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Craft Beer Guy Visits Urban Roots and Oak Park Brewing

These photos were taken Wednesday afternoon, March 22, at Urban Roots Brewing and Smokehouse, and Oak Park Brewing Co., two of Sacramento’s Black owned brewpubs; in the interest of full disclosure, I have been unable to figure out if Sacramento has any other Black owned breweries, but that has nothing to do with this article.

After the final session of the California Craft Beer Summit, Tomm and I decided to hit up a couple local breweries because he had never visited any in Sacramento. Even thought I visited Urban Roots in 2021, I got there kind of late in the evening and they were still observing COVID protocol so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to pay another visit post-COVID. Oak Park Brewing had a booth on the expo floor at the Craft Beer Summit and we had both enjoyed a couple of their offering, so we decided to make them our second stop. Continue reading

Brouwerij West 7th Anniversary Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Brouwerij West, in San Pedro, where they celebrated their seventh anniversary. The event featured a morning brunch, food trucks, live music, a DJ, a beer release and games. I probably missed something, but I was only there for a couple of hours, and while the event started at 10:00 AM, it lasted late into the night.

I got there around 2:00 which means I arrived well after the brunch was completed, but I was able to chat with a couple attendees that were still hanging out. Pancakes and stouts made up the primary part of the menu, which sounds like a pretty good way to start the day. Continue reading

Two Coast Brewing: A Taste of Germany in Gardena

These photos were taken Wednesday afternoon, when I visited Gardena’s newest craft brewery, Two Coast Brewing Company. I have been cyber-stalking Two Coast since the end of 2016, so when I recently noticed a Facebook post that screamed out, “They must have a tasting room coming soon,” I reached out to them for the first time in more than six years to see if I could swing by. I met with co-founders Roger Kunsemueller and Jan Dreier to get a little history as well as a look into the future.

When I arrived, Jan was busy keeping a cleaning mess under control, while Roger was milling grain. I took advantage of the time to walk around and grab photos of their 15bbl brewhouse and 30bbl fermenters as well as what will soon become the South Bay’s newest craft beer tasting room. Oh yeah, I may have tried a few of their brews Continue reading

Hermosa Brewing Torrance Now Open

These photos were taken on four separate visits to the new Hermosa Brewing Company location in Torrance, between July 30 and December 27, when I went to photo-document the build of their new production brewery and tasting room.

Hopefully you saw my post last week when I attended their soft open. At the time I said that the Torrance location should open within the next couple of weeks; well, the time has come. Continue reading

Upshift and Surfridge Celebrate Three Years

These photos were taken Saturday, November 5, at Upshift Brewing Company and Surfridge Brewing Company, both of which are located in El Segundo and coincidentally, were both celebrating their third anniversaries. Both events featured food trucks and live music.

I started my day off at Upshift Brewing, for no particular reason (at the time) other than it was the only anniversary party I knew was happening. They had a ticketed VIP hour, but I showed up after that. There were a couple dozen people there when I arrived, but it did not take long for the inside and outside seating to begin filling up. Continue reading

Craft Beer Guy Visits 8bit Brewing Company

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon, when I visited 8bit Brewing Company, a brewpub located in Murrieta, California.

So, Saturday afternoon I left the mild clime of the beach (71 degrees) to head out to Murrieta (low 100s) to watch a play that my number one grandson and favorite granddaughter were performing in. Since traffic out there can be very unpredictable, I left a few hours early hoping traffic wouldn’t suck too much and I might be able to visit one of the breweries out there that I had yet to visit. Luckily, it only took a couple hours to get there, so I had time to stop by 8bit Brewing Company. Continue reading

Common Space Brewery 4th Anniversary Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the Common Space Brewery in Hawthorne, where they held their 4th Anniversary. The day included live music, food trucks, live art painting, a couple DJs, and the release of four new beers.

I arrived early with my buddy Phil, the refrigeration guy to the stars, and secured a good parking spot as well as prime seating at the bar. We were there for the first three hours, so that is what you will find in the photos.

There were about four food trucks there, with everything from burgers to oysters to tacos. The music was provided by the Del Ray Jazz Band. Continue reading

Craft Beer Guy Visits Huntington Beach

These photos were taken Friday in Huntington Beach, where I did a small craft beer tour with my friends, Jeff and Yurany. We visited Riip Beer Company, Flashpoint Brewing, and Beachwood Brewing.

Those of you that were following my Craft Beer Tour 2021 may have noticed that it had a pretty abrupt ending; as a result, I decided that instead of driving thousands of miles to visit new breweries, I would try to fit in a few day trips to breweries that were a little closer. As Jeff and Yurany had the day off, we decided to venture out together to Huntington Beach. Continue reading

Craft Beer Tour 2021: Medford, OR

These photos were taken Thursday evening, September 30, day 16 of my Craft Beer Tour 2021, when I visited Medford, Oregon. My reasons for visiting Medford were pretty simple; I do not really enjoy driving in the dark when on these trips for the simple reason that I cannot see and appreciate the country I are driving through, this pretty much guaranteed I would be spending another night in Oregon. Since I had already visited Grants Pass in 2018 I decided that Medford would be my home for the night.

I don’t know if you have ever visited Medford, but it is not an easy town to navigate for a first time visitor; at least in my opinion.

As I have mentioned before, when I do these trips I pretty much fly by the seat of my pants, and Medford was a perfect example of that as I had zero clue where I would be staying and the name of one brewery that may, or may not, still be open according to rumors in Eugene. Since I really had no idea what else to put in my GPS, I aimed for Opposition Brewing Company. Continue reading

Craft Beer Tour 2021: Eugene, OR

These photos were taken Thursday afternoon, September 30, day 16 of my Craft Beer Tour 2021, when I revisited Eugene, Oregon. This time I spent my time at Hop Valley Brewing Company and Manifest Beer Company. I had planned on leaving Oregon City on Wednesday, but my presence was an asset for my friends, so I hung out another day.

I set my sights for Eugene as I wanted to visit a friend I had not seen since my visit in 2018; our plans were to meet for lunch and a beer at Hop Valley Brewing. When I pulled into their parking lot I noticed a text message suggesting I would be doing this visit solo due to illness. Continue reading

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