Lloyd Brown

Dust Bowl Brewing Introduces Taco Truck Lager in Cans

Dust Bowl Taco Truck

Taco Truck Lager – Now in 12oz Cans

Happiness is having the UPS guy at the front door with another package from Dust Bowl Brewing Company; yesterday the package included Dust Bowl’s first introduction of Taco Truck Lager in 12 oz. cans. Taco Truck Lager was first introduced in 2016 in 12 oz. bottles/six-packs and draft. Targeting the easy-drinking, “backyard beer” fan, Taco Truck Lager quickly pulled into the top-selling spot for the Northern California craft brewery. As someone that is not particularly a fan of lagers, this one was quite tasty; I could easily drink more than one, and that is saying something when it comes to lagers.

Available year-round, the Mexican-style beer has resonated with loyal lager fans as well as beer drinkers who are new to craft. It’s approachable and sessionable at 4.7% ABV. The brewery’s data provides every indication that the cans will be well received. Wholesalers and consumers alike want more cans and the summer launch falls in line with outdoor activities – the number one draw for can consumption.

“Taco Truck Lager is a great all-occasion beer,” shares Don Oliver, Brewmaster. “With the summer upon us, it made sense to offer Taco Truck Lager in cans. Whether you’re heading to the beach, mountains or simply poolside in your own backyard, cans provide the ultimate in convenience for the beer fan. Active, outdoor lifestyles demand it.” Continue reading

Scholb Premium Ales Celebrates Two Year Anniversary

These photos were taken Sunday at Scholb Premium Ales in Torrance, where they celebrated two years of brewing. The event featured $5.00 pours from their 17 taps, their first bottle release, live entertainment, food, games, raffles and giveaways all day long.

While the anniversary party was advertised minimally, the Scholb tasting room filled up nicely with both regular attendees and a few first-timers. Scholb gave away Scholb glassware to the first 100 customers; and gave raffle tickets with every beer purchased. Bibb’s BBQ filled the brewery with great aromas, while DJ Cancun Joey and CAL1FA filled the room with their mellow tunes.

Scholb also used the opportunity to have their first bottle release, Tall, Dank & Handsome; it is a full-bodied IPA featuring Mosaic and Columbus hops to give it its lingering dankness. Continue reading

Dust Bowl Brewing Introduces Lateral 3 Hazy IPA

Lateral #3

Lateral #3 from Dust Bowl Brewing Company

I was first introduced to Dust Bowl Brewing Company on a road trip I took back in 2014. While I have not made it back to Turlock in a while, I do keep in contact. Yesterday, May 31, Dust Bowl Brewing announced the release of Lateral 3, the third in a series of hazy IPAs from the Northern California craft brewery. Packaged in pint cans, the Lateral Series offers beer fans a different take on the popular hazy IPA style with each release.

“For the third addition to the Lateral Series we wanted to move toward more citrus/orange character and away from the tropical that shows in Lateral 1 and 2,” shares Don Oliver, Brewmaster. “We switched up the yeast and hopping and opted to head into a double IPA territory at 8.5% ABV.”

Lateral 3 falls into their specialty can release category for Dust Bowl Brewing and is mostly pre-sold to wholesalers. The latest in the series is expected to hit retailers the last week in May, just in time for summer. At 8.5% ABV, Lateral 3 boasts a higher than typical alcohol content for a hazy IPA. In keeping with Brewmaster Oliver’s notable style, the alcohol is well-hidden for a smooth finish. Continue reading

Photos from The Rarest Experience 2018

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Stout Burgers and Beers Hollywood location, where they held The Rarest Experience 2018 on the Stout parking lot. Presented by Beer Fest for Beer Geeks, The Rarest Experience featured close to 40 extremely rare beers collected and cellared by the National Beer Manager for Stout Burgers & Beers, Joey Anderson over the years.

In addition to the outstanding beer selection, attendees were treated to treats from the Stout kitchen, including lamb meatballs, grilled cheese sandwiches and sliders. Cornhole and Jenga were set up for those with a competitive nature, and live music was provided by 1950’s inspired Los Angeles based rock band, The Miskreants. They also raffled off a few homebrew kits as well as a barrel that had been used by The Brews Brothers.

As this may be the last in The Rarest Experience series of beer festivals, Anderson and Stout did not hold back; take a look at the official beer list: Continue reading

5th Annual South Bay Beer & Wine Festival Photos

These photos were taken Sunday afternoon at the 5th Annual South Bay Beer & Wine Festival which was held on Sunday at Ernie Howlett Park in Rolling Hills Estates. Presented by the Rotary Club of Palos Verdes Peninsula and Rotary Club of South Bay Sunrise, 99.9% of the proceeds from this year’s charity fundraising event will go to support the Pediatric Therapy Network and Wounded Heroes of America.

The South Bay Beer & Wine Festival is arguably the best craft beer festival within 100 miles of the South Bay, with unlimited pours from a reported 43 craft breweries (assembled by Beer Paper’s own Daniel Drennon), 17 wineries and food samples from 45 different restaurants and food vendors. People that purchased VIP tickets not only got in early, but they had access to additional vendors offering vodka, tequila and additional food options. Continue reading

The Mason Jar Brewing Company

Saturday afternoon was set aside to travel to Menifee so I could watch my six year old grandson participate in the finals of a talent show put on by the Boys & Girls Club of Menifee Valley. It was being held at a church, so craft beer was the furthest thing from my mind when we pulled onto New Hub Drive in Menifee. As my sister passed the church, she swung the car around at the first street parking spot. As I stepped out of the car, to my surprise was The Mason Jar Brewing Company.

Mason Jar Brewing opened their doors in 2015, and brew with a 10bbl system and 20bbl fermenters. When I was there, they had 16 brews on tap. A look at the tap list made me think that they brew what they like; they aren’t just brewing it because it is faddish. They don’t distribute, and seemed like a neighborhood tasting room with a lot of regulars. Continue reading

Najas Place 10th Annual IPA Festival Photos

These photos were taken Wednesday afternoon at Naja’s Place in Redondo Beach, where they are holding their 10th annual IPA Festival. The annual event started Wednesday afternoon and will run through May 23, with over 80 IPAs to be served over the course of the week.

If you have never attended Naja’s IPA Festival, it works like this. Naja’s pretty much turns 80 taps from a variety of beers to just IPAs; Session, West Coast, New England, Hazy, Black, Doubles, and Triples. Attendees pay $15 for their first pour, which comes in a commemorative mug, and you get a commemorative bottle opener. From that point on, you just bring back your mug and you can refill it for $6.00, $7.00, or $8.00. Take the mug home and return any day of the festival to get it filled for those prices. Continue reading

El Segundo Brewing Says Cheers to 7 Years

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at El Segundo Brewing Company, where they celebrated seven years of brewing some of the most hopcentric beers in the South Bay. The celebration featured pretty much everything you would expect to find at a birthday party for a seven year-old; party favors, hats, a barbecue that you could smell for blocks around, birthday cake, a balloon artist and beer, lots and lots of beer, 23 of them to be exact.

El Segundo Brewing Company’s history pretty much reflects the entire South Bay craft beer scene when you stop to think about it. The first time I visited El Segundo Brewing the South Bay had three craft breweries (although they called them microbreweries back then), El Segundo Brewing, Strand Brewing and Monkish Brewing. In fact, on the date of my first visit to El Segundo Brewing they only had three beers available (four taps seemed like the norm in 2012). Today the South Bay has grown from three craft breweries to 23, and El Segundo’s tap list has expanded from three to 23. Continue reading

Yorkshire Square One Year Anniversary Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Yorkshire Square Brewery in Torrance, where the brewery specializing in cask-conditioned ales celebrated their first year of being open for business. The event featured about 20 brews available on cask and/or draft, several beer cocktails, and English Morris dancing by the Rising Phoenix Morris dancers; food was available from the BatterFish food truck. Yorkshire Square also used the celebration as an opportunity to release two new beers; At Last the 1948 Mild, and Double Doors, a punched-up, double-mashed reinterpretation of their Early Doors, which they bottled.

This past year has been a pretty good one for Yorkshire Square. In November they became the second brewery in California to receive the Cask Marque’s certificate of excellence award. Cask Marque is an accrediting program that sets cask ale standards for 10,000 pubs and breweries worldwide via unannounced, twice a year inspections. There are only 17 breweries in the entire country that currently have this award.

Just last week BeerAdvocate named Yorkshire Square Brewing as one of the top 50 new breweries in the U.S. and Canada for 2017. Continue reading

Jon Turns 40 Celebration at Propagator and Scopa

I have to admit, becoming “The Craft Beer Guy” has certainly opened up many doors for me, including special events; and I get to meet a lot of interesting people, some of which I have developed friendships with. One of these people is Jonathan Urch, and these photos are from his 40th birthday celebration which began at Firestone Walker’s Propagator and ended down the street at Scopa Italian Roots, where Jon, his wife, and about 25 friends from around the world gathered to celebrate Jon’s 40th time of successfully navigating around the sun with a nice dinner.

I met Jon in October of 2015 at the Guinness Nitro IPA Advanced Tasting and dinner at The Larchmont in Hollywood. At the time, Jon was Diageo Customer Marketing Director. That evening was special in a couple ways; I was able to meet Jon and I was given the first Guinness Nitro IPA ever poured from a tap in the United States. As I have always been a Guinness fan, that was kind of a big deal to me. Continue reading

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