Monthly Archives: September 2014
LA Beer Week 6 Day 5: Tap Takeovers at Simmzy’s & Naja’s Place
Wednesday was day five of the 2014 LA Beer Week and in the South Bay we had a tap takeover by Firestone Walker at Simmzy’s in Manhattan Beach and another by Allagash Brewing Company at Naja’s Place in Redondo Beach. We started off at Simmzy’s where Shane Kral, Regional Sales Manager at Firestone Walker hosted the event. In addition to the Firestone Double DBA, Union Jack, XVII Anniversary, Pivo Pils and Bretta Weiss, he also brought along Jeffers Richardson, the original brewmaster for Firestone Walker and the current Barrelmeister and Director of the Firestone Walker Barrelworks in Buellton. It was interesting to talk with him a little about Firestone Walker and their planned location in Culver City. As of now, look for that location to open sometime in the middle of 2015.
I have only visited Simmzy’s a few times, but I have always been impressed with their tap list and the food is pretty good too. We had a salad that was delicious but I admit I saw a coupe burgers come out of the kitchen that looked really good; I just do not know that my mouth would open wide enough to fit one in. Simmzy’s is located at 229 Manhattan Beach Boulevard in Manhattan Beach.
After leaving Simmzy’s we headed over to Naja’s Place in Redondo Beach where they were holding their Allagash Brewing Company tap takeover. This was a “must attend” event for any Allagash fan as Naja’s brought out several archived Allagash beers and Allagash brought some special beers that have never made it out here before. With 20 different taps pouring Allagash brews there was definitely something for everyone. Continue reading
Finding Craft Beer: The Mega Stores
As much as I like to support local business; sometimes it just makes sense to shop at the major chains. This can hold true whether you are buying tires for your car or craft beer for your fridge. My last article about the local bottle shops was an article that I have been planning on writing for several months, but I wanted to give one of the locations a chance to finish some construction first. Initially I was going to compare two independent bottle shops to Total Wine, after I discovered that Costco had a wide selection of craft beer I decided that I would write two articles; the last one about the local independents, and another about the chains that carried craft beer. This article will visit Total Wine & More in Redondo Beach, Costco in Hawthorne and Whole Foods in El Segundo. You should probably know this going in, not all Costco or Whole Foods are created equal; not all locations are as good as those visited for this article.
Of any place I go to buy craft beer, Total Wine in Redondo Beach gets more of my business than probably everywhere else combined. The reasons for this are many, but the main reason is that it is basically across the street. It takes almost as much time to drive and park as it does to walk there. The convenience factor is strong with this one. The second thing is that they carry about 3,000 different varieties of beer and you can purchase individual bottles/cans so experimenting is a piece of cake. Not only do they carry American craft beers but their International beer selection is better than any place I have ever been. Their pricing is usually very good; I have found locally brewed beers being sold for significantly less that it would cost at the tap room it came from.
As a tip, if you visit Total Wine, feel free to walk into the cooler; there are lots of surprises to be found including Pliny and Blind Pig. Most of the time there will be bottle limits, so bring your friends and neighbors. Continue reading
Bottle Shops: The South Bay’s Hidden Treasures
The president of the newly formed Los Angeles County Brewers Guild, Jeremy Raub, said that the goal of this 6th Annual LA Beer Week is to “showcase the many diverse components” of the local craft beer scene. This includes the brewers, bar owners, distributors and journalists that help get fresh craft beer to you and make you aware of these brews. Since I usually spend my time promoting breweries, craft beer bars, home brew clubs and gastropubs, I thought I would do something a little different and discuss some of the local bottle shops that specialize in good beer; whether local or international as long as it is craft. It is nice to be able to walk into a tasting room whenever you like, but that just is not possible [around here] primarily due to the limited hours that tasting rooms are open. Besides, as much as I enjoy the beers that are brewed around here, when it comes to beer variety is definitely the spice of my life. Today I am going to introduce you to three locations in the South Bay that will likely provide many of the hard to find brews that are available to the person that doesn’t mind searching a little. The three bottle shops are Number 1 Liquor and Adam’s Fine Wines & Liquors in Redondo Beach; and 3Ten Liquor in Torrance.
Number 1 Liquor has been at the same location on the corner of Aviation and Grant Avenue since the 1970’s; although they did not start promoting craft beer until 2012. To be honest, the first time I heard about Number 1 I was told to not tell anyone about it. They were one of the only bottle shops in the South Bay that had a Russian River allocation, making it one of the few places around here that you could buy a bottle of Pliny the Elder, Blind Pig or any other Russian River beers. The downside to it was that you had to know that they had it in stock in order to get some. That was actually my main turn off to the place; it seemed like they had more beer in the back room than they had displayed and you had to know what to ask for otherwise it was a matter of telling them what style or brewery you preferred and they would bring out what they thought was close. It was less than ideal; but there was no doubt that they carried more varieties of hard to find craft beer than any other independent liquor store that I was aware of. Continue reading
LA Beer Week continues: Torrance tasting rooms & Caskforce at Beachwood
Sunday was day two of the 6th Annual LA Beer Week and I decided to start the day off by visiting a couple of the Torrance tasting rooms since they were not around last year. The afternoon began at Torrance’s oldest production brewery, Strand Brewing Company. It was not particularly crowded, but they did have a nice group in there; due in part to LA Craft Beer Tours bringing a group in. I had the opportunity to visit with a few people and wish Nikki good luck as she will be leaving us soon to take on a new job with Drake’s Brewing. Congratulations, Nikki. Strand Brewing Company is located at 23520 Telo Avenue in Torrance.
I then headed over to The Dudes’ Brewing Company to see what has been going on there since their grand opening last week. The first thing I noticed was that they now have ample seating for everyone; to celebrate LA Beer Week The Dudes’ held raffles for beer, shirts, hats and other swag over the weekend. In addition to eight or nine beers on tap they also offered one on nitro and one on cask. It looks like The Dudes’ have gotten the hang of the tasting room and they should be quite successful as time goes on. The Dudes’ Brewing Company is located at 1840 W. 208th Street in Torrance.
For my final production brewery stop, I paid a visit to Absolution Brewing Company. It has been a few weeks since I was there and again, one of the first things I noticed was that they rearranged their pews to make it easier for people to sit together and talk while enjoying a guilt free Absolution brew. Judging by all the new kegs that were waiting to be filled it would be safe to presume that their distribution to bars and restaurants must be doing pretty well. Absolution Brewing Company is located at 2878 Columbia Street in Torrance. Continue reading
Locals Night at Naja’s Place LA Beer Week 2014
The 6th Annual LA Beer Week begins Saturday, September 20 but Naja’s Place in Redondo Beach kicked it off a day early with their “Locals Night” which included close to 50 beers on tap from 18 local craft breweries. The local breweries spotlighted in last night’s event included, The Brewery at Abigaile, Angel City, Beachwood, Bottle Logic, The Bruery, The Dudes’ Brewing, Eagle Rock Brewing, El Segundo Brewing, Golden Road, Hangar 24, Kinetic Brewing, King Harbor Brewing, Ladyface, LA Ale Works, Monkish Brewing, Noble Ale Works, Smog City and Strand Brewing Company.
Naja’s Place will continue their celebration of LA Beer Week on Saturday by showcasing 30+ Pizza Port beers, followed by an Allagash tap takeover on Wednesday and a Firestone takeover next Saturday, September 27.
Los Angeles Beer Week (LABW6) officially runs from September 20 through September 28. There are events happening all over the Greater Los Angeles area; you can find the most up to date schedule of events on the LA Beer Week website. There are some great beers being brewed around here now, go out and celebrate it. Cheers! Continue reading
Vegan Oktoberfest Santa Monica, October 4
As October steadily creeps up on us, so do the additional Oktoberfest celebrations; including Vegan Oktoberfest which will be held at Beach Park 1 in Santa Monica on October 4. While I am not sure I ever heard of a German vegan, this event looks like it should be pretty entertaining.
This inaugural event is a fundraiser for Expand Animal Rights Now, an organization that uses the legal system to help animals. Since this is a vegan event it is a safe bet that you are not going to find any bratwurst or sauerbraten available but there will be plenty of gluten free pretzels and food trucks such as Sage Organic Bistro, The Grilled Cheese Truck, The Green Truck, and Southern Fried Vegan which will be providing traditional Bavarian food such as pretzels, potato pancakes, chicken, sauerkraut and ice cream. There will be vegan sausages available also.
The breweries in attendance that will be pouring their vegan beer include Angel City, Anderson Valley Brewing, Bravery Brewing, Golden Road Brewing, Saint Archer Brewing, Karl Strauss Brewing, Drakes Brewing, Lagunitas, Bison Brewing, Modern Times Beer, Epic Brewing, Oskar Blues Brewery, Ace Premium Hard Cider, Eel River Brewing Company, Coronado Brewing Company, Hangar 24, Venice Duck Brewery, Four Sons Brewing, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Ninkasi Brewing Company, The Dudes’ Brewing Company, Lammsbrau and Einstock. Continue reading
Photos from Rock & Brews’ 4th Annual Local Craft Beer Fest
On Sunday afternoon, Rock & Brews held their 4th Annual Local Craft Beer Fest at their Rock & Brews Garden on Main in El Segundo. There were 15 breweries pouring 30 beers as well as food and a game or two to keep you occupied; but most people seemed content to enjoy the shade in what was a very hot afternoon at the beach. To be honest, there were fewer kids and dogs than last year which cut down of the carnival atmosphere that was experienced last year. I suspect the lower attendance was due in part to the sweltering heat and the fact that Main Street was blocked off for construction, at least in the beginning.
The breweries in attendance were El Segundo Brewing Company, Ohana Brewing Company, The Dudes’ Brewing Company, King Harbor Brewing Company, Strand Brewing Company, Monkish Brewing Company, Smog City Brewing Company, Angel City Brewery, The Brewery at Abigaile, Absolution Brewing Company, Congregation Ale House, Bootlegger’s Brewery, Cosmic Ales, Hangar 24 Craft Brewery and Golden Road Brewery. Also in attendance were Bowser Beer’s Dirty Dog Squad and Popcornopolis Gourmet Popcorn, who was giving away samples of their gourmet popcorn as well as their brand new, hop infused popcorn! This is still in the development stage so keep an eye out for it as they plan on having popcorn pairings with craft beer within the next few months.
In addition to everything else that was going on, a panel with a Question and Answer period was moderated by Celebrator Beer News contributor Tomm Carroll and included Brian Brewer from The Brewery at Abigaile, Christopher Briles from Cosmic Ales, Rich Marcello from Strand Brewing Company, Rob Croxall from El Segundo Brewing Company and Steve Farguson from Absolution Brewing Company. Continue reading
Alpine VIllage 47th Annual Oktoberfest Begins
Friday evening, September 12, the Alpine Village in Torrance began their 47th Annual Oktoberfest, complete with German food, German biers and oompah party bands. The Alpine Village Oktoberfest is the biggest and longest running Oktoberfest this side of the Mississippi River.
Besides the bier, food and music there are chicken dances every hour, stein holding contests and, of course, Heino to get all the ladies worked up.
Oktoberfest will run every weekend through October 26; with Friday and Saturday being an adult only event and Sundays kids are allowed. The hours are 6:00-12:00 AM on Fridays, 5:00-12:00 AM on Saturdays and 1:00-6:00 PM on Sunday.
Alpine Village is located at 833 W. Torrance Boulevard in Torrance and Oktoberfest is held in the big tent. If you seek a little more variety in the food or bier, you should do like we did and start off at The Alpine Inn; they have a great beer menu and some very good German food. Cheers! Continue reading
Photos from The Dudes’ Brewing Company Grand Opening
It seems like we have been waiting forever, but the day has finally come; The Dudes’ Brewing Company has officially opened their tasting room to the public and the public turned out en masse. Even though they opened their doors at 3:00 PM, when most people are at work, there was a line forming by the time I got there; and I got there early. In the last minutes before the doors were officially opened, finish work and clean up was being completed on the new tap room. When the doors opened everyone lined up at the bar to order one of the many beers brewed by The Dudes’. The brews included the familiar Double Trunk, Grandma’s Pecan, Kolschtal Eddy, Blood Orange and Grinning Face with the not as well-known South Bay Session and the newly introduced California IPA and El Duderino Agave Wheat.
The grand opening continues Saturday and Sunday when The Dudes’ will be open from noon until 10:00 PM. Throughout the weekend various cask offerings will be made available along with giveaways and special beer pricing. There will also be food trucks for those seeking food.
The Dudes’ Brewing Company is located at 1840 W. 208th Street in Torrance. Their hours, for the time being, will be Thursdays and Fridays from 3:00-10:00 PM and 12:00-10:00 on Saturdays and Sundays. I had a few people come up and tell me that some of the brews that they had tried before seemed even better straight from the source, and I believe that would be tough to dispute. Welcome to the South Bay, Dudes. Cheers! Continue reading
The Brewery at Abigaile hosts September Business & Beer
On Thursday evening Business & Beer, arguably one of the South Bay’s more fun business networking groups, returned to the Brewery at Abigaile in Hermosa Beach. The Business & Beer networking group has been meeting since July of 2012 and The Brewery at Abigaile was the second venue visited, making it the longest running in the Business & Beer rotation. The Brewery at Abigaile is the only brewery in Hermosa Beach and is probably the biggest brewpub in the South Bay. We had a pretty nice turnout considering the number of competing beer events going on at the same time. There was a great mix of regulars and first time attendees which allowed everyone to get to know each other a little better; and about five minutes after everyone left a second wave of first timers showed up. I guess I will have to be sure to include the end time (8:00 PM) along with the start time for future events.
The Business & Beer networking group meets on the second Thursday of every month at a different production brewery tasting room or brewpub in the South Bay. Currently, that includes The Brewery at Abigaile, El Segundo Brewing Company, Strand Brewing Company, Monkish Brewing Company, The Dudes’ Brewing Company, King Harbor Brewing Company, Absolution Brewing Company and Smog City Brewing. The October 9 gathering will be held at King Harbor Brewing Company. If you live or work in the South Bay and networking is important to your business success or it falls under your job description and you enjoy craft beer, Business & Beer is going to be right up your alley.
You can sign up to the Business & Beer mailing list on their website or you can Like them on Facebook to be kept in the loop for upcoming events. All upcoming Business & Beer upcoming events can be found on the free craftbeerguy mobile app which is available for download on iTunes or Google Play. Cheers! Continue reading