These photos were taken Wednesday, November 29 at ISM Brewing, the newest brewpub in Long Beach, day two of the ISM Brewing Soft Open.

First things first, ISM Brewing is pronounced iz-uhm, not eye-ess-em, and the letters are actually the initials of the owner/brewer, Ian S. McCall.

Secondly, ISM Brewing has taken over the former location of Beachwood Brewing’s brewpub on 3rd Street, which is where Ian cut his teeth in the craft beer world.

When I first met Ian he ran the kitchen for Beachwood Brewing, and eventually became an assistant brewer under the tutelage of Beachwood’s Julian Shrago. Around 2018 Ian left Beachwood and became the head brewer for Riip Brewing. Now, five years later, he has gone full circle and has taken over Beachwood’s Downtown Long Beach location that they left back in October.

Wednesday afternoon I headed down to Long Beach to meet up with my friends, Phil and Deborah, to check out the new ISM Brewing. The first thing I noticed was just how many people from the South Bay apparently had the same idea as I did.

If you ever visited Beachwood’s downtown location you might notice some slight differences, like lighting and the paint job, but other than that and the new parking situation there is not a lot of difference. They still have plenty of indoor seating as well as their dog friendly patio,

As far as the beer is concerned, they had eight brews that were in-house, as well as a couple from Ghost Town and a few wine and cider options. I opted for their Kiwi Fingers IPA, with Nelson and Citra hops, and their Pasts Return Amber Ale which was probably my favorite beer of the day.

While Beachwood had closed their kitchen shortly before closing, ISM Brewing has opened with a full kitchen that provides such treats as chicken wings, nachos, tri-tip mac and cheese, salads and various sandwiches. We had an order of nachos that you knew from the first whiff would be delicious.

ISM Brewing is located at 210 E. 3rd Street in Long Beach. Currently, their soft-open hours are advertised as being Tuesday through Sunday, from 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM. The grand opening is planned to be early next year. Cheers!

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