Art Exhibit at King Harbor Village Taproom
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the King Harbor Brewing Village Taproom, where King Harbor beertender Nik Sebastian held an exhibit of his artwork to celebrate the launch of his website, niksebatianart.com.
Nik, who typically works at King Harbor’s Waterfront taproom, but can be found pouring beer at any of the three King Harbor taprooms, studied illustration at California State University, Long Beach. King Harbor has utilized Nik’s skills beyond pouring beer by having him design some of the King Harbor event posters and he did the artwork for their Dry Land Brut IPA.
Nik’s art will remain on display at the Riviera taproom for the next month or so and it is for sale. His art is very interesting, so stop on by, take a look and maybe have a beer or two while you are at it. Continue reading
Scholb’s 3rd Anniversary Luau Photos
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Scholb Premium Ales in Torrance, where they celebrated three years of brewing with a luau. The free to attend event featured music by VOX DJs, as well as food from Anarchy Seafood, and Got Paella, which included a pig roast. In addition, there was face painting for the kids (and some adults), specialty glassware, raffles, and plenty of Scholb’s premium ales.
Sometimes when I attend these events I think to myself that “it seems like yesterday” but I do not know that I can say the same when it comes to Scholb. They faced a lot of hurdles in the beginning that might have stopped someone else, but not co-founder and head brewer, Jason Kolb.
If you will recall, Scholb got their name by combining the last names of the two families that were co-founding the brewery, Schulz and Kolb. Patrick Schulz was to be the head brewer and Jason Kolb was to build the brewery. I believe it was less than a year before the Schulz family left the partnership. With the departure of their head brewer, Jason Kolb was left with some beer recipes and whatever knowledge he had gained building the brewhouse and watching/helping Patrick when he was there. It is no secret, people wondered what would happen; could Kolb pick up the slack? Continue reading
Abigaile Brewer’s Beer Dinner Photos
These photos were taken Wednesday evening at Abigaile Restaurant and Brewery in Hermosa Beach, where Head Brewer Josh McCombs teamed up with Executive Chef Tin Vuong, and Chef de Cuisine Matt Sprister to put on a delicious six course dinner paired with beers brewed by McCombs.
The first course was their Apple-Chicken Liver on country toast with an onion confit paired with McCombs Hurley McSurley Pilsner. To be honest, when I saw this on the menu I was not sure I was even going to try it; I am glad I gave it a shot because it was amazing. It reminded me of when I attended PAIRED last year in Denver. I knew this was going to be a good night.
The second course consisted of their African Red Mango curried scallop with a tomato relish, which was paired with their Big Boss Brut IPA. The slight sweetness of the IPA went nicely with the scallop. Continue reading
Photos from the 6th Annual South Bay Beer and Wine Festival
These photos were taken Sunday afternoon at the 6th Annual South Bay Beer & Wine Festival which was held on Sunday at Ernie Howlett Park in Rolling Hills Estates. Presented by the Rotary Club of Palos Verdes Peninsula and Rotary Club of South Bay Sunrise, nearly 100% of the proceeds from this year’s charity fundraising event will allow Rotary Clubs of the South Bay to support a multitude of community outreach programs and projects.
This was the fifth year I have attended and I have to say that the event just seems to get better every year. This year there were close to 50 craft breweries represented, along with a couple dozen restaurants, and a other couple dozen wineries, as well as numerous other vendors offering spirits, treats, and artwork. For the second year running, the weather was perfect; not too hot and not too cold with just enough May Gray to prevent the standard sunburn I usually get. Continue reading
Photos from the El Segundo Brewing 8th Anniversary
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the El Segundo Brewing Company tasting room, where they celebrated eight years of brewing their hopcentric ales. The celebration was spread over three days with a bottle release on Friday, the anniversary party on Saturday, and a Michelada party on Sunday.
Attendees on Saturday had 20 El Segundo brews to choose from, including their anniversary beer, Ochos Locos DIPA on draught and a hazy cask version done with vanilla beans. In addition to the quality brews we have come to expect, Bartz Barbecue was there with their special offerings along with Churro Garage with their tasty desserts.
Entertainment was provided by Beer & Magic who delighted attendees with their close-up magic and slight-of-hand. I am not sure, but there may have been some wizardry involved as well. Kids that were too short to watch the magic entertained themselves with cornhole and Jenga. Continue reading
Jonas Bids Farewell to Strand Brewing Company
These photos were taken Friday evening at the Strand Brewing Company tasting room in Torrance, where friends, fans, family, and former co-workers gathered to say good-bye and congratulations to long time taproom manager, Jonas Neubauer, who is leaving Strand Brewing after more than seven years to pursue his career as a professional gamer.
In case you were not aware, Jonas happens to be a seven time Classic Tetris World Champion, a title that has only been around since 2010. In other words, he has been the champion seven out of nine times. He came in second place in 2014 and again last year in 2018. Since then, Jonas has not been seen at the taproom very much as his most recent second place finish has made him more popular than ever in the gaming world. As such, Jonas has been able to monetize his Twitch and YouTube channels to the point that it made sense to devote more time to gaming; besides, he has to concentrate on winning back the title of Classic Tetris World Champion.
Good luck Jonas, we will be rooting for you. Cheers! Continue reading
Angel City Brewery Launches Award-Winning Strawberry Gose in Cans
Angel City Strawberry Gose Now in Cans
Strawberry Gose is a tart, refreshing, slightly salty ale, with a fruity aroma. In fact, the beer won a Gold Medal at last year’s California State Fair for best gose-style ale. Therefore, the brewery decided to reintroduce the beer for 2019.
The gose-style was originally dreamt by a fan as part of a contest the brewery ran – ‘What Would You Brew?’ The winner participated in a brew day with Head Brewer Layton Cutler and the Angel City team. In the years following, it became more and more popular, where the beer became a consistent specialty can release. Continue reading
Bertcast at El Segundo Brewing Company
These photos were taken Wednesday afternoon at the El Segundo Brewing Company taproom, where they hosted a live podcast starring comedian Bert “The Machine” Kreischer. The Machine was joined by El Segundo resident, comedian, and “Chef to the Headliners”, Dave Williamson, founder and creator of The Gundo Comedy Festival which is celebrating its 5th Annual Gundo Comedy Festival this week in El Segundo.
The free to attend event was pretty crowded, considering that it was held at noon on a Wednesday. This was the fifth year Bertcast was held at El Segundo Brewing, meaning El Segundo Brewing was hosting the event before Kreischer became the big name star he is today. El Segundo Brewing co-founder Tom Kelley told me that former employee Gordon Whelpley is the one that turned him on to Kreischer. During the podcast Kreischer revealed that he never enjoyed the IPA style of beer until coming to El Segundo Brewing, and it was El Segundo’s beertender/brand ambassador Brandon Ortega that introduced him to his first enjoyable IPA; it was all about the grapefruit.
While this was my first time attending the event, it was obvious that several of the attendees had attended some of the previous events. Of course, the El Segundo Brewing beer and free Bartz Barbecue probably contributed to filling up the taproom. Continue reading
SpringFling with Blackball Brewing
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon in Redondo Beach, where Blackball Brewing Company held their SpringFling 2019; an afternoon of beer, barbecue, and hanging out with old friends while making some new ones.
I am confident a majority of you have never heard of Blackball Brewing, and a good portion of you that have heard of them are only familiar with them because you have seen me, or someone else walking around town with the very recognizable Blackball logo. Personally, I never heard of them before March 13, 2018; and I met the guys behind Blackball for the first time on Saturday.
If it seems odd that I would know the exact date that I became aware of them; you can thank Instagram, as I know I where I was given it, and I posted a photo of the beer I was drinking at the time; a Fresh Squeezed by Deschutes. Continue reading
Photos from the Yorkshire Square Brewery 2nd Anniversary
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Yorkshire Square Brewery in Torrance, where the South Bay’s only brewery specializing in cask-conditioned ales celebrated their second anniversary. The day-long, free to attend event featured an LA Galaxy vs. NY Red Bulls watch party, followed by another match after that ended, a bottle release, a free drawing that coincided with the Kentucky Derby, two food trucks, an artist selling his wares, and lots of Yorkshire Square ales.
Saturday had lots of competing events, such as the BeachLife Festival and the Southern California Homebrewers Festival, which probably accounted for why Yorkshire Square did not opt for another parking lot event, which means extra permit fees. Nonetheless, it was a nicely attended event and everyone seemed to have a good time.
Yorkshire had about 15 of their ales on cask, including their anniversary beer, Burton Pilgrimage, an Export Pale Ale that was done in collaboration with El Segundo Brewing Company. They also had a couple beer cocktails for those that are into that sort of thing. Continue reading
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