Boomtown Brewery

The Craft Beer Guy Recap of 2020

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Port Town Brewing – progressing

Well, it is that time of year again. I usually call these articles a “review” of the prior year; but that would be a very short article. I give it two stars out of five, and would not recommend. Instead, this will be a recap of 2020; let’s see what happened.

January 2020

2020 started off mellow enough; little did we know what was in store for us. The highlight of the month, and possibly the year for some, was the Hop Culture Juicy Brews Beach Party Craft Beer Festival held at Brouwerij West. It was a very fun event featuring craft beer from more than 25 of the top breweries in the country.

The month ended with a going away party for Smog City’s taproom manager Jason “Breezy” Briseño as he and his bride prepared to move to Australia; I think COVID put a temporary damper on those plans. Continue reading

Photos from the Boomtown Brewery 5th Anniversary

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Boomtown Brewery, a production brewery in the arts district area of Los Angeles, where they celebrated their fifth anniversary. The event featured 24 Boomtown brews, including their Anniversary Ale, a very nice west coast IPA, and several barrel aged brews.

Entertainment was provided throughout the day by a host of DJs, as well as Boomtown’s standard entertainment of pool, darts, pinball, video games, and cornhole. Food, while I was there, was available from Highland Hickory BBQ (Buddy loved their pork shoulder) and Tripp Burgers, as well as a churro popup. Continue reading

3rd Annual Pub at the Club Photos

These photos were taken Sunday afternoon at the 3rd Annual Pub at the Club, which was held at the Manhattan Beach Badminton Club in Manhattan Beach. The event featured at least 22 breweries and cideries, as well as numerous wineries and local restaurants.

100% of the proceeds, which included ticket sales, raffles and the silent auction went to the Manhattan Beach Badminton Club Junior Foundation, a charity dedicated to developing champions on and off the court by supporting all athletes, including special needs and Para-athletes.

Attendees received unlimited pours from such local breweries as Boomtown, Three Weavers, Absolution Brewing, Zymurgy Brew Works, Scholb, Strand Brewing, King Harbor Brewing, El Segundo Brewing, Smog City, Hermosa Brewing, and The Dudes’. Also in attendance were Stone Brewing, Pizza Port, Refuge Brewery, Cigar City, High Water Brewing, Oskar Blues, and new to California, Roadhouse Brewing Company. Continue reading

DTLA Breweries United Fest 4.0 Photos

These photos were taken Sunday evening at the DTLA Breweries United 4.0 craft beer festival, which was held at the Triangle Lot outside Angel City Brewery. The event featured special brews from each of the seven participating breweries as well as a collaboration that involved all seven.

The fourth in a series of semiannual craft beer festivals put on by DTLA Breweries United, Sunday’s event featured beers from member breweries Angel City, Arts District Brewing, Dry River Brewing, Indie Brewing, Iron Triangle, Mumford and Boomtown Brewing. In addition to lots of good beer, food was made available by Peaches’ Food Truck. There was a DJ, a dunk tank featuring brewers from each of the participating breweries, cornhole, and lots of sunshine to keep the hundreds of attendees entertained. All the proceeds from the event went to benefit the Keep A Breast Foundation. Continue reading

Boomtown Brewery 3 Year Anniversary Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Boomtown Brewery’s three years anniversary celebration. The event featured multiple food vendors, several DJs, and 17 Boomtown Brewery beers, including about three special beer releases. Later in the evening (after the kids and I had left) there were three performances of a burlesque show.

If it seems impossible for Boomtown to be open that long, one must think back to their beginning. The production brewery opened three years ago, but it took two years to satisfy the City of Los Angeles to the point that they could open their tasting room which occurred in February of 2017.

Although I have tried a half-dozen of Boomtown’s brews at various events and craft beer bars, this was my first visit to their facility, located in the Arts District area of Los Angeles; in a word, the place is huge. Continue reading

Photos from the 2nd Annual LA Beer & Food Festival

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the Mack Sennett Studios in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles, where the Los Angeles County Brewers Guild held their second annual L.A. Beer and Food Festival.

The event featured 50 LA Brewers Guild member breweries and brewpubs, pouring at least 100 different beers; as well as a half dozen local eateries providing samples of their specialties.

One thing that going to events like this does, is emphasize how fast the brewing community around us is growing. When I first started visiting craft breweries, it was easy to keep current with growth; I even covered grand openings in Pacoima, San Fernando and Lancaster. These days there are probably more breweries in the brewers guild that I have not visited, than have. For the record, I have visited more than half of the breweries that were there Saturday. Continue reading

DTLA Breweries United Fest Photos

These photos were taken Sunday afternoon at the Triangle Lot where DTLA Breweries United held their second annual DTLA Breweries United Fest. The event featured limited edition and specialty beers from the seven Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) breweries that make up DTLA Breweries United. Those breweries include Angel City, Mumford Brewing, Boomtown Brewery, Arts District Brewing, Iron Triangle, Indie Brewing and Dry River Brewing.

The proceeds from the event went to the Keep A Breast Foundation.

I had to take advantage of attending this event as I just never seem to get to DTLA when it comes to craft beer; in fact, I was going through my notes and realized that it has been almost two years since my last visit there. Back then only Angel City and Mumford had tasting rooms open to the public; as of today all seven members of the DTLA Breweries United have tasting rooms. Continue reading

LA Brewers Kickoff and a Proposal

These photos are from Saturday at the LA Brewers Kickoff of Los Angeles Beer Week 9 (LABW9), which was held at the Los Angeles Center Studios in downtown Los Angeles. This outstanding event featured close to 60 Los Angeles craft breweries along with 30 out of town craft brewers and about 10 food trucks. In addition to the beer and food there were games, live music and plenty of water and shade for those seeking to escape the high air temperature.

I did not ask how many tickets were sold, but I suspect there were about 1,000 people in attendance. With close to 100 booths to visit, lines were never really an issue; with the exception being when a brewery had a scheduled release of a special beer they brought. Even then, once the beer was opened, the lines seemed to disappear rather quickly. Continue reading

4th Annual South Bay Beer & Wine Festival Photos

These photos were taken Sunday at the 4th Annual South Bay Beer & Wine Festival which was held at Ernie Howlett Park in Rolling Hills Estates. This annual fundraising event was presented by the Rotary Clubs of El Segundo, Palos Verdes Peninsula and South Bay Sunrise; the event featured about 30 craft breweries as well as 15 wineries and food from close to 30 local restaurants. All proceeds fund the community outreach programs of Rotary Clubs within the South Bay and Harbor cities of Los Angeles.

The beer portion of the event was curated with the assistance of Beer Paper L.A.’s own Daniel Drennon, which has caused some to know the festival as the Daniel Drennon (DFD) Invitational. The list of breweries pouring was pretty much an A to Z list of craft with everything from Absolution Brewing and Arts District Brewing to Yorkshire Square Brewery and Zymurgy Brew Works. Of course, the selections were not limited to Los Angeles area breweries as we were joined by Avery Brewing and Ska Brewing from Colorado, as well as such California powerhouses as Sierra Nevada and Firestone Walker. Continue reading

LA County Brewers Guild Inaugural Beer and Food Fest Photos

These photos were taken at the inaugural L.A. Beer and Food Festival, which was presented by the Los Angeles County Brewers Guild Saturday afternoon at the Mack Sennett Studios in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles.

I was going to say that for an inaugural event, the turnout was outstanding; but the reality is that they sold out 650 tickets, which is pretty outstanding whether it was the inaugural or 10th annual event. The reality is that the venue probably could not hold much more and remain comfortable.

With close to 50 breweries, all members of the L.A. County Brewers Guild, and at least 15 food vendors there was something for everyone. Although the photos may give the impression that the place was packed, there were virtually no lines for beer. Some of the food vendors may have had a little trouble keeping up with demand, but I heard no complaints because everything (that I tried anyway) was delicious. Continue reading

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