Beer News

Euro Bierfest 2014 Beer List Revealed

bier list

A few of the fine biers to be found at Euro Bierfest 2014

I announced last week that Alpine Village will host Euro Bierfest 2014 on Saturday, July 19 featuring more than 50 microbrews and craft beers from all over Europe. Not only will the three big beer countries of Belgium, England and Germany be represented, but breweries from France, the Czech Republic, Iceland, Lithuania, Poland, Italy and more will also be represented. Yesterday I received a list of the biers that had already been obtained as well as some of those that Alpine Village is still waiting on. The breweries include Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie, The Royal Brewery of Krušovice, Einstok, Brasserie Dubuisson, Duvel-Moortgat, Thatchers and Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven to name but a few. This event will be like taking a beer tour of Europe without the jet lag and at a fraction of the price.
Euro Bierfest tap list

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!

Naja’s Place 6th Annual IPA Festival

On Wednesday afternoon, the legendary Naja’s Place in Redondo Beach began their 6th Annual IPA Festival; with arguably the best assortment of IPAs from around the country and at least one that I noticed from Belgium. There were Session IPAs, Single IPAs, Double, Triple and Quad IPAs; and Strand Brewing brought a cask of their award winning White Sand with Amarillo hops. While Naja’s has 88 taps, they have more IPAs than they have taps so not every beer will be available every day of this week long festival. In fact, they blew through nine kegs on the first day alone.

On Friday, June 27 Naja’s Place will be releasing several Stone Brewing Company IPAs and on Saturday Pizza Port’s IPAs will be featured. If you enjoy IPAs there really is only one place to be this week and that is Naja’s Place, you can bet they will have something there for you. I know I will be back for sure. Naja’s Place is located at 154 International Boardwalk in Redondo Beach. Cheers! Continue reading

Euro Bierfest 2014 coming July 19 – Get your discount info here

Kraft Bierfest

Euro Bierfest 2014, July 19 at Alpine Village

On Saturday July 19, Alpine Village will host the Euro Bierfest 2014 featuring a selection of more than 50 microbrews and craft beers from all over Europe. It is safe to say that unless you spent a lot of time drinking beer in Europe there will be beers and breweries you have never heard of; in fact, there will be beers that may have never been poured from a tap anywhere in the continental United States. Any craft beer drinker worth his salt knows that craft beer and many of the styles emulated by American craft breweries originated in Germany, Belgium and England and all three countries will be well-represented. In addition to them, breweries from Latvia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Italy will also be represented. This is a beer event that only an establishment like Alpine Village can put on.

Alpine Village, located in Torrance at the 405 and 110 freeways was established in 1968 and has been the home of the biggest Oktoberfest celebration in Southern California for more than 40 years. In 2012 they held their first Alpine Bier Fest which had more than 100 beers with almost as many attendees. Believe me when I say, if you did not attend it was your loss; there were amazing brews there. Last year they had their 2nd Annual Alpine Bierfest which many of you did attend and can attest to the fact that this was another great beer event and possibly the best value of any beer festival I attended in 2013. The point is, Alpine Village has been doing beer festivals longer than anyone I can think of on this side of the Mississippi River. When Alpine Village says they are providing some of the most amazing beers from across the Atlantic for your tasting pleasure, they mean it. Belgian Sours, German Bocks, English Porters, French Ciders and more. Continue reading

Photos from South Bay Progressive II

Saturday evening I joined a few dozen others for the South Bay Progressive’s second “pub crawl” which included five South Bay venues that specialize in craft beer; each of whom showcased a different American craft brewery. The five venues and the breweries they featured were Brewco, Manhattan Beach featuring Smog City Brewing; The Brewery at Abigaile featuring Stone Brewing Company; Silvio’s Brazilian Barbecue featuring Modern Times Beer; Naja’s Place featuring The Bruery; and Select Beer Store who featured Great Divide Brewing Company. Transportation for the event was provided by LA Craft Beer Tours.

We started our tour at Naja’s Place since it was the closest with the best parking options; the fact that they were showcasing The Bruery made the decision process a little easier. I have to admit, I was a little shocked when I saw the Naja’s tap list as it was emptier than I have ever seen. I was then reminded that Naja’s is having their 6th Annual IPA Festival this coming Wednesday so they are in the process of cleaning all their lines. If you enjoy IPAs you will want to head to Naja’s Place for this week long event.

My intent was to visit The Brewery at Abigaile next with a stop by Silvio’s on the way back but a scheduling conflict resulted in Silvio’s closing at 7:00 PM for a private party so we headed to Silvio’s first then walked up the street to Abigaile. After grabbing a beer, some food and photos we headed to Brewco in Manhattan Beach. As one might imagine, Saturday night in Manhattan Beach meant a pretty large crowd but the service was fast and the people were friendly. After enjoying a beer most of us got back on the bus and headed back to Naja’s Place which was now jumping with live music and an even more lively audience.

South Bay Progressive is a collaboration between the five South Bay venues with a cross-promotion of some of the production breweries that have helped make the South Bay a craft beer destination. The event started last September for LA Beer Week and included four of last night’s participating five venues, with The Brewery at Abigaile joining in the fun this time around. This was the first time I have participated in an event like this but I have to say, if South Bay Progressive continues I will do my best to be there next time as well. Cheers! Continue reading

American Craft Beer Week 2014, Day 5: Beers of Summer & Fine Dining

Friday was day five of the 9th Annual American Craft Beer Week and the day consisted of some ups and downs and twists and turns. I started off at the Total Wine in Redondo Beach because my friend Shane Kral, the local face of Firestone Walker, was hosting a Beers of Summer beer tasting. The beers being featured were the 805, Pivo Pils, Opal and Easy Jack. These are all great beers for the hot days we have been experiencing lately, with the Easy Jack being a personal favorite. I heard that Easy Jack has gotten so popular that Firestone Walker has to scale back on it due to a lack of hops. This is terrible news and could mean trouble for us hopheads if the shortage is getting that bad. Anyway, all four are fine beers and I drink them frequently; and Shane is a great guy and I see him frequently but neither of those was the main reason we went there. I had been informed that bottles of Firestone’s Stickee Monkee were going to be made available for purchase before anywhere else. At the last minute the distributor changed their mind; there were several disappointed faces in Total Wine at hearing this news.

As we walked around the store looking for some bottles of beer to buy one of the store employees approached and informed us that there was another beer tasting going on in the back room. We headed over and discovered that Omission Beer and Goose Island were both offering pours. Omission Beer is a new [to me anyway] brewery from Oregon that specializes in gluten free beer. It was pretty good. While we were sampling a third beer rep showed up representing Fruli, Fuller’s and Paulaner breweries. Continue reading

American Craft Beer Week 2014, Day 4: Barrel Night at Naja’s Place

Thursday was day four of the 9th Annual American Craft Beer Week and as the weekend approaches the craft beer festivities picked it up a notch or two with Barrel Night at the venerable Naja’s Place, the oldest craft beer bar in the South Bay. It was appropriate that Naja’s was included in the tour of local craft beer establishments if for no other reason than they were the first place we visited when I first started “celebrating” American Craft Beer Week in 2012. Long before American craft beer was a household word, Naja’s Place was known for their wide selection of beers although, as I recall they were predominantly imports. These days their 88 taps is like a who’s who of craft beers and last night was a fine example of that.

Every month or two it seems that Naja’s has some kind of special event and those in the know know that Naja’s does not do anything half way; go big or go home and fear no beer are the mantras attendees come in chanting to themselves. For American Craft Beer Week Naja’s brought out 43 barrel-aged brews from breweries such as Allagash, Almanac, Ballast Point, The Bruery, Deschutes, Drakes, Epic, Firestone Walker, Goose Island, Ironfire, Russian River, Sierra Nevada, Widmer and many others. The beers ran the gamut of styles with sours, stouts, porters, lagers and pretty much anything that could be barrel-aged making an appearance.

While there was a very large number of people in attendance there was more beer than could be consumed in one evening; so if you look at the photo of the Barrel Night tap list and see something you want to try you might want to head over to Naja’s and grab some before they do tap out. Naja’s Place is located at 154 International Boardwalk in Redondo Beach. Continue reading

American Craft Beer Week 2014, Day 2: It was an IPA kind of day

Tuesday was day two of the 9th Annual American Craft Beer Week and I really wanted an IPA. For those not in the know, we have been enduring a pretty bad heat wave and a couple cold beers were just what the doctor ordered. An IPA and some air conditioning would be even better. I decided to start off by heading to Long Beach for a visit to the Great American Beer Festival’s 2013 Mid-Size Brewpub of the Year, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing.

While Long Beach sounds like it would be cool, it was actually 105 degrees which was 10 more than home so the beer and air conditioning were quite welcome. When it comes to IPA’s, most locals would have to admit that it is pretty tough to beat the superb options provided by award winning head brewer Julian Shrago. Like I usually do, I opted for a flight consisting of three IPAs, Laurel, Pole Position and The Falcon which are all three fine examples of the West Coast IPA style. I finished the flight off with their Onyx Imperial Stout. In addition to their own fine brews and good food, Beachwood has a pretty amazing guest tap list. This just shows the confidence they have in their own beers. I decided to try the San Clemente IPA (Artifex Collaboration) from Pizza Port San Clemente and it was great. While Beachwood is not having any planned American Craft Beer Week events (because every week is American Craft Beer Week there) they were have a special bottle release for their Jean-Quad Van Damme Bourbon Barrel Aged Belgian-Style Dark Ale that was to be held Tuesday evening. They only bottled 100 so there was a limit of one bottle per customer. While 100 bottles would not usually last very long, Beachwood only announced it on the Instagram account and I mentioned it last night on the Craft Beer Guy Facebook page so there was limited exposure. I just called and there are still some bottles left so head over and grab one; or bring a friend and grab two. Be sure to tell them Craft Beer Guy sent you. Continue reading

American Craft Beer Week 2014, Day1: Good, Better, Worst

Monday May 12 was day one of the 9th Annual American Craft Beer Week, and it is the third consecutive year that I have covered the event. In 2012 I participated by trying to find as many American craft beer locations as possible in the South Bay. In 2013 I set out to visit as many Great American Beer Festival gold medal award winning breweries as possible. Since there has been such an explosion of growth in the craft beer sector around here, I decided that this year will be devoted to the local craft breweries, brewpubs and gastropubs.

I started off by visiting San Pedro Brewing Company (SPBC), a brewpub that has been around for close to 15 years. They have won more than 40 medals at local county fairs, commercial beer competitions and international beer festivals. They have not entered competitions such as the Great American Beer Festival because they have a small brewing system and do not currently have the capacity to brew enough beers to handle the increased demand winning a competition like that would bring. That may soon change though as they are in the process of dealing with the paperwork to open a new location around the corner which will be called Port Town Brewing. SPBC Head Brewer Jason Welke will likely do the brewing for SPBC and Port Town with the SPBC system being used for experimental batches. The hope is to have Port Town Brewing open by next American Craft Beer Week. For those that like bourbon barrel aged brews, Wednesday evening at 6:30 SPBC will have their 2nd Bourbon Barrel Aged Beer Night featuring their Blitzen Belgian Winter Ale and Sunken City Imperial Stout. I went to their first barrel aged event in February and they had some delicious brews. If you are looking for something to do, you really cannot miss by attending this event. San Pedro Brewing Company is located at 331 W. 6th Street in San Pedro and is open seven days a week. Continue reading

Photos of The Bruery’s 6th Anniversary – Sucréversary

On Saturday afternoon, members of The Bruery’s Reserve and Hoarders Society and their guests gathered at The Phoenix Club in Anaheim to join The Bruery and many of the best local craft breweries to celebrate The Bruery’s Sucréversary, or 6th Anniversary. The proceeds from the event were to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Ana.

Since this was a private event I was a little surprised at how many attendees there were; this beer festival easily rivaled any of the local beer festivals I have attended in recent memory both in the number of people attending and the breweries represented. I got there a little early and even though they were not yet pouring beers, there were four very long lines as The Bruery had scattered three booths and a beer truck around the venue and their fans took advantage of the beer map to get in line for their favorite Bruery offering. To say there was a lot to choose from would be a definite understatement as The Bruery brought such ales as their Griffon Bruxellois, Oui Oui, Premiere, Batch #50, Confession, Sucré – Tawny Port, Grey Monday, Hottenroth, ORB, Grey Monday and many others. They even brought out some special beers such as Three Floyd’s 2013 Dark Lord.

Joining in the celebration were guest breweries Almanac Beer Company, Ballast Point, Beachwood Brewing, Bootleggers, Bottle Logic, Cismontane, Eagle Rock, Firestone Walker, Golden Road, Hangar 24, Kern River Brewing, King Harbor, Lost Abbey, Modern Times, Monkish, Noble Ale Works, Pizza Port – San Clemente, Smog City, Societe, St. Archer, Stone Brewing Co., TAPS, The Rare Barrel, Tustin Brewing and Valiant Brewing. The price of admission included a lunch catered by Beachwood BBQ; Chunk-n-Chip Cookies provided dessert. Continue reading

Beer Paper LA celebrates One Year Later at Beachwood

On Wednesday evening, craft beer fans headed to Beachwood BBQ & Brewing in Long Beach to join Beer Paper LA as they celebrated their one year anniversary. Beer Paper LA is an online and monthly print paper that dedicates its pages to the local breweries and gastropubs in the Los Angeles, Orange County and Inland Empire areas of Southern California. As they had their launch party last year at Beachwood it made sense that they return for the anniversary party.

As anyone that frequents Beachwood knows, in addition to the fine beers Beachwood brews they always have a stellar guest tap list. Last night was no different with a selection of crafted brews from local craft breweries from central California to the Mexican border including The Brewery at Abigaile, Ladyface Ale Companie, TAPS Fish House & Brewery, Smog City, Strand Brewing, Noble Ale Works, Firestone Walker, Ohana Brewing Company, Pizza Port San Clemente and many more. It was a night to remember with many fine beers available.

Congratulations to Beer Paper LA on completing their first year and becoming practically a household name in the local craft beer scene. Cheers! Continue reading

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