Photos From the 2019 GABF Awards Ceremony

These photos were taken Saturday morning at the Brewers Association GABF Awards ceremony, which was held in the Bellco Theatre at the Colorado Convention Center.

This year, the competition portion of GABF was the largest ever with 9,497 entries from 2,295 breweries across the country. To say the competition was stiff would be an understatement. Some of the biggest surprises for some were not who won, but who didn’t. Continue reading

2019 Great American Beer Festival – Day Two

These photos were taken Friday, day two of the Brewers Association Great American Beer Festival which is being held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

My day had a relatively early start as I joined a media tour of three relatively new Denver breweries with Visit Denver and about 40 other media types.

Our first stop was Dos Luces Brewery. All Dos Luces beers start with corn as the main ingre­di­ent, and they brew Chicha and Pulque styles which come from the major cul­tures of Pre-Columbian North and South Ameri­ca. Continue reading

2019 Great American Beer Festival – Day One

These photos were taken Thursday, day one of the Brewers Association Great American Beer Festival which is being held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

My day started off at Park Burger Rino, where Jameson Irish Whiskey hosted a VIP Happy Hour featuring Caskmates; the Irish whiskey that was aged in whiskey barrels that formerly held barrel-aged beer. Attendees were treated to cocktails made with Caskmates, appetizers, and a demonstration on putting a barrel together.

After that I headed over to the Colorado Convention Center to attend Sierra Nevada’s Sneak Preview of their 40th Anniversary. Sierra Nevada’s founder Ken Grossman was there with the original 10bbl brewhouse he constructed 40 years ago. Apparently they are taking it on tour around the country; who knows where it will end up or who will brew with it next. Continue reading

Craft Beer Tour 2019: Colorado Springs, CO

These photos were taken Wednesday, October 2, day three of Craft Beer Tour 2019; my annual craft beercation taken before and after the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver. These photos were taken at Bristol Brewing Company in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

A couple weeks before leaving home I reached out to some old friends that I have not seen in over a decade, that happen to live in Colorado Springs. It was decided that I would pop into town on my way to Denver for a visit and a beer; however, they had something come up that prevented the meetup. Since I had already planned on stopping by Colorado Springs anyway I looked at the list of potential breweries and picked Bristol Brewing solely because they have been brewing in Colorado Springs since 1994; once again, my instincts did not fail me; they brew outstanding beer. Continue reading

Craft Beer Tour 2019: Albuquerque, NM

These photos were taken Tuesday, October 1; day two of my Craft Beer Tour 2019. The photos were taken at La Cumbre Brewing and Canteen Brewhouse, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. My GPS said it would take 4.5 hours, but I was losing an hour when I entered New Mexico. All I know is that was the longest four hour drive I have ever been on.

Anyway, when I left Flagstaff I set my GPS for La Cumbre Brewing Company. I wanted to go the last couple of times that I have visited Albuquerque, but things just didn’t work out; nothing was getting in my way this time. Continue reading

Craft Beer Tour 2019: Flagstaff, AZ

These photos were taken Monday, September 30, day one of my Craft Beer Tour 2019. Once again, I am on my way to GABF, courtesy of the Brewers Association. As I have done with my previous visits to Denver, I will use this as a craft beercation. I plan on returning to the Pacific Northwest, but Mother Nature may change that; we shall see what happens. My stops today were at Flagstaff Brewing Company, Historic Brewing’s Barrel and Bottle House, and the relatively new, Mother Road Brewing Company brewery.

The day started off well enough, I left the house around 8:30 and hit minimal traffic. As I approached Kingman I recalled that I found a brewery last year, but I read a 3 as a 5 on a sign and didn’t figure that out until I was past Kingman with no easy way to get back. To add insult to injury, I had to pay $.20 a gallon more for gas at the next stop. Continue reading

Upshift Brewing – El Segundo’s Newest Craft Brewery Opens

I remember the day well, July 19, the day I began to experience self doubt as to how in touch with the local craft beer scene I really was. I was enjoying a beer at Burnin’ Daylight when I received a text from Dave Holop of Brouwerij West asking me what I knew about three potential new breweries opening in El Segundo; like he said, I always seemed to be in the know for the latest brewery openings. I began to have my doubts.

I immediately started doing some research and reached out to the ones I could; the first to respond to me was Upshift Brewing. A week later I made my first visit to Upshift; the first six photos are from that visit. To be honest, they were so close to completion that we spoke about the possibility of Upshift being featured at my 5th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover. Within a couple weeks it became clear that this wasn’t going to happen, so I put them on the back burner and waited to hear from them regarding their opening date. Continue reading

2019 Boots, Brews & BBQ Photos

These photos were taken Saturday evening at the Switzer Learning Center, in Torrance, where they held their 6th Annual Boots, Brews & BBQ fundraiser. The event featured unlimited pours of craft beer from seven craft breweries and cideries, wine, and an open bar. They also had tequila flights available for an additional fee. In addition to the ample liquid refreshments, there was plenty of barbecued meat available courtesy of Harry’s Oklahoma Style Smokehouse BBQ, as well some great tamales from Tortilla Cantina, new home of my annual South Bay Tap Takeover.

The western-themed, adults only event also featured a shooting range that had rifles or revolvers available, a few lawn games, gaming tables featuring blackjack, craps and roulette, and live and silent auctions. Continue reading

Barktoberfest 2019 at Absolution Brewing Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Absolution Brewing Company, in Torrance, where they held Barktoberfest 2019; an afternoon where the dogs literally took over the production brewery’s tasting room, with a portion of the proceeds from the beer sold going to benefit spcaLA.

After leaving the Craft Beer LB Fest I headed home to get Buddy, one of the South Bay’s well known brewery dogs to join me at Barktoberfest. He was in doggy heaven.

The extremely dog friendly event featured live music from Nasty Bad Habit, a food popup, and lots of dogs that all seemed to enjoy each other’s company. It is not unusual for there to be a dog or two that is not as ecstatic to hang out with other dogs, but everyone seemed to happy to be there; there were dog smiles everywhere. Continue reading

Craft Beer LB Fest 2019 Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the third annual Craft Beer LB Fest, which was held at the Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site. The event featured craft beer from 16 Long Beach area breweries, food from a few local restaurant pop-ups, live music from Katie Jo & The Mijos, as well as a few games for the competitive people in attendance. A portion of the proceeds from the event went to the Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site.

The breweries in attendance included such regulars as Ambitious Ales, Ballast Point, Beachwood Brewing, Beachwood Blendery, Belmont Brewing, Hog Canyon Brewing, Dutch’s Brewhouse, Congregation Ale House, Liberation Brewing, Long Beach Beer Lab, Rock Bottom, Smog City, Steady Brew Beer, Ten Mile Brewing, and Timeless Pints. Trademark Brewing made their first appearance, and Stein Fillers brew shop had a couple beers available including their version of Sierra Nevada’s Resilience IPA. Continue reading

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Archives