Beer Festivals

Photos of LB Sake Day 2023

These photos were taken Saturday, September 30 at Rancho Los Cerritos Historical Site in Long Beach, where Craft Beer LB and Sake Secret collaborated to celebrate World Sake Day by hosting the First Annual LB Sake Day.

The inaugural event featured literally dozens of different sakes, several Japanese food options, and a little Japanese beer. It was really just missing sushi to make it a perfect event. Continue reading

7th Annual Craft Beer LB Fest Photos

These photos were taken Saturday, September 16 at the Rancho Los Cerritos Historical Site in Long Beach, where Craft Beer LB held their 7th Annual Craft Beer LB Fest. The event featured plenty of craft beer from more than a dozen local breweries, sake, live music, and food for the approximate 1,000 attendees. It was a fun event that even the weather cooperated with.

I had to mention the weather because in the past I have mentioned how great the weather was, and frequently joke with festival organizer Dennis Trilles about how he seems to have a connection with the weather gods as no matter how sucky the weather might be prior to the event, it always seems to be nice on the day of the event. When I walked out of my house yesterday I could see that there must have been rain overnight. Having to utilize my windshield wipers on the way down to Long Beach I was beginning to wonder if I should have brought a windbreaker or not. While it was misting a little early on, the rain went away and the marine layer left everything comfortable in just a t-shirt. Continue reading

Photos from LA Independent Beer Festival 2023

These photos were taken Saturday, June 10 at Shoreline Aquatic Park in Long Beach, where the Los Angeles County Brewers Guild held their LA Independent Beer Festival to kickoff LA Beer Week (LABW14) for the first time since 2019, due to that pesky pandemic. The ticketed event featured craft beer from approximately 75 member breweries, food from seven food trucks and one ice cream vendor, live music and games.

The event was advertised to be hosting 75 local breweries, providing 150 beers. Well, I did not go through the trouble of counting every brewery that showed up, but I can assure you that there were well over 150 beers, because there were several breweries that brought more than two beers, in fact there were breweries like LA Ale Works that had what seemed like 20 offerings, and they were not the only ones. I would guesstimate that there were closer to 250 beers available. Continue reading

LA Beer Week Returns – Promo Code Inside

LA Beer Fest returns June 10th – get your discounted tickets!

About three weeks ago I posted a press release from the LA County Brewers Guild announcing the return of the LA Independent Beer Festival on June 10th; hopefully you grabbed your discounted tickets to the festival, but if not, don’t despair as I have a discount code for you. But first, I want to mention that the LA Independent Beer Festival is actually the kickoff event for the 14th Annual LA Beer Week. Yes, after three years interrupted by COVID, LA Beer Week is returning.

The official beginning of LA Beer Week (LABW14) is June 10 and it will run through June 18. LABW14 will return to where LABW11 left off, with special events held at various locations throughout Los Angeles County almost on a daily basis; for a full list of planned events, please visit https://www.labrewersguild.org/events. Continue reading

South Bay Beer and Wine Festival 10th Anniversary Photos

These photos were taken Sunday afternoon, May 21, at Ernie Howlett Park in Rolling Hills Estates, where the Rotary Clubs of San Pedro, Palos Verdes Peninsula, and South Bay Sunrise held the South Bay Beer and Wine Festival 10th Anniversary. The event featured food, beer, wine, and spirits from more than 100 local providers, including Smog City, HopSaint, Firestone Walker, El Segundo Brewing, Rock & Brews, Shore Grille, Truxton’s, Tito’s Vodka, and many more.

With how lousy our weather has been lately, it is kind of amazing how the last few weekends have been perfect for a day of day drinking in the park. The beer gods have definitely smiling upon us lately with the weather they have been providing. I actually got my first sunburn of 2023. Continue reading

L.A. Independent Beer Fest Returns June 10

L.A. Independent Beer Fest Returns June 10

Long Beach, CA – On Saturday, June 10 from 1-5PM, craft brew enthusiasts will celebrate their love of beer and support their favorite LA brewery on the grassy confines of ShoreLine Aquatic Park. Attendees will pick and choose from a sample list of 150 of the best beers in Los Angeles. For those who want a sneak peak, VIP ticket holders will have 12PM early entry to the event. Proceeds will support the non-profit Los Angeles County Brewers Guild. Tickets are on sale now.

Returning after a three-year hiatus, L.A. Independent Beer Fest will once again kick off the 14th annual LA Beer Week. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets and lawn-chairs and enjoy the scenic views of the Long Beach Marina and Queen Mary. A dozen of LA’s best food trucks will provide a variety of delicious food options. Both live music and other games will be featured throughout the festival.

Tickets are now available on Eventbrite.com. General Admission tickets will be offered at $60, a limited number of VIP tickets featuring early 12pm entry at $75, and Designated Driver tickets at $20. Continue reading

2nd Annual Halfway to Halloween Hootenanny Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon, April 29, at Rancho Los Cerritos Historical Site in Long Beach, where Obscura LB put on their second annual Halfway to Halloween Hootenanny. The fundraiser featured craft beer, ciders, kombucha, food, live music, and local vendors peddling everything macabre from books and art to chocolate.

Considering how flaky our weather has been so far this year, it was pretty cool how the weather gods smiled upon us with some amazing beer drinking weather. Continue reading

2023 California Craft Beer Summit Closing Session

These photos were taken Wednesday morning, March 22, the final day of the California Craft Beer Summit, put on by the California Craft Brewers Association (CCBA) at the Safe Credit Union Convention Center. While there were a couple panels/workshops held earlier in the morning, I waited a couple hours and headed over for the final “Tap Talks” featuring the Pink Boots Society and the closing keynote featuring Sierra Nevada’s Ken Grossman and Russian River’s Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo.

The morning also included a pretty nice brunch and several of the breweries that had booths on the expo floor seemed to bring out special brews that may have been leftovers from earlier events that they did not want to lug home. And by “leftovers” I mean beers that were probably left over from Sunday’s Rare Beer Tasting, but no one was complaining. Continue reading

2023 California Craft Beer Summit Expo

These photos were taken Tuesday, March 21, at the Safe Credit Union Convention Center where the expo portion of the 2023 California Craft Beer Summit was held. The day featured speeches, educational panels, vendors, lunch, a Press Reception, and the Brewers VIP Reception.

My day started off by attending the Opening Session which began with the introduction of the CCBA Board of Directors with a rundown of what the CCBA has accomplished and what was planned for the future. This was followed up by the keynote address from Firestone Walker’s own David Walker, who gave a brief history of Firestone Walker along with his perspective of what the craft beer industry should expect in coming years. Continue reading

2023 CA Craft Beer Summit Welcome Reception

These photos were taken Monday, March 20 at Drake’s The Barn, where they hosted the 2023 California Craft Beer Summit Welcome Reception, sponsored by Strategic Tax Planning. The event featured beer, food, games, a DJ, and the opportunity to network and meet up with old friends. The first few photos were taken when we checked into the Safe Credit Union Convention Center prior to the reception.

I drove up to Sacramento Monday morning/afternoon with me friend Tomm Carroll, world-renowned BJCP judge, beer writer, and beer hoarder. Before checking into the hotel we checked into the summit to get our badges, and Tomm wanted to drop off a pile of Beer Paper LA for summit attendees before heading over to The Barn. Continue reading

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