Photos from Hermosa Brewing’s 1st Anniversary Shindig
These photos were taken Friday evening at the Hermosa Brewing Company taproom in Hermosa Beach, where Hermosa Brewing kicked off their three day, 1st Anniversary Shindig. In addition to the 12 taps of Hermosa Brewing’s beers, the event features live music, and food and beer specials, including beer mocktails.
I arrived rather early in the evening, and while it was not very crowded when I first got there, it did not take long for the place to begin filling up. The live music, performed by Zeal Levin, began at 6:30 was pleasant and not overpowering; although I guess he did take up a couple spots that would have otherwise been used by the attendees. No one seemed to mind; it was nice to be able to be close to the music without having to yell over it. Continue reading
Cigar City Brewing Releases Mixed 12-Pack Featuring Space Pope IPA
Space Pope IPA – Cigar City Mixed 12-Pack
The introduction of the CCB Mixed 12-pack follows the successful launch of Jai Alai IPA 12-packs and the CANarchy Mixed 12-Pack Vol. 1, which features Jai Alai IPA and flagship brands from CANarchy portfolio-mates Oskar Blues Brewery, Perrin Brewing and Squatters Craft Beers. CCB looks to expand its presence in the 12-pack can segment as 12-packs of craft beer continue to grow in U.S. grocery*.
Most craft beer lovers are familiar with Jai Alai IPA, a 7.5% ABV American IPA dry-hopped with Simcoe hops and currently the second-best selling craft six-pack can nationwide*. Guayabera Citra Pale Ale, CCB’s second best-selling brand, brings a lower-alcohol yet hop-forward offering to CCB Mixed 12-pack, clocking in at 5.5% ABV; while Florida Cracker, a crisp Belgian-style White Ale of 5.5% ABV brewed with coriander and orange peel, is a refreshing wheat beer addition. Continue reading
Celebrating SF Beer Week with Humphry Slocombe Ice Creams
These photos were taken Thursday afternoon at Humphry Slocombe in Venice, and Firestone Walker’s The Propagator in Marina del Rel. Humphry Slocombe is an ice cream shop that opened in Venice this past August; it is the fourth in a chain of ice cream shops that has two locations in San Francisco where it was founded, and one in Oakland. The Propagator, if you were unaware, is Firestone Walker’s Los Angeles area brewpub; but you probably already knew that.
I frequently mention that I am not a foodie, I said that in my last article, so why am I visiting and writing about an ice cream shop? Well, as I mentioned above, Humphry Slocombe was founded in San Francisco, and it is currently SF Beer Week (it runs from February 1 – 10). In honor of the event, Humphry Slocombe joined forces with a few of its favorite Bay Area breweries to launch a series of one-time-only, beer-infused ice creams. As I was invited to try out some of these creations, I accepted the invitation and brought my friend Jaymes, of King Harbor Brewing and formerly AJ’s BBQ. Jaymes is a foodie the way I am a beer guy; maybe more. He plans vacations around the food he will find there, so I figured he would enjoy this adventure; I was right. Continue reading
Photos from the Media Preview of California Sun
These photos were taken Tuesday evening at California Sun, a new gastropub in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles. California Sun is part of the Artisanal Brewers Collective, a restaurant group co-founded by Tony Yanow, formerly of Golden Road Brewing. California Sun features New York and Detroit style pizzas, for vegans, vegetarians and omnivores, as well as lots and lots of craft beer from around the country and beyond.
Anyone that knows me personally, or reads my site on a regular basis, is probably aware that pizza does not rank very high on my list of food choices; so what the heck was I doing at a pizza place that took over an hour of driving to get to? Well, there are three reasons actually. Continue reading
Fremont Brewing Introduces Sky Kraken
Sky Kraken by Freemont Brewing
A naturally unfiltered beer, Sky Kraken is made with Strata, Mosaic and a touch of Citra hops and 2-Row Pale malt, malted oats, white wheat and flaked wheat. Sky Kraken swims through the sky with ripe melon, juicy citrus, pineapple, and pepper flavors.
“We released the Kraken because Krakens can only be kept a secret for so long,” explained Matt Lincecum, Fremont Brewing CEO. “Nicknamed ‘Sky’, this Kraken likes watercolors, chocolate cookies, tuna snacks and dislikes being alone. So, if you see the Kraken, please take it home and share it with friends.” Continue reading
A Visit to Hermosa Brewing Company
These photos were taken Friday evening at Hermosa Brewing Company, a relatively new taproom in Hermosa Beach. It is literally around the corner from The Brewery at Abigaile, so I headed there after attending Abigaile’s Meet the Brewer event.
Regular readers may recall that in my review of 2018 I said that there were a couple breweries in the South Bay that I had yet to visit; one was Tortugo Brewing, which I took care of a few weeks ago, the second was Hermosa Brewing Company. While I had visited Hermosa Brewing back in August, it was pretty much to choose a couple of their beers for the 4th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover. This was my first visit with customers. Continue reading
Photos from Meet the Brewer at The Brewery at Abigaile
These photos were taken Friday evening at Alta House, formerly known as Ocean Bar, which is the upstairs area of Abigaile and The Brewery at Abigaile. The event was hosted to introduce The Brewery at Abigaile’s new brewer, Josh McCombs.
A question that I have been asked pretty frequently lately is, “What’s going on at Abigaile?” It was a legitimate question since their last brewer that I was aware of, Mitchell Riser, left several months ago and since they are licensed as a brewpub, they need to be brewing beer. That issue was resolved at the beginning of January when Josh McCombs came onboard as their new brewer. Continue reading
Photos from Bar Talk with Brooklyn Brewery
These photos were taken Wednesday evening at Beelman’s in downtown Los Angeles, where they hosted Brooklyn Brewery’s “Bar Talk: Craft Beer, Innovation & The Great Cape Debate with Steve Hindy & Garrett Oliver”; which was then followed up with an after party a couple doors down from Beelman’s at Spring Street Bar. For those unaware, Steve Hindy is the founder of Brooklyn Brewery, and Garrett Oliver has been their brewmaster since joining Brooklyn Brewery in 1994.
The event was to announce the launch of Brooklyn Brewery’s distribution in California, and as Garrett Oliver put it, they go where their beer goes. Apparently this was one of the few times that Hindy and Garrett has shared the stage together but, to this observer, the discussion ran so smoothly you might have thought it was entirely scripted; it was not. Continue reading
Dust Bowl Brewing Introduces Dump Truck of the Gods
Dump Truck of the Gods released by Dust Bowl Brewing
Brewmaster, Don Oliver, reflects on the first brew, “In the quest for ever hoppier beers, I was formulating two brews, one a standard IPA with the largest hop load we had tried, which also incorporated hop extracts, and a double IPA using hops named after gods – Apollo, Zeus and Merkur. That exercise lead me to combine the two ideas for a high-gravity Mega IPA, which quickly became a hit at our taprooms.” Continue reading
The Meltdown – Power Plant Release Photos
These photos were taken Friday afternoon at El Segundo Brewing Company, and Friday evening at Tortilla Cantina, home of the 5th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover. Friday was day one of El Segundo Brewing’s release of their Power Plant Triple IPA, which included a synchronized release with about 20 other locations in Southern California; one of which was Tortilla Cantina.
This is the time of year that triple IPAs start finding their way up and down the state of California, probably due in large part to the fact that for the last 15 years Russian River Brewing has released their Pliny the Younger Triple IPA on the first Friday of February. El Segundo Brewing has been releasing Power Plant at about the same time for the last five years. Continue reading
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