We are in the middle of Oktoberfest season. To celebrate this,I purchased a Groupon for a restaurant named Brat & Brau in Hermosa Beach. While the South Bay isn’t Germantown, I live close by and decided to give it a try. I invited a friend to join me in the experience.
We arrived just after they opened. My friend and I were the first to occupy the restaurant. Looking at the menu, I was quite impressed that they had German beers on tap. I was expecting them to have bottled German beer and American craft beer on tap. After all, this is Hermosa Beach.
Brussels Sprouts with a sriracha honey glaze
My friend and I ordered our beers and a couple of starters: potato pancakes and brussels sprouts. The potato pancakes were the size of IHOP dollar sized pancakes. The applesauce topping gave it a slight sweetness. Otherwise, they lacked flavor. On the other hand, the brussels sprouts were light and due to the honey sriracha glaze, they exhibited a sweet, salty and slightly spicy taste. We enjoyed them quite a bit.
Left: Beef & Gouda Sandwich – Right: Kielbasa Sandwich
Nice variety of mustard
My friend then selected the kielbasa sandwich. We both sliced a piece off of our sandwiches so that we could share them. I found the kielbasa moist with a nice snap of the sausage on each bite. My selection, the beef and gouda sandwich was very lean with a sharp note of gouda cheese. I felt the kielbasa was much tastier. Instead of using rolls, they used something that resembled a seeded hot dog bun.
Our beers
My choice of beer was the Köstritzer Schwarzbier. The beer stood tall in a beer goblet and expertly poured with a nice white foamy head. The beer was smooth and velvet like in texture. The taste of the Schwarzbier had notes of chocolate and fruits. I really enjoyed this beer. The Erdinger Weissbier was delivered in a porcelain stein. It was a lighter beer, very crisp with notes of fresh lemon. .
Brat & Brau now features Wurst Wednesdays with $5 sausages! On Thursdays, they feature a $10 1L stein. Both specials are available during the entire day.
Brat & Brau, 1342 Hermosa Ave, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
https://www.bratbrau.com/