Beer plus food plus roller derby -- yes, ColLAboration is back

The teammates behind the “pop-up beer garden” concept known as ColLAboration are reuniting for a new event that will feature beer from 20 breweries, food from 20 restaurants and a full-length live L.A. Derby Dolls roller-derby bout.
ColLAboration BFD (for beer, food and derby) will be held June 21 at the Doll Factory -- the sprawling Echo Park home of the L.A. Derby Dolls league -- and the idea, according to organizer Tony Yanow, is to “elevate what the beer festival is in L.A.” by highlighting the creative combinations of craft beer and local restaurants and by showcasing the “hot spots” of the craft beer scene in Los Angeles.

Yanow, founder of Tony’s Darts Away, Mohawk Bend and Golden Road Brewing, also organizes the Vegan Beer Fest, an event that gets larger and more notoriously fun each year. His partners in the ColLAboration events -- Blue Palms Brewhouse’s Brian Lenzo and Clay Harding from 38 Degrees Ale House -- are known for throwing some of L.A.’s best craft-beer events. The ColLAboration beer garden events (the last was held in February 2012 at the Belasco theater) were known for featuring a wide variety of breweries and beers that went beyond flagship offerings, and I count the event as an important galvanizing force for the craft beer scene in Los Angeles.

The 20 breweries (including El Segundo Brewing Co., Taps, Noble Ale Works, Golden Road, Smog City, Eagle Rock Brewery, Alpine, Kern River Brewing, Beachwood Brewery and Ladyface) will each team with a different local restaurant (including Blue Palms, 38 Degrees, Golden Road, Mohawk Bend, Tony’s Darts Away, Local Peasant, the Bottle Room, Little Bear, Ladyface and Taps Fish House) for unique small bites and beer pairings.

There will also be a bottle share room -- BYOB for admission -- and roller-derby teams Fight Crew and Tough Cookies will skate a full-length regulation bout.

The $75 tickets ($95 at the door) are now on sale, and include unlimited food and beer. There also will be $135 VIP passes offered that include early admission, an hour-long after party and access to a lounge featuring a canned craft beer bar.

It’s been more than two years since the last ColLAboration event, and the craft beer culture in Los Angeles has grown and matured considerably in the meantime. Next month’s event is an ambitious project, but with veterans like Yanow, Lenzo and Harding behind the concept, it may be the next can’t-miss Los Angeles beer festival.

Doll Factory, 1910 W. Temple Ave., Los Angeles.