Brewpubs
Craft Beer Tour 2024: Novato and Corte Madera
These photos were taken Wednesday, October 23 at Moylan’s Brewing Company in Novato, and Saturday, November 2 at Fieldwork Brewing Company in Corte Madera; which were the first and last locations I visited on my Craft Beer Tour 2024.
So yeah, it is that time of year again; that time being fresh hop season, which is my favorite time to visit the Pacific Northwest. While I was definitely out seeking fresh hop beers, I was spending more time hunting down fresh Citra hops for the simple reason that I have become dependent on the Citra hop more than you can imagine. Those that know know; I am still deciding how much of that story I want to reveal, but we shall see how it goes. Continue reading
A Visit to Sage Brewing
These photos were taken Wednesday evening at Sage Regenerative Kitchen, home of Sage Brewing, in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles. It was my first visit to Sage Brewing, and coincidentally they were holding a 4th of July pre-party for people in the craft beer industry. To be honest, I was pretty much the outsider there as evidenced by fact that the first person that recognized me, John Garcia of Creature Comforts, asking me what the heck I was doing out there.
To be honest, it was a pretty legitimate question as finding me in Los Angeles on a Wednesday evening is probably as rare as finding a unicorn; but I am glad I made the drive. Continue reading
Rob’s Birthday Party at Project Barley Square
These photos were taken Saturday evening at Project Barley Square, in Torrance, where they were closed for a private event to celebrate the birthday of a high school classmate, Rob. The event featured a taco bar, live music, and plenty of cask ales.
I am sure regular visitors to local breweries have probably seen Rob, even if you don’t know his name. He can frequently be found in area tasting rooms with his kilt and bicycle, or his dogs and a pint, dancing an Irish jig. Continue reading
The Propagator 8th Anniversary Photos
These photos were taken early Saturday afternoon at Firestone Walker’s Venice/Marina del Rey location, The Propagator, where they celebrated The Propagator’s 8th Anniversary with a “Block Party” featuring beer and food specials, live music, a sensory challenge, and the release of their Gen-8 IPA.
I rode out there with my friend and mechanic to the craft beer stars, Mike Wondrash. We arrived shortly after they opened, and while the weather was a little brisk, with threatening skies, the outdoor patio was set up to handle the drizzle that might occur and while there were not exactly throngs in attendance, I would say a majority of them were hanging outside. Continue reading
Project Barley Square One Year Anniversary Photos
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Project Barley Square in Torrance, where they celebrated their first year as Project Barley Square having taken over Yorkshire Square after their closure in 2022.
As I had multiple events to attend, I started off my day at the Project Barley Square anniversary party. Admittedly, since I was there at the beginning of the day, there were not a lot of people in attendance, but they did have live music provided by Acoustic Warriors as well as new cocktails and a re-release of their Dirty Leeds English Brown Ale on cask; it was quite smooth and tasty.
While there wasn’t much in the way of attendees while I was there, I saw photos and videos later in the day that indicated that things picked up as the day progressed. Continue reading
Photos from the Burnin’ Daylight 5th Anniversary
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the Burnin’ Daylight Brewing Company, a brewpub in Lomita that was celebrating its 5th Anniversary with food specials, live music, and a couple can releases.
As I mentioned in my last article Saturday was a very busy for me so I didn’t arrive at Burnin’ Daylight until the last hour of the event, but judging by the smiles in the photos, everyone was having a blast. Continue reading
ISM Brewing Grand Opening Photos
These photos were taken Thursday, January 11, at ISM Brewing Company in Long Beach, where Long Beach’s newest brewpub celebrated their grand opening. The very well attended event featured their ribbon cutting, food and drink specials, live music provided by Laura Wiley and lots of delicious ISM brews.
Like a typical ribbon cutting, ISM Brewing was welcomed by representatives of the state, county, City of Long Beach, the Chamber of Commerce and various neighborhood business groups, all of whom seemed to be quite excited to have ISM Brewing move into the neighborhood. Continue reading
ISM Brewing Soft Open Begins
These photos were taken Wednesday, November 29 at ISM Brewing, the newest brewpub in Long Beach, day two of the ISM Brewing Soft Open.
First things first, ISM Brewing is pronounced iz-uhm, not eye-ess-em, and the letters are actually the initials of the owner/brewer, Ian S. McCall.
Secondly, ISM Brewing has taken over the former location of Beachwood Brewing’s brewpub on 3rd Street, which is where Ian cut his teeth in the craft beer world. Continue reading
HopSaint Brewing Company 7th Anniversary Photos
These photos were taken Saturday, April 29, at HopSaint Brewing Company in Torrance, where, for the first time ever, they celebrated their [seventh] anniversary with a party. The event featured music, tacos, an anniversary beer and free commemorative glassware.
Since I had already committed to the 2nd Annual Halfway to Halloween Hootenanny, and both events were scheduled for pretty much the same time (noon to 5:00 for the Hootenanny; noon to 4:00 for HopSaint) it meant I was going to have to hustle to cover both events. As a result I only got about 90 minutes at HopSaint, but it was obvious that I missed a lot of people. Continue reading
Project Barley Square Grand Opening Photos
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Project Barley Square in Torrance, where they officially celebrated their grand opening in Torrance. The event featured eight draft brews, five hand pulled ales, a couple beer cocktails, and their typical offerings of wines and ciders. The day also included live music and the introduction of their new food menu.
In case you were not aware, the end of 2022 saw the “closure” of Yorkshire Square Brewery, which was immediately taken over by Project Barley, so the transition was fairly seamless. Continue reading