Monthly Archives: July 2014
4th Annual Taste of Brews Long Beach Promo Code
Taste of Brews Long Beach
There is a good reason why that event stands out and that is because it had everything going for it. They had over 40 craft breweries, some wine vendors, live music, good food, fun people and it was at the beach! Held at Lighthouse Park in Long Beach, across the channel from the Queen Mary it really was the most perfect location for any festival of any type that I can recall attending. Beautiful weather with cooling ocean breezes and a wide selection of American craft beer; what more could one ask for? How about more beer and a discount?
On August 23, 2014, Taste of Brews returns to Lighthouse Park for the 4th Annual Taste of Brews Long Beach. If you thought 40 craft breweries was good, you are going to love it this year with about 50 craft breweries participating. When I looked through the list of participating breweries compared to last year I noticed that many perennial favorites such as Stone Brewing Company, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing Lagunitas, Strand Brewing and Sierra Nevada Brewing will be returning; but we will also be joined by such powerhouses as Ballast Point, Pizza Port, Clownshoes and Coronado Brewing along with some of Southern California’s newest craft breweries like Absolution Brewing Company and Venice Duck Brewery.
Good beer with good friends
In addition to all the great beer and what promises to be another beautiful day for the beach there will be live music and food trucks including Urban Pie, Viking Truck, Porko Rico, Dogzilla, Slammin’ Sliders and Bacon Mania. Local restaurants Stonefire Grill, Slater’s 50/50 and Bubba Gump Shrimp Company will be providing food samples for attendees to enjoy. Pricing currently starts at $32.50 for the 3-hour session (1pm to 4pm) and $42.50 for the 4-hour session (noon to 4pm) which includes unlimited beer tasters, drinking water, food samples (while available), access to food trucks and live entertainment. A limited number of designated driver tickets will be available at the door for $20.00. As should be expected, all attendees must be 21 or older. Now, because you have read this far you get a special deal; how about $7.00 off each ticket Continue reading
The Craft Beer Guy Mobile App is Here
Free Beer!
On Friday evening I conducted my first real test by sending out a notice via the app that I would be heading to Strand Brewing Company in Torrance and that the first person that presented me with the notice on their mobile device would get a free beer, courtesy of The Craft Beer Guy. Admittedly, it was a slightly risky test as I was not at Strand when I put out the notice so I really had no clue how busy they were or how many of their customers would have the app installed. We were there about 30-45 minutes when Barbara, our winner came strolling in to claim her free beer. It was a successful test for a couple of reasons; first off, I was able to confirm that people have not only downloaded the application but they do respond to it, which is even more important. The second thing that made this test a success is the fact that this was Barbara’s first visit to Strand Brewing Company. As Barbara is an unapologetic hop head she was pleasantly surprised to discover the hoppiness she enjoys so much is pretty prevalent in many of Strand’s brews. Her first Strand Brewing beer was their Expression Session, an experimental sessionable pale ale with a huge hop presence.
Our first winner of a free beer
Barbara’s at the Brewery
My daughter wanted to take me out to lunch this past Sunday, specifically somewhere I had not yet visited. As she rattled off the various craft breweries and gastropubs that were midway between where she lives and me it was discovered that I had visited each of them. She then mentioned Bonaventure Brewing in downtown Los Angeles. I had been meaning to stop by there for a while, so we decided to meet there for lunch. Unfortunately, it never dawned on me that they would not open until 4:00 PM, so we arrived at The Bonaventure a couple hours before the brewery opened and the hotel’s cocktail lounge did not even sell the beer brewed on premise. This was not what I wanted to hear. As we were meeting my daughter there we had to find a quick substitute before she went through the trouble and expense of dealing with the valet. Tanya got on her iPhone to query Google and started looking for brewpubs in the downtown LA vicinity; the closest to us was Barbara’s at the Brewery. I had heard of the place but had never been there so it sounded like the place to be.
As we passed Union Station and Olvera Street I mentioned that Barbara’s must be part of Angel City Brewery; I have only been there once and I recalled that it was a pretty large facility so it was entirely possible that I had missed something. As we pulled up to Barbara’s I quickly realized that this was not associated with Angel City; but it sure did not look like they had room for a brewery either. There was a large smokestack that had “BREWERY” painted on it which did nothing to ease my confusion. When I walked in it quickly became evident that Google had misled me once again.
Barbara’s at the Brewery is not a brewpub, I am not even sure I would classify it as a gastropub either; it is a restaurant that serves craft beer. I asked our server what the deal was with the brewery smokestack and the “at the Brewery” in their name and was informed that the complex they are located in used to be a Pabst Blue Ribbon brewery many years ago. She thought that it may have been a brewery for someone else before PBR brewed there. The complex itself is called “The Brewery” and is now probably best described as an art colony, with Barbara’s being the location for food and drink. Continue reading
Photos from the 2014 Euro Bierfest at Alpine Village
It must have been six or seven months ago when Alpine Village General Manager Otto Radtke first mentioned the idea of a European beer festival to me. While I was not entirely sure how well it would be received, there was one thing I was quite confident of, the Alpine Village in Torrance would be the one logical location in the South Bay, possibly in Southern California that could pull this off. Saturday afternoon they proved me right by holding their first ever Euro Bierfest 2014, featuring more than 50 beers from France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Iceland, England, Czech Republic and Sweden to probably 300 attendees.
I do not know if I have ever attended a beer festival that had so few IPAs; there were three only Belgian IPAs, none of which displayed the hoppiness to which Southern Californians have become accustomed but the ciders, sours, Pilsners, stouts, porters, guezes, tripels, quads and various bocks more than made up for it. For people with Untappd accounts, this was an excellent opportunity to rack up some of those more difficult to achieve badges like Belgian Holiday, Johnny Appleseed and Crisp as Day. Even more important was the opportunity to try beers that are rarely seen in any of the beer bars I frequent. It was really fun trying brews that I really had zero knowledge of only to discover how delicious they were.
In addition to the fine biers, there was a buffet of German and American foods available to help soak up some of the alcohol; and there was a Chicken Dance in which contestants displayed their Oktoberfest dancing skills for a chance to win some Alpine Village t-shirts. All in all, this was a blast and I personally enjoyed meeting those of you that came up to say hello. Meeting you people is part of what makes my covering of these events so enjoyable; I thank you. Continue reading
Stone Brewing Company: Pasadena and Escondido
The photos in this gallery were taken over the course of two days. On Tuesday we headed over to the Stone Company Store in Pasadena to check out the Enjoy By 08.16.14 and w00tstout 2.0 on tap before deciding how many bottles to buy. Unfortunately, the Enjoy By seems to fluctuate a lot lately but this batch is great. The w00tstout 2.0 was also worth bringing home. They had a couple Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Liberty Stations; The Sacred Druid Hot and Lil’ Miami Tart available that were quite fun. Between those and the stash we brought home it was well worth the drive. It has been a while since I have been to the Stone Company Store due in large part to the fact that my daughter moved out of Pasadena. It is always a good place to look for the new releases; especially if you want them on tap.
If you have never been, it is at the Metro Station on Raymond. They have a full tap room for pours and filling growlers; they sell kegs, bottles, t-shirts, mustard and anything else Stone Brewing makes. Their tap list has everything you might find at the brewery itself and it is about 70 miles closer than Escondido. It is a clean setup and if you want a wide variety of Stone brews on tap, this is where you want to be. Their 4 oz pours are less than $2.00. Stone Company Store is located at 220 S. Raymond Avenue in Pasadena, CA. They are open seven days a week from 11:00 AM until 9:00 PM.
The next day I was planning on going back to my son’s to check out his Glacier Summer Ale. That morning he said they wanted to take me to lunch for my birthday so it was decided that we would meet at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens in Escondido. While there was a time that Stone Brewing Company was the only real game in town for me, things have changed and it had been probably three years since the last time I was there. I looked forward to experiencing it again. Continue reading
Founders Have Fun at Absolution Brewing Company
On Sunday evening, Torrance’s newest production brewery, Absolution Brewing Company held a private party at their tasting room for members of their loyalty program, The MUG Club, Founders Division. The MUG Club was limited to just 125 people the first year and sold out so quickly that they decided to open it up again for American Craft Beer Week, and named it the ‘R U Feelin’ Wicked’ division. I joined the initial Founders division of the MUG Club and I have spoken with several other MUG Club members and I have yet to meet anyone that regretted their decision. The merchandise received, including t-shirts and a custom growler, combined with discounts and special events makes this a steal. The Founders Have Fun event Sunday night was a great example of the value received.
MUG Club Founders and their guests were treated to free beer, finger foods and live music provided by one of the South Bay’s fun rock bands, Barley Legal. I have several friends that always spoke highly of Barley Legal but this was the first time I heard them play; I have to say, they put on a great show. It only took a couple songs before attendees were dancing in the tasting room and even a couple got an opportunity to sing with them. Barley Legal is one of those acts that definitely gets their audience into the groove with them. If you have an opportunity to see them perform, take it; you will not be disappointed.
If you have not visited Absolution Brewing lately, you should; and if you get a chance, try their new firkin options. They are fast becoming my favorite style from them. If you get a chance to join the Absolution Brewing MUG Club I would jump on it. They really make sure you get full value for your loyalty. Cheers! Continue reading
Stunning upset at Smog City Brewing’s Battle of the Casks III
Saturday was an afternoon of great beer and stunning upsets as Smog City Brewing held their Battle of the Casks, Part 3. The concept was started back in December, 2013 with Battle of the Casks, a friendly competition began which featured five beers on cask, each using Smog City’s Bloody Knuckle Porter as the base beer the five Smog City team members; Jonathan and Laurie Porter, Chris Walowski, Mike Freeman and Ryan Trousdale each created their own tweaks. It was a tight competition with Walowski’s Raspberry Chocolate Sticks Porter Cask getting the most votes; thus entitling him to the coveted Budweiser Belt and bragging rights.
Fast forward four months to April 2014 and the Battle of the Casks, Part 2. In four months Smog City Brewing had grown; plus when there is a champion in town, more people want to take a shot at the title. There were supposed to be six contestants but a couple of casks had technical difficulties and had to be disqualified. This time Amarilla Gorilla IPA was used as the base beer and the result was the same, Walowski wowed the crowd again with his recipe consisting of Merlot Concentrate, Mosaic and Simcoe hops. To be honest, he was looking invincible … until Saturday afternoon. Continue reading
Beachwood BBQ & Brewing 3rd Anniversary Celebration
These photos are from Saturday, July 5 at the Beachwood BBQ & Brewing 3rd Anniversary Celebration. As I tried to decide what to write about this event I thought back to their one year party when they had about 12 of their own brews available and made the event “A Tribute to Southern California Breweries.”
By the time their second anniversary rolled around, head brewer Julian Shrago had accumulated close to 30 brews under his belt and the event showcased Beachwood’s brews with a few guest taps also available. At yesterday’s event there were close to 50 Beachwood brews available along with several collaboration brews like Ghost of Jacob Barley and Unapologetic Double IPA; along with rare beers such as Barrel-Aged Jean-Quad Van Damme and Tovarish. There were also special food menus available as well as an assortment of housemade pickles and Scottish pickled eggs. One of the highlights for me was the release of their anniversary beer, Greenshift Double IPA; it is delicious.
There was a line from the time they opened until well into the afternoon, but it was well worth any wait. For those that arrived later, Beachwood helped them out by not tapping certain rare beers until set times of 1:00, 3:00, 5:00 and 7:00 so that no matter when you were there, the craft beer experience would be one to remember. Continue reading
Euro Bierfest 2014 Beer List Revealed
A few of the fine biers to be found at Euro Bierfest 2014
It will be like taking a beer tour of Europe without the jet lag
Having attended several craft beer events at Alpine Village I feel confident in saying this event is going to be amazing. Euro Bierfest 2014 will run from 1:00-4:00 PM for general admission attendees and is priced at $40 each which includes unlimited tastings and a commemorative tasting glass. VIP tickets are $60 each and will get you in an hour early and you will get a Euro Bierfest t-shirt. There are discounts available with a built in $7.50 off for tickets purchased online before July 5, 2014; you will get another $7.50 off if you use PROMO CODE: ‘craftbeerguy’. That is a total of $15 off per General Admission or VIP ticket purchased online by Friday, the 4th of July. After July 4 you will still receive $7.50 off if you purchase your tickets online and use the craftbeerguy promo code (be sure to click APPLY on the order form). You can order your tickets online at https://events.admitoneproducts.com/tkt_sales.php?test=true&event_id=793814
I was talking to a friend the other day and she mentioned that she needed to practice up on her European beers for her cicerone test; so if you are in the same boat, Euro Bierfest 2014 is going to be a great way to try many European beers under one roof. So cram for that exam at Euro Bierfest 2014, Saturday July 19, 2014. I hope to see you there. Alpine Village is located at 833 W Torrance Boulevard in Torrance; that is where the 405 and 110 meet. Cheers!
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