Aaron Barkenhagen's labor of love is a cavernous warehouse in an unlovely part of Fullerton, within stumbling distance of the Amtrak station, in a plaza with an auto-body shop and no fewer than three storefront churches. An eclectic crowd stands around Thursdays through Saturdays, drinking beers of many colors out of Mason jars. The left-hand beer menu lists the house productions, available on a seasonal but more or less continual basis, while the right-hand menu contains the experimental batches, available in half-pints only to gauge reaction. Hand over $3 for a five-beer tasting (2-ounce pours, but they're flexible about what 2 ounces look like). Prohibition Mild may be the greater LA area's only English-style mild beer; it's what Budweiser wishes it could be; 77 Anniversary ale is a subtle barleywine with a hoppy, grapefruity taste. Rustic Rye IPA is a dark amber pour, with the hops tamed slightly by the rye used in the malt; for a similar style minus the rye, the Knuckle Sandwich double IPA is a winner. The first two parking spaces to the left of the roll-up industrial door are perpetually reserved for a rotating cast of gourmet-food trucks that parks there during normal business hours. It's best to leave Bootlegger's with a full growler ($5 one-time purchase for the glass and $10 to $12 for the half-gallon fill).
