King Harbor Brewing Company: From the beginning

I remember the day well; it was the 4th of July 2013 and Tanya and I were taking the dogs on their morning walk. We were walking through the strip mall that we walked through virtually every morning. Something caught Tanya’s eye on the window of one of vacant units, I glanced over and immediately recognized the ABC’s Public Notice of Application to Sell Alcoholic Beverages. I knew the neighborhood demographics well enough to know it wasn’t going to be a bar so I stopped to take a closer look. Could my eyes be deceiving me? Will there be a microbrewery a block from my house? Apparently Coastline Brewing was going to become my neighbor.

As soon as we got home from the walk I started doing some research and was soon in contact with the new microbrewery owners Tom Dunbabin and Will Daines. We set up a meeting for the upcoming week where we discovered we had met a couple weeks earlier at The Brewery at Abigaile. After some beer and discussion I offered to come speak at the CUP hearing they had scheduled in a couple weeks. The Redondo Beach Planning Commission approved the Conditional Use Permit and almost immediately Dunbabin and Daines started tearing apart their unit in preparation of building a production brewery and tasting room.

Within a couple months a decision was made to change the name to King Harbor Brewing Company (KHBC) because there is a winery up north in Santa Rosa, Coastline Cellars, and they did not want their beer brand confused with Coastline Cellar’s wine brand. While building King Harbor Brewing, Dunbabin and Daines also sought out a head brewer and came up with Phil McDaniel, a former brewer at Stone Brewing Company and Lead Brewer at The Bruery. It was all a matter of time; which was extended a little due to the government shutdown which caused all kinds of delays in the brewing world. Anyway, as you can tell by the photos, eventually all the permits were approved, i’s were dotted and t’s were crossed and KHBC was brewing. King Harbor Brewing now has a couple of soft opens under their belt, kegs distributed all over the South Bay and they are ready to have their Grand Opening!

Saturday, March 29 King Harbor Brewing Company will have their Grand Opening from 12:00-8:00 PM. Silvio’s Brazilian Barbecue will be there from noon until 4:00 PM for those that like to eat while enjoying their beer. They will be pouring their two flagship beers; The Quest and Abel Brown with limited quantities of The Pineapple Quest and Vanilla Abel as long as they last. The Quest will be available for growler fills and there will be no flights available. The fun continues the next day at noon and will continue until 6:00 PM. Vella Pizza will be there with their mobile oven from 12:30-6:00 PM.

After that, King Harbor Brewing Company tasting room hours will be Thursday and Friday 4:00-8:00, Saturday 12:00-8:00 PM and Sunday 12:00-8:00 PM. The city gave them the ability to be open on Wednesday and Thursday but they want to ensure they can keep up with the demand they are sure to face. I am sure they have a long future in Redondo Beach. King Harbor Brewing Company is located at 2907 182nd Street in Redondo Beach. It is right next door to the batting cages. Cheers!

King Harbor Brewing Company Birth Photos

King Harbor Brewing Company Birth Photos

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