Tony's Darts Away 4th Anniversary / IPA Release

Tony’s before renovation.

It’s hard to believe today, but not so long ago Burbank and the surrounding area was a craft beer wasteland. Then, small breweries and other craft establishments began popping up all over Los Angeles in the dawn of this new wave of craft beer. There was a growing demand for a local spot to serve those in the Burbank and the Toluca Lake area. Rising to this challenge was Tony’s Darts Away, a re-imagined version of an existing bar dating back to 1978.

Prior to its purchase and redesign this Magnolia Blvd dive bar was known for cheap beer, dart games, and colorful stories of infamous locals, including an incident involving a one-legged man being put through a table. (As relayed by Craig Berry of La-Beer-Blog)

Ah, Renovation!

After a massive overhaul of the bar’s interior, taps, and lines, Tony’s boasted 38 tap handles (from an original 8). Tony Yanow didn’t just remodel a local bar, he re-invented it with a philosophical shift toward locally sourced quality products with a heavy dose of Vegan flare. All Craft. All Draught. All California became the bar’s slogan. Needless to say, this wasn’t a dream come true for at least a few of the mainstays from “Old Tony’s”, but there’s no way to please everyone and four years later it’s obvious that Yanow was onto something.

Though darts have fallen to just one board, the addition of a pool table that doubles as extra seating, stacks of board games, and a comprehensive lending library of all things beer has kept the gaming spirit and sense of community, with a touch of craft beer class. In other words, they nailed it.

DAIPAlogo In the years that have come and gone there have been many great events at Tony’s including Beers & Beats, Oyster Night, Younger release parties,Vegan Chili Fest, and a slew of Takeovers by some of the best craft beer companies in California. They have also been subject to their share of recognition, including but not limited to, being on Draft Magazine’s Top 100 Beer Bars four years in a row, rated Top 50 Beer Bars in the World 2 of the past 3 years by Ratebeer.com and recently named (as in last week) to Travel + Leisure’s “America’s Best Beer Bars” list and Thrillist LA’s “9 Best Beer Bars“.

Last year on their third anniversary Tony’s released and IPA specially dedicated to the bar and its staff, which was made in collaboration with Golden Road and Brewmaster Jesse Houck. It was a bold 9.65% Double IPA that many hold among the top brews ever produced by Golden Road. That said, there is more than a little anticipation for the tapping of the beer’s second incarnation this weekend at Tony’s Darts Away.

Friday night kicks off the weekend-long festivities. Make sure you snag one of the 4th Anniversary glasses; $10 gets you a filled glass for you to keep. You can learn more about this weekend’s event on the TDA Facebook Event Page for the Anniversary.

Cheers,
Dave

I DRINK BEER AND WRITE ABOUT IT.

Tony’s Darts Away 4th Anniversary / IPA Release

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