Ladyface Ale Companie Brings Beauty to their Beers and More

There are few sights prettier than a lady’s face. This may make me sound like a creep-o named Chester Mervert, but this line of reasoning supports the fact that beers from the Ladyface Ale Companie are some of the most beautiful things that you’ll ever lay eyes on. And no, “Companie” is not spelled incorrectly. From its exquisite Brasserie menu to its deliciously crafted ales, this brewpub has a heavy French influence that will make anyone a bon vivant. I set out to Agoura Hills, CA for a date night with the wife to sample some haute cuisine and to interview the owner and founder of Ladyface, Cyrena Nouzeille.

Cyrena and her spouse opened Ladyface in 11/09 and served their first beers that December. They wanted to open up a brasserie that is similar to the brewpubs in Europe while simultaneously serving French- and Belgian-inspired craft beers in their hometown of Augora Hills. Cyrena started homebrewing in 2002, around the same time that her neighbor, David Griffiths, also started. David honed his skills by brewing at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse. He then teamed up with Cyrena and her husband like Athos, Porthos, and Aramis to become the head brewer at Ladyface.

I haven’t been to many brasseries (actually I haven’t been to any until Ladyface), but Cyrena created one that would make any Frenchman say “Sacré bleu!” Brasserie is literally French for brewery, but it is also known as a French restaurant with a relaxed setting. Ladyface could not have nailed this aspect any better. I wanted to wrap the ambiance of this brewpub around me like a down comforter and sip on their La Trappistine Belgian Dark Strong Ale like a mug of hot cocoa. The La Trappistine is actually the perfect beer for Southern California’s crisp fall and winter nights with its yummy malts, raisin notes, and a 9% ABV that will keep you warmer than Napoleon’s mamluck Roustam Raza during the French withdrawal from Russia. Their menu also fits the brasserie bill that features dishes that are so mouth-wateringly delicious that you would think that Remy and Linguini themselves were the head chefs.

Ladyface has seven core brands that they serve year-round and a collection of seasonal beers that rotate each month. Each one of their crafts is influenced by Belgian and French Farmhouse Ales. From their La Blonde, which has fruity notes from the Belgian yeast, to their complex and somewhat spicy Trois Filles Tripel with soft malts, to their ever-so-popular Chesebro Imperial IPA, which is the crème de la crème of their beers, this lineup will make you yearn for a beret and a baguette in the front basket of a bicycle. My personal favorites are the Dérailleur bière-de-garde, which is barrel aged in, you guessed it, French Oak, and their seasonal Weizenbock. The Dérailleur makes you want to stand up and sing “Who am I?! I’m Jean Valjean, with a damn good beer in my hand!” and my only complaint about the Weizenbock is that it’s not a year-round beer.

The Three Alesketeers of Ladyface are currently pushing for more wholesale of their kegs that reaches from Azusa down to the South Bay, but mainly serves the West LA and downtown LA market. Their current goal is to keep their beer local, but with their additional capacity that they achieved from recent additions in brewing equipment, they hope to soon reach north to Ventura and Oxnard and maybe to San Diego. They have no plans to bottle their crafts as of now, but if they do in the future, then Ladyface would sell their beers in champagne bottles much like The Bruery, in keeping with their French motif. More barrel-aged crafts are on their way to round out Ladyface’s impressive assortment, including bourbon barrels and Cabernet barrels from Napa Valley. I’m looking forward to their release of the Midnight Special Scotch Ale aged in Cab barrels because nothing describes a relaxed setting more than hunkering down with a fine Scotch Ale.

If you’re on the west side of the San Fernando Valley, then you won’t regret paying a visit and experiencing the beauty that is contained at the Ladyface Ale Companie and Brasserie. From the delectable assortment of craft beers, to the warm ambiance, to the taste-indulging menu, and even the view of the Ladyface Mountain from the beer garden, being at this brewery produces a feeling like you had when you first laid eyes upon your crush from sixth grade. Except now that warm tingly feeling you experience comes from the amazing beer that you’re drinking.