Photos from the 5th Annual Kraft Bierfest at Alpine Village
These photos were taken at the 5th Annual Kraft Bierfest that was held Saturday afternoon at Alpine Village in Torrance. Having attended every Kraft Bierfest since inception I can say that Saturday’s event reminded me of their first event in 2012 in that there was lots of quality beer but not very many people there to drink it. Since Alpine Village buys the beer they pour, rather than relying on donations, this means it is probably going to be a good time to visit there as their tap list probably has a lot of leftovers available.
In 2012 they had about 100 beers and maybe 200 attendees (probably a generous headcount); on Saturday they had about 50 beers, if there were 100 people that showed up I would be surprised. There was very little in the way of advertising, which was the obvious reason for so few showing up. But, as was pointed out to me by a few people, what was lacking in attendance was definitely made up for with the quality of beers available. In fact, this event was one of the “biggest” I have attended as far as ABV is concerned, in quite a while. Continue reading
Taking a San Diego Beercation with Travelocity
I have traveled to breweries up and down the state and ventured east as far as Indiana and Louisiana but even though it is only a couple hours away, I have not covered much in the San Diego area. With more than 100 breweries in San Diego County, I had visited a total of two; Alpine Beer Company in Alpine, and Stone Brewing’s Escondido location. The main reason for this is probably because a trip to San Diego for a beer tour would pretty much require an overnight stay and a convenient time just never came up. About a month ago I received an email asking if I would like to join Travelocity on an overnight beercation in San Diego; my convenient time had arrived. The fact that it was during San Diego Beer Week was just icing on the cake.
Our group consisted of a variety of foodies, travel influencers and two beer writers; we would be staying at the Pearl Hotel and visit AleSmith Brewing, Ballast Point, Mission Brewing and end with dinner at Stone’s Liberty Station location. We were transported around the different breweries by HotShots Brewery Tours. The reason for the invitation was that Travelocity has realized how big craft beer is around the country and that people are traveling specifically to try craft beer; so they created a beer tourism index. Everything we did can be booked via Travelocity. Continue reading
Strand Brewing Celebrates 7 Years with Beer, Love & BBQ
This past weekend, Torrance’s oldest production brewery, Strand Brewing Company celebrated their 7th anniversary with a weekend of beer, love and BBQ at their new Dominguez Street location. The three day event featured new beers released by Strand along with food by Bartz Barbecue and live music from such artists as Big Bad Rooster and Strand co-founder Joel Elliott’s, Uncle Bill.
Due to time constraints I was only able to stop by on Saturday, which is when these photos were taken. If you have visited Strand Brewing’s new location, you know they have lots of space in their 36,000 square foot facility and they made the most of the space making it relatively easy for the more than 700 people a day that showed up to have room to eat, drink, play games and dance to the music.
Three years ago co-owner Rich Marcello confided in me that the morning of their 4th anniversary he was sitting on his surfboard wondering if anyone would show up to their anniversary party; they showed up in droves. I asked Marcello if he had those same concerns this year and he admitted that prior to opening the doors at 4:00 PM Friday he did wonder the same thing; however, those concerns were immediately put aside as more than 700 people showed up Friday evening. Continue reading
Absolution Brewing Shelby Beer Release Photos
Those of you that have been paying close attention may recall that back in May I mentioned that Absolution Brewing had entered into an agreement with Shelby Craft Beer & Beverages to begin brewing beers under the Shelby Craft Beer label. A couple months ago Shelby started showing off the first two brews, Shelby Snake Bite Lager and Big Block IPA at a few car events; this past Saturday at the Shelby Beer Bash 01 they officially released them at the Absolution Brewing tasting room, and it became available on draft.
To help celebrate the release, a contingent of Carroll Shelby vehicles were on display at Absolution’s parking lot with a couple Cobras and several Mustangs showing up. I showed up rather early and the tasting room was already packed with what had to have been primarily gear-heads as I recognized exactly one person that did not work there.
While I have had an opportunity to try the bottled version of the Snake Bite lager and Big Block IPA previously, this was my first opportunity to try it on tap and it was delicious. Big Block was appropriately named as it is definitely a big hop bomb. If you did not have an opportunity to get over to Absolution Brewing over the weekend, you can still try the two new releases on tap at the tasting room; and they may still have some bottles available to take home. Cheers! Continue reading
A Visit to Mother Road Brewing & Flagstaff Brewing Company – Flagstaff, AZ
After being fooled by Google in Gallup, New Mexico we got back on I-40 and continued west on our Craft Beer Tour 2016.
While there are plenty of new craft breweries in the southern half of Arizona, the same cannot be said for northern Arizona; at least until you hit Flagstaff. We saw one brewery pop up online, but that was after we had passed it; lack of an Internet signal certainly did not help much.
As we approached Flagstaff I knew there were several breweries there that I had yet to try. I had visited Beaver Street Brewery several times over the years, and Lumberyard Brewing Company a couple times, so I knew I wanted something different; I set my GPS for Mother Road Brewing Company, and I am really glad I did. Continue reading
Photos from Rock & Brews 6th Annual Local Craft Beer Fest
These photos were taken at the 6th Annual Local Craft Beer Fest which was held at the El Segundo Rock & Brews on Sunday afternoon. Admission to the family and pet friendly event included 10 beer tickets, with a choice of 12 local breweries; as well as a barbecued tri-tip lunch.
As far as the breweries pouring at the event, there was the cast of usual attendees like El Segundo Brewing, Strand Brewing, King Harbor Brewing, Ohana Brewing, Barley Forge Brewing and Three Weavers. Relative newcomers like Iron Triangle, Indie Brewing, Reel Brewery and Solarc Brewing welcomed the new kids on the block, Rob Rubens Distilling & Brewing and Two Coast Brewing Company.
While previous editions of the Local Craft Beer Fest featured games, this year they decided to replace the games with live music provided by local alternative 80’s band, The One 80’s. To say they were well received would be an understatement. They had everyone up on their feet rocking out; I think live music is a nice touch to this annual event, I hope they keep it up. Cheers! Continue reading
Media Appreciation Night at Rock & Brews PCH
These photos are from the Media Appreciation Night that was held Thursday evening at Rock & Brews PCH in Redondo Beach. The event was two-fold in that not only did they show their appreciation to local food and beer bloggers by feeding us and giving us craft beer; but they also used the opportunity to introduce the new food menu that has been introduced to all the Rock & Brews locations.
A few of the new items that are pictured include Onion Rings (they used to only be an appetizer, now they are also a side to any entree), Jalapeno Poppers, and a Mediterranean Chopped Salad. They also introduced their Kansas City Style Hot Dog, a Demon Chicken Sandwich, and the Gastropub Burger. For dessert they now added items like a Key Lime Pie and the Giant Brownie Sundae. Continue reading
Quarter Celtic Brewpub – Albuquerque New Mexico
As our Craft Beer Tour 2016 continued west on I-40 from Big Texan Brewery in Amarillo we entered New Mexico and a few hours later we found ourselves in Albuquerque. As this would be our stop for the evening, I looked around Google for food and craft beer and came upon Quarter Celtic Brewpub.
I was not sure what to expect at an Irish sounding brewpub located in New Mexico, but as soon as we walked in I could not help but notice all the family crests hanging on the wall that seemed to imply that there were at least a few people of Irish descent that lived there.
Finding Quarter Celtic took a little bit of effort and it probably helps to know where to look since apparently they are the only brewery in New Mexico with underground parking. You will not see it from the street, so when you find the Ace Hardware Store, look for the underground parking structure. With the extreme weather they have in New Mexico, I am sure the residents love it. Continue reading
Northwest Cider Masters Tour at Great Society Cider & Mead
These photos were taken at the Northwest Cider Masters Tour that was held Sunday afternoon at Great Society Cider & Mead in Long Beach. The “Harvest Party” featured two of Oregon’s finest cider makers; James Kohn of Wandering Aengus Ciderworks and Kevin Zielinsk of E.Z. Orchards Farm Market. In addition to the 20 ciders on tap, there were beer and cider blends, charcuterie, cheese pairings, and plenty of information to get people to understand the craft behind cider, as well as the history and tradition of cider. Of course, there were plenty of ciders there so it was interesting to notice the differences between them.
I was there for the “trade show” portion of the event and it was very well attended; I can only imagine how many people showed up when they opened to the general public. It just shows me that hard ciders and mead are coming into their own. Personally, I have a ways to go before I can discern the subtle nuances of different ciders; I am basically at the dry or sweet/apple or pear phase, so it may be a while before I can open Craft Cider Guy, but you never know. Continue reading
Lugosi Bottle Premiere and Halloween Celebration at Phantom Carriage
These photos were taken at the Lugosi Bottle Premiere and Halloween Celebration that was held Saturday evening at Phantom Carriage blendery and tasting room in Carson. The event featured the release of a bottled version of Lugosi, a high gravity dark wild sour ale aged in oak with Brettanomyces, lactobacillus, and Pediococcus; featuring sweet cherry, vanilla, and stone fruit.
Since it was also a Halloween party, Phantom Carriage played Universal Studio’s 1931 version of “Dracula” on a large screen in the back parking lot. As Dracula starred Bela Lugosi, and they were releasing the bottled version of Lugosi, it only made sense that this would be a good time to invite Bela Lugosi, Jr. to join the fun, which he accepted and brought along a good portion of his family. Continue reading