UPDATE: Five Point Five Brewing Company will officially open Friday, August 11.

These photos were taken Friday, August 4 at Five Point Five Brewing Company, the latest craft brewery to open in El Segundo. You may recall that four months ago Surfridge Brewing in El Segundo closed their doors; Five Point Five Brewing Company, headed by Surfridge’s former head brewer Jeremy Montemagni, will replace Surfridge.

Starting at the beginning, before Surfridge closed, owners Steven and Jennifer Lieberman moved to Connecticut and opened a new Surfridge location, and had their brewer, Jeremy, flying back and forth across the country to brew at both locations. As one can imagine, that was a pretty hectic schedule and really was not sustainable; that brought about the close of the El Segundo location. It was then that Jeremy and his wife Melissa decided to team up with the talented members of Melissa’s family and together they bought the old Surfridge equipment and got their own lease for the location.

As far as the name is concerned, 5.5 is the square mileage of the City of El Segundo; they feel they needed to respect the city and several of the beer names reflect their homage to El Segundo and its history.

If you spent any time at Surfridge you will probably notice that there are not a lot of changes to the interior, except that there is more seating; and while they will remain child and dog friendly, they are trying to make it more “adult” friendly.

Legally, Jeremy cannot brew the same recipes but he can do the same styles, but tweaked to fit his personal taste. I was offered a few tasters, and they were very nice; I tried their refreshing King Kolsch, a very tasty Pacific Standard IPA, and a lovely Tank Farm stout. Of course, it is not like Jeremy had to learn a new brewing system; he had plenty of experience with three years of using the Surfridge brewhouse.

You probably notice that I have mentioned “Surfridge” a lot, and part of that is because as of today if you put in Five Point Five Brewing’s address in Google maps it is going to say you are going to Surfridge, but rest assured, it is now Five Point Five Brewing.

Since Five Point Five is taking over the old location, the City of El Segundo has made it very easy for them to open again. In fact, even though the LLC just went through a week or so ago, Five Point Five Brewing is planning on opening next Friday, August 11! As soon as the date and time is confirmed, I will be sure to announce it to you.

Five Point Five Brewing Company is located at 137 Nevada Street in El Segundo. I cannot provide their hours yet because I don’t have them and I am not entirely sure they have determined what they are yet.

Congratulations to the Montemagnis and their extended family; we look forward to seeing what the future brings. Cheers!

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