Microbreweries
Absolution Brewing 7th Anniversary Photos
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the Absolution Brewing Company brewery and tasting room in Torrance, where Absolution and a few hundred of their fans gathered to celebrate their seventh anniversary.
The event included the release of their anniversary beer, Our Magnificent Seven, a quadruple IPA available on tap or in cans. While I was there, live music was provided by Nasty Bad Habit and there was food available from the Deli Belly food truck. Continue reading
Yoga and Beer Fundraiser at King Harbor Brewing
These photos were taken Sunday morning at the King Harbor Brewing Company tasting room in Redondo Beach, where Erica Hawkins of The Body Barn put on a fundraiser for Hope in a Suitcase, a volunteer group that provides a personalized suitcase, with essentials, to children entering the foster care system in Los Angeles County.
The morning started off with an hour of yoga, followed by a couple hours of craft beer, interacting with other attendees, and raffles.
Sponsors of the event included: Continue reading
Buddha Boy Tacos Party at King Harbor Brewing
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at King Harbor Brewing Company in Redondo Beach, where the owners of the Buddha Boy Tacos food truck, Marcus and Alexis both celebrated their 30th birthdays, and their 5th wedding anniversary.
Marcus and Alexis, both turned 30 last month, and they are celebrating five years of wedded bliss this month, so family members decided to throw a little soiree for them while they served their delicious tacos, mulitas, quesadilla, nachos, and esquite to the friends, family, and beer drinkers that had assembled at King Harbor Brewing.
Buddha Boy Tacos serves their food at the King Harbor Brewing brewery on 182nd Street every Friday and Saturday from 2:00 to 10:00 PM. Happy birthdays and anniversary, you two. Cheers! Continue reading
Smog City Brewing 10th Anniversary Photos
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the Smog City Brewing Company’s 10th Anniversary celebration held at the production brewery in Torrance. It was a nicely attended event that probably had about 100 people attending during the couple of hours I was there.
Yes, Los Angeles County is still abiding by COVID protocol, but we are in the least restrictive yellow tier which allowed Smog City to throw an actual in-person event for their 10 anniversary. Yes, things were toned down a little from previous anniversary celebrations, but Smog City’s fan base was not going to let that stop them.
To commemorate the occasion, Smog City had 26 brews on draft, including their 10th Anniversary IPA, eight special bottle pours, and an anniversary flight consisting of This Sour Future (2015), Benny and the Bretts volume 1, The Nothing (2017), Buzzworthy (2016), and BBA Coffee Porter (2017). Continue reading
A Visit to Trademark Brewing
These photos were taken Sunday afternoon at Trademark Brewing, a production brewery with a tasting room in Long Beach.
I had first become aware of Trademark Brewing probably in the summer of 2019; in fact, I am relatively confident that I had made plans to visit them in July, but there had been some delay in the planned opening date; a rarity, I know. I was able to sample their brews for the first time at the third annual Craft Beer LB Fest. A few months later COVID hit and pretty much put a halt to my ability to go out and visit new breweries. Continue reading
Common Space Brewery 3rd Anniversary Photos
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Common Space Brewery in Hawthorne, where they celebrated their third anniversary with an actual in-person event at the production brewery’s tasting room and patios setup outside.
Prior to today, the last time I attended a brewery’s anniversary was the Brouwerij West 4th anniversary in February 2020; that’s a long time considering how many brewery anniversary parties we have around here usually. Continue reading
Pink Boots Brew Day at Eureka Brewing
These photos were taken Friday morning at Eureka Brewing Company, in Gardena. The reason for my showing up on a Friday morning is that Eureka is participating in the 4th Annual Pink Boots Brew. Essentially, Yakima Chief Hops and the Pink Boots Society come up with a hop blend that breweries can purchase and then create whatever beer they feel like brewing. The Pink Boots Society receives a percentage of the monies spent on the actual purchase of the hop blend itself.
Due to COVID protocols, this year’s blend was chosen via a global virtual hop selection. This year’s blend consists of Cashmere, Ahtanum®, Citra®, Loral® & Sabro® brand hops, creating a blend with tropical, herbal, citrus and woody aromatic qualities. Continue reading
Eureka Brewing Company Now Open
These photos were taken over the last two and a half months at Eureka Brewing Company, in Gardena. They include photos of one of their first pilot brew days, the first day of canning, and day one of their “grand opening.”
I guess it is an understatement to suggest that the year 2020 has been a little tough on the local craft beer scene. The SpaceX Corridor took a double hit, beginning in February with the closure of State Brewing. About a month later LA County started getting hit with ridiculous rules that caused did nothing but cause hardships to our breweries, restaurants, and bars. It began our current period of “survival of the fittest” and a second brewery of the SpaceX Corridor, Ximix Craft Exploration, stopped production and closed up shop.
In the middle of August it was announced that King Harbor Brewing co-owner and head brewer Phil McDaniel was leaving; what may not have been common knowledge was McDaniel was opening his own brewery with childhood friend Adam Ansari. McDaniel and Ansari took over the former Ximix location, equipment and all, and changed the name to Eureka Brewing Company. Continue reading
Hermosa Brewing Now Brewing in El Segundo
These photos were taken at Hermosa Brewing Company’s new production facility in El Segundo. They begin with photos from mid-March when the new 15bbl Portland Kettle Works brewhouse was moved in, and end with how it looks present day.
Back in February I wrote an article about Hermosa Brewing Company’s second anniversary. In it I mentioned that Hermosa Brewing had some “big news coming up” that I wasn’t at liberty to talk about. Almost a month to the day, Hermosa Brewing was bringing in their new brewhouse to El Segundo.
Hermosa Brewing is sharing the space at R6 Distillery formerly used by Rob Rubens Distilling & Brewing, followed by Three Chiefs Brewing; both of whom used Strand Brewing Company’s initial brewhouse. That brewhouse was obtained by Extralegal Brewing in Redondo Beach, and Hermosa Brewing installed their new Portland Kettle Works brewhouse. Continue reading
March Madness at King Harbor Brewing
These photos were taken Saturday evening at King Harbor Brewing Company, in Redondo Beach, where King Harbor regulars Diego and Michael Chavez gathered with dozens of friends and family to celebrate their birthdays and the birthdays of a couple other family members that have birthdays at this same time of year.
The Chavez family originally had a casino night planned, but when the original venue cancelled on them due to COVID-19 concerns, they reached out to King Harbor Brewing and were able to put together a nice, last minute party. Continue reading