Microbreweries
Photos from Back to the Future Day at Smog City Brewing
As I am sure everyone is aware of by now, October 21, 2015 was “Back to the Future Day.” The reason being, in “Back to the Future Part II,” Marty McFly travels to October 21, 2015 to save his future children. To be honest, I had to Google that part because I never saw any of the Back to the Future trilogy beyond the original; and I only saw that once, 30+ years ago.
While I may not be enough of a geek to know much about Back to the Future beyond Doc Brown, Marty McFly, flux capacitors, hooverboards and DeLorean, the cast and crew of Smog City Brewing are geek central. They used October 21 to not only celebrate Back to the Future but they did it in a big way by releasing their first ever triple IPA, 1.21 Gigawatts Triple IPA.
In addition to 1.21 Gigawatts Triple IPA, they also released their Hooverboards Don’t Run On Wet Hops, a pale ale done with hops they grew outside; and Run For It Marty!, a Belgian Dubbel. For entertainment and something to do while standing in line, they played the movie along the wall. People that came in costume got a discount on their beer and a chance to win prizes.
If I traveled into the future and ended up at Smog City yesterday, I doubt I would have left. Cheers! Continue reading
Strand Brewing Company Soft Open at Dominguez Location
Fans of Torrance’s first production brewery, Strand Brewing Company, will be happy to learn that Strand has now officially moved to their new location at 2201 Dominguez Street in Torrance and they held a soft open over this past weekend.
On Friday evening I happened to notice on Strand’s co-founder and head brewer, Joel Elliott, Facebook page a hint that Strand might be opening on Saturday afternoon. I sent a text to Rich Marcello, Strand’s other co-founder, around 10:00 PM asking if I was interpreting the hint correctly and was told that they hoped to open Saturday, but I should check back the following morning.
The next morning, around 11:00 AM I contacted Rich again and asked if they were going to open and if so, should I announce it to my followers via social media. I was told, “Yes and no” meaning they would be open but I should hold off saying anything just yet. When I arrived I was told I could go ahead and announce the soft open to my Facebook followers; it did not take long for the room to begin filling up. Continue reading
San Fernando Brewing Ribbon Cutting: The Valley is Now a Destination
On Friday afternoon the San Fernando Valley officially became a craft beer destination when San Fernando Brewing Company held their grand opening, making them the third craft brewery in the San Fernando Valley (SFV) with a tasting room. The accompanying photos are from their ribbon cutting which was attended by friends, family, various representatives of the City of San Fernando including the mayor and chief of police as well as lots of craft beer fans.
San Fernando Brewing Company is definitely a family operation with brothers Vic (the brewer) and Joe Chouchanian heading up things but you could tell that there were lots of family members involved, including mom. The tasting room was quite welcoming, not only in its clean appearance and setup, but they are one of the only brewery tasting rooms I can remember visiting that actually has air conditioning. Considering it was well over 100 yesterday, and even hotter the day before when one of the A/C units failed and had to be replaced.
San Fernando Brewing has had a soft open for the past six weeks, but used their grand opening to release the latest of their five brews, Sonora Wheat, which was definitely a crowd favorite while I was there and was probably my favorite as well. Sonora wheat was used in this beer because it used to be one of the natural crops in the San Fernando Valley. The other four included their Wolfskill IPA, O’Melveny Red Ale, Royal Road Pale Ale and Stoney Point Stout. One advantage San Fernando Brewing has that is rather unusual is that the city of San Fernando gets their water from a well; this water really brings out the flavor in the Stoney Point Stout. Continue reading
A Visit to the L.A. Arts District: Mumford Brewing & Angel City
If you have been following along you know that on Saturday I was at the BEERS Summer Fest in downtown Los Angeles. As the day approached I could see by the weather reports that it was going to be a hot day in DTLA, and unless The Chair parking lot, where the event was being held, had a lot of trees it was going to have to be a pretty entertaining event for me to stay long. Luckily, I knew that Mumford Brewing was just a couple miles away and I knew Angel City was walking distance from there, so I had a backup plan. If not for the BEERS festival, I was going to save my visit to the L.A. Arts District breweries for when everyone was up and running. I had heard good things about Mumford and I think Angel City’s location is one of the more interesting breweries to photograph so it did not take much convincing to head over to the Arts District for some exploring.
When we arrived at Mumford Brewing I was not really sure what I thought. The exterior of the building was brightly colored, but as soon as you see the door you are greeted by the face of a stern Mr. Mumford and the first seating looked like something found in a hip or hep coffee shop. As I turned my gaze to the left I noticed the familiar chalkboards listing the available brews and a room that looked more like the tasting rooms I am familiar with; lots of concrete and basic tables with stools. There were not very many people at the time when compared to what I see in the South Bay breweries, but they had a fair number of customers. By the time we finished our flight it seemed like most tables had suddenly become occupied. Continue reading
4th of July at the Bravery Brewing 3rd Anniversary
As you know, Saturday was the 4th of July and as I tried to figure out what we would do for the day I remembered that Bravery Brewing was having their 3rd Year Anniversary party, and if you have ever visited the Bravery Brewing tasting room you know that they are about as patriotic as they come with the memorials and memorabilia displayed prominently. Heck, one of the co-owners is R. Lee Ermey, who is a retired United States Marine Corps Staff Sergeant and an honorary Gunnery Sergeant. You might remember him from his role as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the movie Full Metal Jacket. Anyway, long story short, I could not think of a more patriotic craft brewery to visit on the 4th of July.
Since Lancaster is a bit of a drive for me, I contacted my friends at Transplant Brewing Company and told them I was going to be in the neighborhood so I would stop by their future production brewery to take a photo of the new sign they had put up. Watching their Facebook page I could see that they were very proud of it so I thought I grab a few shots for them. As it was the 4th of July and they are still putting things together, I knew they were not open and I certainly did not expect anyone to be there. Instead all three owners, Corey Cordovano, Matt and Sarah Luker, came out to open the doors for me to check out the progress thus far.
Transplant Brewing Company plans on being the first production/craft brewery in the city of Palmdale. I say “plans on being” because another brewery, Lucky Luke Brewing Company, is literally right around the corner from Transplants and they both plan to be making beer before this year is over. Transplants actually hopes to be able to have a soft open on Labor Day weekend. Right now they are waiting for the brewhouse which is on a slow boat somewhere. In the meantime, Transplants Brewing has been doing collaborations with the other Antelope Valley breweries, Kinetic Brewing Company and Bravery Brewing Company. It appears that the Antelope Valley is experiencing their own craft beer boom; and all the breweries are friends with each other and it shows with their collaborations. That is one thing that I am surprised I have not seen yet, or I missed it; a collaboration between Torrance or South Bay breweries. Continue reading
LA Beer Week 2015: Rarest of the Rare at Smog City
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Smog City Brewing Company’s Rarest of the Rare LA Beer Week (LABW7) event. Smog City did this once before, during the 2013 LA Beer Week (LABW5) and if you attended the last one, I am sure you came away with a similar thought, oh what a difference 18 months can make. While the first time was pretty amazing, yesterday’s event was just that much more.
I guess if there is a disadvantage to living in the middle of the current craft beer central it is that sometimes there are just too many events and not enough time to cover them all. As I was involved with the Euro Bierfest at Alpine Village I did not arrive until a few hours into the event which meant that the highly sought, limited availability Spittin’ n Cussin’ was tapped out but that could not prevent one from having a great time with options like their Bourbon O.E. from 2011 through 2015, their collaboration with Beachwood Brewing, Bourbon Collaborative Evil, Infinite Wishes, 2015 Unity with variations and beer cocktails. It was one of those kids in a candy store experiences and it seemed like I was not the only one to think so.
With all the beer options that were available, I would be willing to bet that there is still a very nice selection available. I think I will wrap this up and head over to see what I can try. Cheers! Continue reading
LA Beer Week 2015: Friday at Smog City & El Segundo Brewing
The 2015 LA Beer Week (#LABW7) is flowing along with more beer and events than any one human can possibly keep up with; I know I definitely took it a lot easier this year than in past. Anyway, it is Friday and I guess it is day seven of LA Beer Week. As I have an early event on Saturday, Euro Bierfest at Alpine Village, I decided to keep it mellow Friday night. Smog City had San Diego beerlebrity, Nate Soroko in attendance as a guest bartender.
Soroko is the chef at Toronado in San Diego, and a pretty well-known beer aficionado in the San Diego area. I happened to run into him in early 2014 during a visit to Alpine Beer Company. I was taking pictures and someone told me I should take his photo too as he was a big deal; so I did. After formally meeting him tonight I came away with the fact that he is a nice guy; and he likes his beer. While I did not see Soroko actually “tend bar” he did sweep people off their feet and had a couple chugging contests that he dominated; but I am not entirely sure he won the last one. Dan’s mug was pretty dry. Continue reading
Monkish Brewing Company CUP Modification Approved
Monkish Brewing owners Henry & Adriana Nguyen
Monkish Brewing Company was the first production brewery in Torrance to get a Conditional Use Permit to open a tasting room, even though Strand Brewing opened a couple weeks before them. Back in 2011 when Monkish first appeared before the Planning Commission the craft beer landscape was significantly different in the South Bay than what we have today. There was Monkish and Strand in Torrance with El Segundo Brewing in El Segundo. As it was a new scene and no one really knew if craft beer was going to take hold this time (it tried 15-20 years ago with little success); in fact, when Monkish first requested to open the tasting room it was described as a “small accessory” to the brewery itself. As a consumer, I kind of figured that the three brewery owners got together and said, “Let’s open Thursday through Sunday and see what happens.”
Well, the times have changed; Torrance is now a craft beer destination. Instead of having two production breweries and one brewpub (Red Car) in Torrance, we now have five production breweries with a second brewpub (HopSaint) scheduled to open within the next two months. With the addition of each new production brewery and tasting room has come the request for longer hours and the ability to have food trucks. When Strand Brewing Company got the Conditional Use Permit for their new location, they made sure to request the ability to have longer hours and food trucks. Last night’s approval essentially leveled the playing field for Monkish Brewing giving them the ability to be open essentially seven days a week including special events. Continue reading
King Harbor Brewing Company: On the Waterfront
A few months ago, King Harbor Brewing Company co-owner Tom Dunbabin mentioned to me that they might be opening a satellite tasting room on the Redondo Beach Pier. Admittedly, I kind of filed it in the back of my mind as something that might happen in the future, but not something that would be happening in the immediate future. Last night, after our Business & Beer gathering at The Brewery at Abigaile I sent a message to Dunbabin to see if King Harbor Brewing would be interested in hosting the June meeting of Business & Beer. His response was immediate and with a twist I was not expecting, “Yes. Let’s do it at the new tasting room at the Redondo pier.”
Having watched the build-outs of numerous tasting rooms over the last few years, my immediate thought was; “Really? Next month?” I had serious doubts that this could be done that quickly so I headed over today to check it out. I was pleasantly surprised.
Apparently, the City of Redondo Beach and King Harbor Brewing Company has been working on this deal since September of last year. Redondo Beach owns the property and they approached King Harbor Brewing with the idea of them opening a satellite tasting room on the International Boardwalk. The location needed a lot of work but the city was eager to get King Harbor in there and within a few months it had been cleaned up enough for King Harbor Brewing to enter a three year lease with them.
They only started working on it Wednesday, but they have the cold box in and the bar top is close to being completed. They plan to have about 12 seats at the bar with another 12 at tables with some standing room along the side. When all is said and done there should be room for about 30 people to enjoy their brews at the new location. Continue reading
Smog City Brewing Company 2nd Anniversary
These photos were taken at the Smog City Brewing Company’s 2nd Anniversary party which was held at their tasting room on Saturday afternoon and evening. Unfortunately, at this time of year there are a host of beer events going on just about every weekend and even some mid-week. It makes it difficult to attend every event that I would like. This, combined with the fact that for some reason I thought Smog City was open until 9:00 PM when the reality is they are only open until 8:00 PM on Saturdays, resulted in my very late arrival to the festivities. To be honest, when we arrived the parking lot was still packed so it did not really dawn on me that it was close to closing time.
Entering the tasting room, things were still in full swing even if some of the specialty brews that had been available were tapped out and several of the bottled beers were sold out. If you did not get a chance to visit Smog City on Saturday you might want to head over there today to see what you can grab before it is gone. Smog City Brewing is open until 6:00 PM on Sundays and is located at 1901 Del Amo Boulevard in Torrance. Congratulations to the entire Smog City family/team; you have been a great addition to the local craft beer scene and I know I speak for many of us when I say we cannot wait to see what develops over the next year. Cheers! Continue reading
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