These photos were taken September 24, day 10 of my Craft Beer Tour 2021; a day that started off innocent enough, but resulted in a couple unexpected surprises. One surprise I should have remembered, but 2020 must have screwed with me; the second was totally unexpected and the fact that everyone was wearing masks made it totally mind-blowing.
So, it was Friday morning and I had arrived the previous Saturday, it was time to go before I bored them; I announced I would leave for Yakima, Washington in the morning. As I sat down to Google Maps to figure out how long it would take to get there and whether or not there were any breweries along the way, I remembered Grains of Wrath in Camas. When I put it as a destination I discovered it was only 30 minutes away; and I knew they would have the fresh hop IPAs that I was looking for. Matt was game and we had a few hours before we could pick up Dom; game on. Continue reading
These photos were taken September 23, day nine of my Craft Beer Tour 2021. As Dom was recovering with her parents, and Matt loves showing off Oregon to me, we headed off to Hood River to visit pFreim Family Brewers and Double Mountain Brewery in Hood River; the fact that we had to go through the Columbia River Gorge to get there was icing on the cake.
We started off at pFreim Family Brewers, which seemed to begin filling up as we arrived. Matt got a quinoa salad and I set up a flight made up of their Pilsner (because you kind of have to), Jammy Pale Ale (really was jammy), Strata IPA, Kolsch, pFreim IPA, and Flanders Blonde (first time ever). Each of them seemed to be better than the last, and I am falling in love with Strata hops.
pFreim Family Brewers is located at 707 Portway Avenue in Hood River. They are open daily and offer can’s, bottles, and crowlers to-go. I think I noticed a dog or two on their patio. Continue reading
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the Beachwood BBQ & Brewing brewpub in Long Beach, where Beachwood fans gathered to celebrate 10 years of great barbecue and even better beer.
If you have attended previous anniversary celebrations at Beachwood, the first thing you would notice is that there was no line to get in. In fact, there were very few lines at all during the two hours I was there. The one thing that today had in common with prior years was the amazing beer selection. By my count there were 23 house brews on tap, including one hard seltzer, and Hoppa Emeritus on cask, as well as six guest taps, and eight Blendery options. Continue reading
These photos were taken at Carson’s newest brewpub, The Crac Brewery and Grub; the photos are of the construction I observed between November 4, 2019 and day one of their soft open, November 21, 2020.
It was Halloween 2019 B.C. (Before Covid), when Buddy and I entered King Harbor Brewing during our nightly walk. It was the one day a year that people would wear masks, and a masked cowboy addressed me by a nickname that most of you don’t know, but told me this cowboy must know me even if I couldn’t recognize him in his costume.
After doing a little recon with the beertender I figured out the masked stranger was Jeff Parker, so I went over to be a little more sociable. It was then that Jeff informed me that he was involved with the building of a new brewery in Carson; four days later I stopped by to take the first of my photos that would show the construction during the upcoming year. Continue reading
UPDATE: February 12, 2021 – The accuracy of this article leaves a lot to be desired. Please check with the brewery directly.
UPDATES: December 14 –The Crac Brewery and Grub now open for to-go beer pickup.
Eureka Brewing Company now open for to-go beer pickup.
In case you had not heard, there is currently NO DINE-IN in LA County.UPDATES: September 13 – Burnin’ Daylight modifies Sunday hours.
Phantom Carriage adds days for to-go beer pickup.
UPDATE: September 4 – Culture Brewing Company now open.
I was going to update my last article on the South Bay breweries to-go and pickup options, but it looks like just about everything has changed so I might as well start from scratch.
Like the original article, this is solely a reference guide, so all breweries will be listed in alphabetical order for your ease and mine. Hours are subject to change so be sure to contact the brewery directly if you have questions.
Absolution Brewing Company – Cans, bottles, crowlers, growlers and kegs can be ordered online at https://www.absolutionbrewingcompany.com/shop-1. You can also order by phone at 310.490.4860 x101 or by email at orders@absolutionbrewingcompany.com. Deliveries are done Thursday through Sunday; order before 6:00 PM on those days for same day delivery. You can also pick up beers to-go at the brewery Monday through Wednesday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Thursday and Friday from 9:00 to 7:00 PM, or on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 7:00 PM.
Brouwerij West – Brouwerij West now delivers throughout California; please visit https://www.brouwerijwest.com/buybeer for Pick Up, Local Delivery, and Shipping options. You can pick up beer to go at the brewery, daily from noon to 7:00 PM. Credit cards are preferred. Continue reading
These photos were taken Saturday, May 30 at San Pedro Brewing Company, Scholb Premium Ales, and Absolution Brewing Company as breweries in the South Bay began reopening under Phase 2 of the COVID-19 lockdown.
On Friday it was announced that LA County was entering Phase 2 of the reopening of businesses from this lockdown; apparently two breweries, San Pedro Brewing Company and Scholb Brewing had been chomping at the bit waiting for permission to reopen as they were the first two craft beer establishments to begin in-house consumption of beer and food. I decided to visit the two of them to see how close my expectations were to our new reality. Continue reading
UPDATE: June 24 – Most local breweries now have some sort of dine in service, however, in my opinion this is still far too fluid for me to spend the hours to update manually, so please follow the links provided to see what the updated hours might be.
Phantom Carriage is now open for limited beer pickup.
It is hard to believe it has been more than two months since I wrote my initial South Bay Breweries To-Go and Delivery Options article; but here we are. The fact of the matter is that my initial article is getting cluttered with updates, and some links have been changed by the breweries. This update should be good through the Memorial Day weekend; I will update this as necessary.
Like the original article, this is solely a reference guide, so all breweries will be listed in alphabetical order for your ease and mine. Hours subject to change, be sure to contact the brewery directly. Continue reading
These photos were taken Saturday evening at SoCal Vibes Co. in Carson, where they celebrated Leap Day with the kind of official soft open. The event featured DJs, special pricing on food from their kitchen, and special Honest Abe cider releases.
SoCal Vibes is located at the same location of the now defunct Hokulea Brewing Company. If you will recall, Hokulea shared the spot with Southern California Cider Company, aka SoCal Cider. When Hokulea closed up, SoCal Cider/Honest Abe Hard Ciders owner Spencer Chambers was determined to keep the location open. It is almost one of those “if life gives you lemons” stories. Continue reading
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Burnin’ Daylight Brewing Company, Lomita’s first brewpub, where they celebrated their first annual anniversary party. The event featured 25 craft beers on tap, live music, food, the release of their canned anniversary beer, Burn One West Coast IPA, and the best weather we have seen this decade.
As we have become accustomed, Burnin’ Daylight took advantage of their parking lot and the ability to have guest taps to throw one heck of a party. Guest taps were provided by Beachwood Brewing, El Segundo Brewing, HopSaint Brewing, Smog City, Stone Brewing, and Topa Topa Brewing. Live music was provided by The Vibe Tribe, and food was available from Burnin’ Daylight’s own kitchen and outside grill. I am not sure who was in charge of the weather, but kudos to them for an amazing day.
While Burnin’ Daylight may only be one year old, they have quickly risen to be one of the most popular breweries in the South Bay. Throughout the day I spoke with several people that agreed that Burnin’ Daylight was one of the best new breweries in the last few years. Judging by the number of people that showed up, that opinion seemed to be the consensus. Continue reading
These photos were taken Wednesday evening at The Brews Hall at Del Amo, in Torrance where they held their official ribbon cutting. The event was attended by The Brews Hall primary owners, Mike Zislis, George Lopez, and Colin Cowherd, Torrance Mayor Pat Furey with a couple Torrance city councilmen, a representative for Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, a representative for LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn, and a contingent of ambassadors from the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce.
After the ribbon cutting, dignitaries, friends, family, and media were invited in to sample some of the foods from George Lopez’s Chingon Kitchen, Chicken TWILI, Colin Cowherd’s The Herd, and Rock’n Fish Restaurant, as well as some of the mixed drink cocktails and beers that are available. Continue reading