Burnin’ Daylight Soft Open Photos

These photos were taken Thursday afternoon at the soft open of Burnin’ Daylight Brewing Company, a brewpub in the City of Lomita. As you can tell from the photos, the long anticipated opening was very well received.

The doors officially opened at 3:00 PM; I arrived by 3:30 and there was already a line out the door. By the time I got done taking my first batch of photos, the line had doubled in length. You would think that the staff at Burnin’ Daylight had been doing this for years, as the wait was never more than 13 minutes when the line was the longest I saw (I was in it). It was pretty obvious that the customers were enjoying the brews, and the few I spoke with about the food said it was very good; the inside seating area sure smelled good with the spices from the chicken wings wafting through the air. Continue reading

Photos from The Slice and Pint Soft Open

UPDATE: Soft open to the public begins Thursday, January 24 at 5:00 PM

These photos were taken Sunday afternoon at the soft open of El Segundo Brewing Company’s, The Slice and Pint, a new restaurant featuring craft beer, local wines, and a variety of pizzas, salads and appetizers including such items as chicken wings, meatballs, Garlic Knots and calamari.

The event was limited to friends, family, and craft beer industry types, but was very well attended; even with the Rams game on. Of course, those that wanted to watch the game were able to do so as The Slice and Pint had six or seven large screen televisions placed strategically so that you would have to go out of your way to avoid seeing one. Continue reading

Burnin’ Daylight Brewing Company: From the beginning

These photos were taken between June 23, 2017 and January 18, 2019 of the construction of Lomita’s first brewpub, Burnin’ Daylight Brewing Company. While it has been a long journey, your patience is about to be rewarded.

It was April 18, 2017 when Burnin’ Daylight Brewing Company had their Conditional Use Permit granted by the Lomita City Council; it took the changing of some laws, but Lomita really wanted to get in on the craft beer craze going on in the South Bay. Two months later I started stopping by to take photos of the build. There would be periods with lots of change and some that seemed nothing was happening, but the Lake family, Head Brewer Brendan along with mom and dad Shannon and Bob, kept plodding along and are now ready to announce the soft open of Burnin’ Daylight Brewing Company. Continue reading

Trustworthy Brewing Turning Two Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Trustworthy Brewing Company in Burbank, where they celebrated their second anniversary. The first few photos were taken at House of Billiards in Sherman Oaks.

After attending the R&D Tasting Experience at Firestone Walker, Daniel Drennon of Beer Paper LA and I drove out to Burbank to visit Trustworthy Brewing and help them celebrate their second anniversary. As House of Billiards was on the way, Drennon asked if we could stop by to pick up some stuff. House of Billiards will be celebrating their 40th anniversary this Thursday at 7:00 PM. If you read Beer Paper LA you probably noticed that House of Billiards was featured in the January issue. Continue reading

R&D Tasting Experience of Firestone Walker’s Rosalie

These photos were taken Saturday morning at Firestone Walker’s Propagator in Venice, where a dozen Beer Media L.A. members were treated to an educational session showing us the steps in the research and development of Firestone Walker’s Rosalie, a true beer rose.

The morning began with samples of their Auld L’enzyme Brut IPA while we waited for everyone to arrive, at which point we went across the parking lot to the Propagator offices where David Walker introduced The Propagator’s Head Brewer Evan Partridge, and their Sensory Analyst Lab Technician from Paso Robles, Robert Emery, who both walked us through the steps they took in the year it took to create Rosalie. Continue reading

Dust Bowl Brewing Introduces Pancho Imperial Stout

Pancho Imperial Stout

Pancho Imperial Stout available in cans

Dust Bowl Brewing Co. kicks off 2019 with the introduction of Pancho Imperial Stout, available in 16 oz. cans and draft. The limited release brew is made with cacao nibs, Ancho chiles, and cinnamon. Pancho offers a smooth finish despite the hefty 10.1% Alcohol by Volume.

“As we approach the colder winter months, a big stout with depth of character seems appropriate,” shares Don Oliver, Brewmaster. “We follow the trend of the pastry stout and offer a lower bitterness imperial stout with a heavy punch of chocolate, cinnamon, and a subtle layer of roasted Ancho chiles.”

Featuring bright colors, the Pancho label showcases Dust Bowl Brewing Co.’s refreshed logo nestled in the company’s new specialty can label system. The story of Pancho is nearly as good as the beer itself. Founder Brett Tate is never short on family tales. According to Tate family “history,” Brett’s great-great uncle went looking for Pancho Villa in the early 1920s, most likely to collect the bounty. He never returned and his fate remains a mystery to this day. Brett likes to think he got distracted by something (or someone!) and enjoyed a long life on the beach of Mexico. Continue reading

A Visit to Tortugo Brewing Company

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon, when I made my first visit to Inglewood’s second craft brewery, Tortugo Brewing Company.

If you happened to read my review of 2018, you might recall my saying that I kind of feel like a slacker due to my inability to keep up with the local craft beer growth stating that there were at least two breweries in the South Bay that I had yet to visit; Tortugo Brewing was one of those two.

Tortugo opened at the end of June and definitely stands out as you drive down the street towards it. It is a 6,600 square foot building that appears even larger with its bright orange and blue highlights paint job. As founder Joe Kovach put it, there has been nothing new on the street in a couple decades; the color makes it pretty tough to not notice something new on the street. The color scheme is meant to represent a bright sunset (the orange) over the ocean (the blue). Continue reading

The Craft Beer Guy 2018 Year in Review

It is that time of year again, when I try to summarize what has happened in the past year, as far as local craft beer is concerned and the highlights of the Craft Beer Guy year. As I typically do, I read over last year’s review to see what predictions I may have made, and how they panned out.

Burnin' Daylight

Burnin’ Daylight Brewing – Coming soon!

Last year I predicted that Burnin’ Daylight Brewing Company, a brewpub in Lomita; and Port Town Brewing, a production brewery in San Pedro would be open by the end of 2018. While I am sure the respective owners would have loved to see that come true, alas, it was not to be. That being said, Burnin’ Daylight is now brewing beer and they are just waiting for some final checks from places like the county health department. If all goes well, Burnin’ Daylight should be open for at least a soft open by mid-January 2019. Port Town Brewing had a larger obstacle, aka the City of Los Angeles, but they are making progress and might just open their doors before 2019 ends.

I have to admit, with all the growth that is going on around here, I kind of feel like a slacker. It used to be a lot easier to keep up, but I am ashamed to say that there are at least two breweries in the South Bay that I have yet to visit; trying to keep up with the Long Beach area has proven tough. I have to rely on craft beer festivals like Festival Obscura to keep me somewhat in the loop. Continue reading

Sip & Savor Pasadena Photos

These photos were taken Friday at the inaugural Pasadena Tournament of Roses Sip & Savor, a three-day end-of-year event being held at the Rosemont Pavilion/Jackie Robinson Memorial Field at the Rose Bowl this weekend. The family friendly event celebrates Southern California’s food, wine and craft beer scene. Attendees can try various foods from about 10 restaurants like The Crack Shack, Pez Cantina, and Lucille’s, which you can pair with wine from about 15 wineries, or craft beer from the four breweries representing the Greater Los Angeles area.

The breweries pouring included Firestone Walker’s “sports bar”, complete with TVs so you can watch the game while enjoying one of their brews, Angel City, Alosta Brewing, and recently opened, Highpoint Brewing Company. Continue reading

Bravus Brewing: Craft Beer for Your Designated Driver

Bravus IPA

Bravus Brewing IPA – Non-Alcoholic Beer


For those of you that are considering beginning 2019 with a Dryanuary; or if it is your turn to play designated driver for this year’s New Years Eve party, Bravus Brewing may have just what you are looking for, non-alcoholic craft beer. Yes, you heard me right; non-alcoholic craft beer!

Bravus Brewing, out of Santa Ana, California, is the first brewery in the United States to brew solely non-alcoholic beer. If you are as old as me and your only experience with non-alcoholic beer was with Near Beer, you might ask, “Why bother?” For Bravus founder Philip Brandes it was two-fold. Firstly, Brandes’ brother was a sales rep for a brewery and would take him to various beer fests where he first learned about the craft beer craze. Secondly, and I think probably more importantly, he spent a weekend in Mexico with a friend that brought the only non-alcoholic beer he could find, Sharp’s and O’Doul’s. That was enough to convince Brandes that something had to be done. Continue reading

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Archives