drive home later. Barney's is open 'til 2 a.m. and there are 500 or so menu items to help absorb the sauce: chicken fingers, Sicilian pizza, seafood gumbo, a chili dog that weighs more than you do...jock paradise. It's raucous, it's a circus environment, and you'll learn more about the NFL than you probably want to, but Barney's is still the ultimate beer garden.