Monthly Archives: March 2014
King Harbor Brewing Company: From the beginning
I remember the day well; it was the 4th of July 2013 and Tanya and I were taking the dogs on their morning walk. We were walking through the strip mall that we walked through virtually every morning. Something caught Tanya’s eye on the window of one of vacant units, I glanced over and immediately recognized the ABC’s Public Notice of Application to Sell Alcoholic Beverages. I knew the neighborhood demographics well enough to know it wasn’t going to be a bar so I stopped to take a closer look. Could my eyes be deceiving me? Will there be a microbrewery a block from my house? Apparently Coastline Brewing was going to become my neighbor.
As soon as we got home from the walk I started doing some research and was soon in contact with the new microbrewery owners Tom Dunbabin and Will Daines. We set up a meeting for the upcoming week where we discovered we had met a couple weeks earlier at The Brewery at Abigaile. After some beer and discussion I offered to come speak at the CUP hearing they had scheduled in a couple weeks. The Redondo Beach Planning Commission approved the Conditional Use Permit and almost immediately Dunbabin and Daines started tearing apart their unit in preparation of building a production brewery and tasting room.
Within a couple months a decision was made to change the name to King Harbor Brewing Company (KHBC) because there is a winery up north in Santa Rosa, Coastline Cellars, and they did not want their beer brand confused with Coastline Cellar’s wine brand. While building King Harbor Brewing, Dunbabin and Daines also sought out a head brewer and came up with Phil McDaniel, a former brewer at Stone Brewing Company and Lead Brewer at The Bruery. It was all a matter of time; which was extended a little due to the government shutdown which caused all kinds of delays in the brewing world. Anyway, as you can tell by the photos, eventually all the permits were approved, i’s were dotted and t’s were crossed and KHBC was brewing. King Harbor Brewing now has a couple of soft opens under their belt, kegs distributed all over the South Bay and they are ready to have their Grand Opening! Continue reading
Strand Brewing brings March Madness to Naja’s Place
It is that time of year again for collegiate basketball fans; March Madness is upon us. Now I have to admit, I do not really have the time to follow basketball of any type so “March Madness” really has little bearing on my life but when I heard that Strand Brewing Company and Naja’s Place were teaming up for a March Madness tap-takeover it did not take much convincing to get me over to the International Boardwalk to attend their event.
Now, I guess “tap-takeover” might be a little exaggerated since Naja’s Place has 88 beers on tap, but Strand Brewing Company brought eight beers on tap; Musashi Black IPA, White Sand DIPA, 24th Street Pale Ale, Atticus IPA, Batch 100 Stout, Harvest Ball Orange Wheat, Beach House Amber Ale and Black Sand DIPA as well as their White Sand DIPA with Chinook hops on cask. There was a large contingency of Strand Brewing Company fans on hand that made short work of the cask, but there were plenty of other Strand Brewing Company beers for them to enjoy.
Strand Brewing Company is located at 23520 Telo Avenue in Torrance and Naja’s Place is located at 154 International Boardwalk in Redondo Beach. Cheers! Continue reading
Photos from the 2nd Annual Froth Awards at Saint Rocke
Saturday afternoon, the Saint Rocke concert club in Hermosa Beach held their 2nd Annual Froth Awards: Craft Beer Experience and Gastropub Invitational featuring five of the South Bay’s finest craft breweries paired with dishes provided by four South Bay gastropubs. In addition to the beer and food pairings, there was live music provided by the Aaron White Band, the Get Down Boys and Johnny Jump Up. There were also raffles with prizes such as growlers, hats and other swag donated by the participating breweries and gastropubs and free pizza provided by Fresh Brothers Pizza. They even had a “Best Beard” contest which was won by yours truly.
It was a fun day of music, beer and food that consisted of five courses. The first course featured Strand Brewing Company’s White Sand Double IPA with marinated short rib tacos from The Rockefeller gastropub. This was followed by El Segundo Brewing Company’s White Dog IPA paired with tri-tip sliders from California Rancher. The third course featured The Dudes’ Brewing Company and their Kolschtal Eddy which was paired with a Tuscan white braised pork shoulder provided by Bouzy Gastropub. Our fourth pairing was The Brewery at Abigaile’s 002 2nd Anniversary Double IPA with waffles and chicken provided by R10 Social House. The final course introduced everyone to the two newest participants, King Harbor Brewing Company with The Quest (Rakau) Pale Ale and Saint Rocke’s own Kitchen 142.
It really was a lot of fun with great beer, good food and fun people. If there is a third annual Froth Awards you can be sure I will be there; you should too. Cheers! Continue reading
Business & Beer gathering at Absolution Brewing Company
Thursday evening the Business & Beer networking group welcomed Absolution Brewing Company to the rotation of the South Bay breweries and brewpubs it visits. It was a great opportunity for many members to get their first chance to try beers from Torrance’s newest production brewery. In addition to the beer and networking, Business & Beer co-founder brought in some baked goods that she made using flour she made from Absolution Brewing’s Angel’s Demise IPA. Head Brewer Wes McCann also took some time to discuss the brewing process, recipes and future plans for Absolution Brewing Company. It was another enjoyable Business & Beer event.
If you live or work in the South Bay area and networking is important to you, and you enjoy craft beer, you might want to check out BusinessNBeer.com. This is the South Bay’s most fun and relaxed business networking group. They meet on the second Thursday of every month at a different production brewery or brewpub in the South Bay area. With all the additions to the craft beer scene recently, there is a good chance you have not had a chance to visit some of them. This is your chance and you might even do some business. Events are scheduled at 6:00 PM so you do not have to rush to work and you can bring your significant other so there is no need to rush home either. There are no rules and no dues; just come have a good time, meet some good people and enjoy a beer or two. You can find the schedule of upcoming events on their website or by following them on Facebook. Cheers! Continue reading
Monkish Brewing Company Celebrates Two Years
These photos are from Saturday, day one of Monkish Brewing Company’s 2 Year Anniversary celebration. The first time I visited Monkish Brewing Company, a production microbrewery specializing in Belgian style ales, was during American Craft Beer Week in 2012. They had only recently opened their doors and the craft beer scene in Torrance was in its infancy; in fact, Monkish was only the second production brewery in Torrance. At the time they offered four different brews; Oblate, Anomaly, Red Table and Feminist. Fast forward to 2014 and Monkish is now celebrating two years of being open with a two day party.
Two years later Monkish Brewing had 12 taps pouring yesterday as well as Shaolin Kick on cask. They also had about five of their beers available in bottles as well as The Lobos Truck providing food for those that might be interested. Attendees included several hundred of their fans as well as other local brewers and beer media types. Since a celebration of this type cannot really be done in one day, the party will continue on Sunday at noon until 6:00 PM. Featured today with be a second cask of Shaolin Kick, this time with Fatalii and Ghost chili peppers. In addition, there will be a keg tapping and bottle release of Apophatic; a Belgian-style strong dark ale brewed with orange peels, cinnamon, coriander seed, and fennel seed. This monster weighs in at 12% ABV, so it should be a good one. Also, for Sunday only, they will be allowing growler fills of their Seme Della Vita, a tripel with pistachios and vanilla beans; it is quite good. For those with an appetite, the Son of a Bun food truck will be there Sunday.
If you have not had an opportunity to visit Monkish Brewing Company yet, today would be the day to do it. All of their 8-12oz pours will be $1.00 off. What more could you ask for? Monkish Brewing is located at 20311 S. Western Avenue in Torrance, California. Cheers! Continue reading
2nd Annual Froth Awards Coming March 15
2nd Annual Froth Awards, March 15
Those of you that attended last year’s event will recall that it was originally set up as a competition with each brewery pairing one of their beers with a dish prepared by a local gastropub. This year it will be a little different in that the “competition” has been eliminated and instead it will be a day of craft beers and tasty locally prepared foods. As they put it, this year it will be “less of a competition and more of a party.” I don’t know; last year was a pretty great party. Just like last year, there will be live Bluegrass and Irish music all day as well as various raffles and contests going on.
The 2nd Annual Froth Awards: Beer Experience and Gastropub Invitational begins at 2:00 PM Saturday, March 15, 2014. The doors open at 1:00 PM. Tickets are $25 each, but because you read CraftBeerGuy.com you are entitled to a 20% discount; that means you get in for $20 each if you purchase your ticket ahead of time online. After you choose the number of tickets you want, click Checkout; on the top of the next page is a spot for you to put in your Promo Code: BADDOG (all caps) and your discount will be applied. Admission includes entry into the event; 8 oz tasters from all participants, raffle tickets to win valuable prizes and a commemorative glass. Saint Rocke is located at 142 Pacific Coast Highway in Hermosa Beach. I hope to see you there; I had a great time last year. Cheers! Continue reading
The Birth of Absolution Brewing Company, Torrance
I guess it was sometime in August or September that I was enjoying a beer at Smog City Brewing Company when I was approached by Wes McCann; “I was told I should introduce myself to you” was his opening comment. McCann was a partner and the head brewer for the soon to be Absolution Brewing Company, the latest production craft brewery to open in Torrance. Unfortunately, he did not have any business cards with him and it took me a while to remember the word “absolution” but eventually I was able figure it out and I worked my way over to the location that the brewery and tasting room were to be constructed. It was not long before I met and befriended the other co-owners, Nigel Heath and Steve Farguson.
As you may notice from the photos, the construction was a series of one step forward and two steps back as they discovered things like the floor not being suitable to support the weight of the brewing equipment they hope to eventually grow into. In fact, the building dwarfs the current fermenting tanks; it only takes a brief glance to see that Absolution Brewing Company has plenty of room for growth. Judging by the turnouts at the MUG Club soft open and their official opening on Saturday it will not be long before they grow out of their current system. Cheers! Continue reading
Absolution Brewing Company opens their doors
The day that many South Bay area craft beer aficionados have been waiting arrived Saturday, March 1 as Absolution Brewing Company officially opened their doors to the general public. And the public was waiting, perhaps a little earlier than expected due to an error in a Daily Breeze article that said they opened at 11:00 AM when in fact they were not scheduled to open until 1:00 PM. I am not sure how early the doors ended up opening but we got there early and there was already a respectable group assembled enjoying their beers. By the time it was 1:00 the place was packed with beer fans waiting to get their first taste of Absolution’s brews. Flights seemed to be a crowd favorite.
They offered 10 different brews along with the root beer and cream soda they brew. In the couple hours we were there some beers ran out but there are still plenty of options available. Their regular hours beginning Sunday, March 2 are Sunday 12-6:00; Wednesday and Thursday 3-9:00; and Friday and Saturday 11-9:00. Absolution Brewing Company is located at 2878 Columbia Street in Torrance. When you are going east on Columbia from Maple, it is the third driveway and all the way to the back. Cheers! Continue reading
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