Beer News
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
Taste of Brews’ Oktoberfest October 4: PROMO CODE
Oktoberfest October 4
Since this is their first Oktoberfest I cannot provide photos and a description of how much fun I had last year, but I have gone to two of the Taste of Brews Long Beach festivals and had a blast, so if history is any indicator, this should be another good time. Some of the breweries that will be in attendance are Inland Empire locals Black Market Brewery, Brew Rebellion, Bootlegger’s and I & I Brewing along with such beer festival regulars like Fireman’s Brew, Samuel Adams Brewery, Firestone Walker and BJ’s restaurant.
In addition to the beer, Oktoberfest provides live entertainment including Linda Herman’s Alpine Band and Inland Empire locals, The Tomcats. Of course there will be German foods available along with other food trucks. And since no Oktoberfest would be complete without dancing and games there will be Chicken Dance contests, beer stein endurance contests, balloon blowing contests and yodeling contests. Prizes will be awarded for best costumes, so if you own lederhosen this would be a great time to break it out.
There are two packages available for this event; the Bavarian, or the VIP package which includes three 14 ounce beers in a souvenir mug along with a 5 ounce sampling mug with 10 tastes. This package is limited to 250 sales. The Prost package includes a 5 ounce sampling mug with 10 tastes and two 10 or 12 ounce beers. Refills will be available for $5.00 at the venue’s discretion. The Bavarian package is $45/each and the Prost is $35/each; however, if you order early and use the PROMO CODE: CRAFTBEERGUY you will save $10 on each ticket purchased by September 21; after that, the promo code will save you $5.00 per ticket. Continue reading
5th Annual BAM Fest coming October 26: Promo Code
Join us at BAM Fest 2014
So far, the craft breweries that will be in attendance are Anchor Brewing Company, Angel City Brewery, Angry Orchard, Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits, Beachwood BBQ and Brewing, Bootlegger’s Brewery Tasting Room and Pilot Brewery, Boston Beer Company, Brasserie d’Achouffe, Ommegang, Deschutes Brewery, Dogfish Head Beer, The Dudes’ Brewing Co., Drake’s Brewing, Duvel, Eagle Rock Brewery, Einstök Icelandic Craft Ale, El Segundo Brewing Co., Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Golden Road Brewing, Hangar 24 Craft Brewery, Kinetic Brewing Company, Ladyface Alehouse & Brasserie, Lagunitas Brewing Co, Liefmans on the rocks, New Belgium Brewing, Oskar Blues Brewery, Phantom Carriage Brewery, Port Town Brewing Company, Santa Monica Brew Works, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Smog City Brewery, Stone Brewing Co., Surf Brewery, Venice Duck Brewery and Wolf Creek Restaurant & Brewing Co.
We want you to join us at BAM Fest 2014
Firestone Walker Takes Over LAX
If you are a fan of Firestone Walker Brewing Company, this was a great week to be close to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) as Shane Kral, Regional Sales Manager at Firestone Walker hosted two tap takeovers featuring several hard to find Firestone brews. This gallery covers both events; the first being held Wednesday evening at Brewster’s Beererie which is located in Four Points by Sheraton and the second held Thursday evening at the Tapas Bar located in the Whole Foods El Segundo.
Wednesday’s event at Brewster’s Beererie featured an amazing selection of Firestone Walker brews; Bretta Weisse, Agrestic and Pivo Hoppy Pils got us started which was followed by 2012 Double DBA, 2013 Sucaba, 2013 Velvet Merkin, Wookey Jack and Double Jack. In addition to these fantastic craft beers, attendees were able to take home a wide selection of Firestone Walker glassware. I had to donate some books to my local library to make room for all the new glassware additions.
While Wednesday evening selection of Firestone Walker delicacies might seem tough to beat, it was really just a warmup for what Shane brought to Whole Foods on Thursday. The event started off with Firestone’s Union Jack and Opal; then kicked it up a notch featuring a Parabola vertical flight with Parabola 2012, 2013 and 2014! I have to say, that alone would have made it a great event for the craft beer aficionado but that was just part of it. It turned out that the Whole Foods beer buyer, José, had somehow saved up some very select bottles that were sold at retail prices. Some were less expensive than if you drove to Buellton or Paso Robles. They had Firestone XV and XVII, 2014 Stickee Monkee, 2013 and 2014 Sucaba, 2013 and 2014 Parabola and 2013 Velvet Merkin available to take home; which we did. As if all this great beer was not enough, Firestone Walker’s own David Walker came out to meet some of Firestone’s fans, talking about their beers and the progress of the upcoming taproom and brewery in Venice. Continue reading
Brew Dogs Conquer LA airs August 27
LA’s Top 5 Craft Beer Bars
LA’s Top 5 Craft Breweries
I was given access to tonight’s episode which documents the choosing of brewing teams, Dana Cordes and Martin Dickie versus Andy Ziskin and James Watt as well as how the beers and the “local ingredients” were determined. The final brews were judged by three local celebrities: craft brewer Meg Gill of Golden Road Brewing, chef Sang Yoon of Father’s Office, and beer journalist Sarah Bennett of Beer Paper LA. Also included in tonight’s episode are Watt and Dickie’s choices for LA’s Top 5 Craft Beer Bars and Top 5 Craft Breweries. I could tell you who won the brewing competition but you should really watch Brew Dogs tonight on Esquire TV at 9:00/8:00 Central. There will be a viewing tonight at Golden Road Brewing if you would like to watch it there. Cheers!
Rock & Brews 4th Annual Local Craft Beer Fest: Promo Code
Fun for the entire family
The craft breweries that will be represented include El Segundo Brewing, Monkish Brewing, Smog City Brewing, Golden Road Brewing, Eagle Rock Brewing, The Dudes’ Brewing, Strand Brewing, Angel City Brewing, Cosmic Ales, Bootlegger’s Brewery, The Brewery at Abigaile, King Harbor Brewing, Congregation Ale House, Absolution Brewing and Ohana Brewing Company.
Enjoy craft beer with the one you love
While you may be familiar with many of these breweries, you never know what they may bring with them. Last year, El Segundo Brewing Company used the event to introduce their Casa Azul Pale Lager, so I look forward to seeing what might show up at the 4th Annual Local Craft Beer Fest. Two of the breweries, Absolution Brewing Company and King Harbor Brewing Company, were still in the planning stages last year at this time; so if you have not had an opportunity to try their brews yet this will be a great opportunity. This year’s event will include a brewer panel where representatives from a few of the local breweries will discuss the local craft beer scene, the origins of their brand and field questions from the audience. Continue reading
Photos from the 4th Annual Taste of Brews – Long Beach
On Saturday afternoon, about 3,000 people gathered at Lighthouse Park in Long Beach to sample beers brewed by more than 50 different breweries while enjoying the great weather, live music and foods provided by local restaurants Stonefire Grill, Slater’s 50/50 and Bubba Gump Shrimp Company and several food trucks. A portion of the proceeds from this year’s Taste of Brews went to the Long Beach Marine Institute and the 1st Marine Division out of Camp Pendleton.
This was my second time attending Taste of Brews and it was definitely larger than last year’s event with probably 25% more breweries and 50% more attendees. While there more people, there were more breweries with several last minute additions. The lines for some breweries were noticeably longer for some than others, but no one seemed to mind and the beer poured quickly. In fact, a few breweries tapped out within a couple hours; presumably because more tickets were sold than anticipated. Some of the breweries, like Firestone Walker, were well prepared with plenty of brews but as the event drew to a close, even they had poured the last of their brews before the event officially ended. Continue reading
4th Annual Brew at the LA Zoo
These photos were taken Friday night at the 4th Annual Brew at the LA Zoo, a fundraiser for the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association. The craft beer festival featured close to 40 different craft and microbreweries from all over California; including Port Town Brewing, San Pedro Brewing Company, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing, Lagunitas, Firestone Walker and Heretic Brewing Company. While the lines were a little longer that what I normally notice at local craft beer festivals, no one seemed to mind as there were smiles everywhere and lots of laughing.
In addition to the wide variety of craft beers there was live music provided by Indian School, the Spazmatics, and Jug or Nots as well as DJ Johnny Hawkes. Most of the zoo was closed off to the public but the 4,000 plus attendees were able to visit zoo exhibits like Elephants of Asia, Campo Gorilla Reserve, LAIR (Living Amphibians, Invertebrates and Reptiles) and the new Rainforest of the Americas. The gorillas seemed to be the biggest hams while I got the impression the other animals would have been happy to just go to sleep.
Last year there were 23 breweries and this year there were almost 40, so that is a pretty big leap. I was talking to L.A. Zoo Director John Lewis and he informed me that every year this event seems to get bigger and bigger and the LA Zoo really appreciates the support from the community. As this event has sold out for at least the last two years you must keep in the loop of craft beer events if you want an opportunity to go next year. I will try to find out with enough lead time to alert you next year so you can get tickets if you have not had the opportunity to attend a Brew at the LA Zoo yet. Continue reading
4th Annual Taste of Brews Long Beach Promo Code
Taste of Brews Long Beach
There is a good reason why that event stands out and that is because it had everything going for it. They had over 40 craft breweries, some wine vendors, live music, good food, fun people and it was at the beach! Held at Lighthouse Park in Long Beach, across the channel from the Queen Mary it really was the most perfect location for any festival of any type that I can recall attending. Beautiful weather with cooling ocean breezes and a wide selection of American craft beer; what more could one ask for? How about more beer and a discount?
On August 23, 2014, Taste of Brews returns to Lighthouse Park for the 4th Annual Taste of Brews Long Beach. If you thought 40 craft breweries was good, you are going to love it this year with about 50 craft breweries participating. When I looked through the list of participating breweries compared to last year I noticed that many perennial favorites such as Stone Brewing Company, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing Lagunitas, Strand Brewing and Sierra Nevada Brewing will be returning; but we will also be joined by such powerhouses as Ballast Point, Pizza Port, Clownshoes and Coronado Brewing along with some of Southern California’s newest craft breweries like Absolution Brewing Company and Venice Duck Brewery.
Good beer with good friends
In addition to all the great beer and what promises to be another beautiful day for the beach there will be live music and food trucks including Urban Pie, Viking Truck, Porko Rico, Dogzilla, Slammin’ Sliders and Bacon Mania. Local restaurants Stonefire Grill, Slater’s 50/50 and Bubba Gump Shrimp Company will be providing food samples for attendees to enjoy. Pricing currently starts at $32.50 for the 3-hour session (1pm to 4pm) and $42.50 for the 4-hour session (noon to 4pm) which includes unlimited beer tasters, drinking water, food samples (while available), access to food trucks and live entertainment. A limited number of designated driver tickets will be available at the door for $20.00. As should be expected, all attendees must be 21 or older. Now, because you have read this far you get a special deal; how about $7.00 off each ticket Continue reading
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