As most of you are probably aware, the month of November has been designated by The Movember Foundation as Movember; the month for raising funds for and awareness of mens health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer. As part of the month-long campaign, men around the world were encouraged to grow a mustache for the month. I participated in this fundraiser in 2010 but my mustache grows so slow that I have decided to just keep it and participate in the fundraising efforts via other avenues. Local craft brewery, The Dudes’ Brewing Company, participated by holding a Movember Celebration and Shave-Off over this past weekend.
Over the course of the weekend they donated $1.00 from every Double Trunk DIPA sold in the tasting room to the Movember Foundation. On Saturday they had raffles throughout the day and a Best Mustache Contest with the first place prize being a $100 gift certificate, second place receiving a case of The Dudes’ brew and the third place winner receiving a growler and fill. I am afraid I missed Saturday’s festivities so I cannot tell you who won that contest. Continue reading
On Saturday afternoon we headed out to Alhambra to attend the 38 Degrees Ale House & Grill’s 5th Anniversary Celebration. Unfortunately, Caltrans decided they were going to close several lanes of the 710 freeway turning what should have been a 30 minute drive into an hour-long battle. As we finally turned down Main Street and approached 38 Degrees we immediately noticed that they had a very long line of people waiting to get in. To be honest, I was not ready to stand in any line; I wanted a beer. Luckily for us, Ohana Brewing Company had opened their tasting room a few months ago and they are literally around the corner from 38 Degrees so they became our first stop.
I had an opportunity to visit the Ohana Brewing tasting room back in January shortly after they had been granted their Conditional Use Permit and it was pretty much just a storefront with dreams of what the future would bring. Yesterday, we discovered six taps of Ohana brews, displays featuring their glassware, growlers, shirts and snacks and several customers lined up at the counter trying flights and filling growlers. We ordered up a flight consisting of their Pacific Ale, Hollenbeck Amber Ale, Saison Kau Wela, #Hashtag Hops IPA, Spawater Saison, Surf Shack Saison and Acorn Ambition. All the beers were solid brews; I really enjoyed the Surf Shack Saison which is a very good entry level sour. Owner Andrew Luthi informed me that they have a Double IPA getting ready to be released and after trying the #Hashtag Hops I look forward to trying it. The Ohana Brewing Company tasting room is located at 7 S. 1st Street in Alhambra. Continue reading
Sunday afternoon I headed out to Alhambra to attend the 9th LA Beer Bloggers Summit which was held at 38 Degrees Ale House & Grill. In addition to the networking opportunities with other beer bloggers and other various media formats we were treated to talks by 38 Degrees co-owner Clay Harding, Danny and Franny Fullpint and the Ohana Brewing Company crew. Clay Harding talked about his history and how 38 Degrees Ale House & Grill came about and spoke a little on their upcoming events. Danny Fullpint and Franny Fullpint gave us a brief rundown on how they got The Full Pint to its current position in the craft beer world. Ohana Brewing Company owner Andrew Luthi introduced us to his brewing team consisting of Eric McLaughlin, Erick “Riggs” Villar and Robert Sanchez. Ohana Brewing also provided samples of three of their craft beers; Pacific Ale, Saison Noir and Wee Smokey. As Ohana Brewing was just recently granted a Conditional Use Permit to open a tasting room and growler fill station literally right next door to 38 Degrees, we were given the opportunity to visit the storefront location. All in all it was another fun afternoon of networking and enjoying good craft beers.
LA Beer Bloggers is an informal network of bloggers from Los Angeles and Orange Counties that dedicate their time towards the promotion and growth of the local craft beer scene. With all the new craft breweries popping up brewers and brewery owners rely on word of mouth to become known to the beer drinking public; beer writers help make this possible on a larger scale.
38 Degrees Ale House & Grill is located at 100 W. Main Street in Alhambra, CA. They have a very nice tap list and very good food. When Ohana Brewing gets their tasting room open you will want to be sure to kill two birds with one stone and visit both locations. Cheers! Continue reading
According to King Harbor Brewing Company co-owner Tom Dunbabin, they recently learned that 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. If you recall the issues in the recent past between Magic Hat Brewing and West Sixth Brewing with their logos and earlier in the year between 38 Degrees Ale House and Grill in Alhambra and 38º Carlsbad this makes perfect sense; eliminate any potential problems before they become real problems.
When it came time to come up with a new name, Dunbabin states; “We went back to our source of inspiration – the beach. Not just any beach, but the beaches of the South Bay. This is the area that we love – from our favorite craft beer bars, breweries, and restaurants, our friends, families, to the unique history. We quickly realized that while we loved the Coastline name it lacked a specific tie to this area, something that is very important to this brewery.” Continue reading
These photos are from the 38 Degrees Ale House and Grill 4th Anniversary Celebration, held today in Alhambra. 38 Degrees Ale House and Grill is a gastropub that I visited for the first time back in February when they had their Pliny the Younger release party. Even though it is a 30 mile ride out there, I knew that I was going to have to return; their guest tap list was pretty impressive and the food looked and smelled good. When I heard they were having their 4th anniversary celebration I knew that this would be an outstanding event.
We got there shortly after the scheduled start time and the 38 Degrees fans were already beginning to fill the place up and I could not help but notice the number of flights that were being purchased. Of course, when you look at the list of beers they had available it is easy to understand why. From their Facebook page, the taps were pouring: Continue reading
To be honest, I was not really sure what to expect; I certainly was not expecting what I found there. Looking past the 400 people standing in line to get in, one guy for more than three hours by the time I got there, I was pretty impressed. 38 Degrees Ale House and Grill is huge; it must seat more than 200 people. They offer 38 beers on tap or cask and I do not recall seeing any Budweiser or Miller there. In fact, I was a little disappointed that I had ridden my bike out there because there was a lot to choose from and a designated driver would have been nice. I did not eat, but it seems like everyone around me did. I asked a couple people about the food and they all spoke highly of it. When I left, I knew I would have to return to spend a little more time.
That time has come; on Saturday June 8, 38 Degrees will be holding their 4th Anniversary Celebration beginning at 1:00 PM to “celebrate four years of serving Los Angeles with some of the most delicious and unique craft beers and entrees.” There is no cost of admission; just pay for what you eat or drink. Speaking of drink, 38 Degrees 38 Degrees will be breaking out some very special archived beers; barrel aged beers, sour ales as well as fresh local ales. Their list includes: Continue reading
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