Master Brewer Roberto dos Santos test his upcoming Red Ale offering

Love beer? You owe it to yourself to taste the brews that Roberto dos Santos crafts in Dena House restaurant's compact Old Pasadena microbewery.

Dos Santos -- a gold-medalled brewmeister from a German-Brazilian family of brewmesiters – is a beer fanatic. He's one of those people who's totally into what he does and has ended up becoming a master at it.

Lucky for us, we can enjoy the liquids of his labor. Dena House is serving up 3 beers dos Santos brews in 5 huge 200-gallon tanks just a few feet from the bar.

The tasty trio from dos Santos' custom recipes: the light, summery "Beach Blonde Pale," the very drinkable, American-style Hefferwiesen honey-brewed "Beehive," and the medium-bodied ale-style "Samurai."

We found all three distinctive brews are refreshing and highly drinkable, with only a subtle alcohol twang that hides its actual high octane content (the beers are 5% alcohol). Our favorite was the Beehive, with its distinctive honey topnotes. Slightly clouded, it is fresh and creamy. Dos Santos points to its 40% wheat recipe content and the 45 pounds of honey he dollops into

Microbrew beer offerings, Beach Blonde Pale, Beehive Hefferwiesen and Samurai

the tank for each batch. Topped with a lime slice, we'll opt for the Beehive to start off any evening.

That's not say we were not impressed with the other two.

The Samurai is an amber ale-style brew with pleasant malt flavor, medium bitterness and good aroma. Dos Santos builds this recipe with 100% German malts supplied by Union Hops, America's premier supplier, and serves it up unfiltered.

General Manager Andrew Platt notes the Samurai's "robust flavor" and that it's "a little bit stronger in alcohol content" and adds it's garnering great reviews. Add ours to the tally; we recommend this choice, too.

All the recipes have been prepared by dos Santos and, he says, "are getting better over the years."

He controls every part of the beer-making process, even the water. "We have very purified water...  we calculate all the salts to put back in the right amounts, all the minerals."

He is currently working on a red ale (no name for this one yet) that he hopes to have ready mid-September. The beer needs to be aged to perfection before it debuts. Perfection seems to be a theme running through his beer brewing and it shows.

If you’re craving a beer and want something different than the standard fare, give Dena House a try. Roberto dos Santos has a frosted glass of hand-crafted beer waiting just for you.

Dena House is located at 42 S. De Lacy Avenue. Their hours are Sunday – Wednesday, 11:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. and Thursday – Saturday, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 a.m. For more information call (626) 405-9114.