Burnin’ Daylight Brewing Company

Photos from the Burnin’ Daylight 5th Anniversary

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the Burnin’ Daylight Brewing Company, a brewpub in Lomita that was celebrating its 5th Anniversary with food specials, live music, and a couple can releases.

As I mentioned in my last article Saturday was a very busy for me so I didn’t arrive at Burnin’ Daylight until the last hour of the event, but judging by the smiles in the photos, everyone was having a blast. Continue reading

Burnin’ Daylight 4th Anniversary Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Burnin’ Daylight Brewing Company in Lomita, where the brewpub celebrated their fourth anniversary. The free-to-attend event featured 15 of their beers on tap, including their Burn Four Anniversary IPA, kitchen specials and live music by Vibe Tribe.

I have to admit, as I was uploading these photos to my hard drive, I could not figure out how I had somehow missed attending their second and third anniversary, then I remembered; COVID. I am guessing lockdowns prevented the second anniversary, and I know someone incorrectly advised me that nothing was scheduled last year. No matter, I made it yesterday and was immediately reminded of how much fun Burnin’ Daylight events are. Continue reading

8th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover Photos

These photos were taken Thursday, September 1, at Tortilla Cantina in Torrance, where they hosted my 8th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover. The event, meant to celebrate the South Bay’s vibrant craft beer scene featured 19 breweries from Torrance, Redondo Beach, Inglewood, Torrance, Carson, Lomita, Hawthorne, El Segundo, Gardena, and Lawndale.

The featured South Bay breweries included Smog City, HopSaint, Scholb, Hermosa Brewing, Yorkshire Square, King Harbor Brewing, Far Field Beer, Crac, Honest Abe, Eureka Brewing, Common Space, LA Ale Works, Tortugo Brewing, Three Weavers, Crowns & Hops, El Segundo Brewing, Upshift Brewing, Burnin’ Daylight, and Project Barley. Continue reading

8th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover Coming September 1

tortilla cantina Torrance

8th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover – September 1, 2022

Yes, it is that time of year again, and I am not talking about time to buy the kids new clothes and back to school supplies; it is time for the 8th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover which is returning to Tortilla Cantina in Old Torrance.

I know I say it every year, but there is no way I ever anticipated this event celebrating the South Bay’s craft beer scene would still be going on all these years later, but here we are. I didn’t let a little thing like a change of ownership at the original venue, or a global pandemic with its accompanying shutdowns stop us from continuing what has become, dare I say, a tradition.

There is no question that COVID has caused a few changes over the last two years, but we will not let that stop us. The 8th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover will provided live music, Tortilla Cantina’s fabulous food, and of course, plenty of craft beer that was brewed in the South Bay. Continue reading

9th Annual South Bay Beer & Wine Festival Photos

These photos were taken Sunday afternoon at Ernie Howlett Park in Rolling Hills, where the Rotary Club of Palos Verdes Peninsula and Rotary Club of South Bay Sunrise presented their 9th Annual South Bay Beer and Wine Festival, their annual fundraiser which was brought back after a two year hiatus due to a global pandemic that you may have read about.

Sponsored by Beer Paper, Suzy Zimmerman Insurance Agency, Matson & Southwest Port Services (who also kept the beer cold), VEFA, and armanio, the day featured local craft beer, food, wine and spirits from close to 100 vendors, as well as live music from the TAPS drum ensemble and Detour, as well as a beautiful spring day; it would have been tough to have planned a nicer day. Continue reading

Photos of the 7th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover

These photos were taken Thursday at Tortilla Cantina in Torrance, where they hosted my 7th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover, featuring 28 of the South Bay’s craft breweries, with more than 50 taps pouring, and a couple brews that came in cans as keg space was becoming an issue.

I do not know what to say other than thank you to everyone that came out to enjoy the liquid gold provided by the participating breweries, cidery, and meadery. And thanks definitely have to be given to the servers who were kept pretty busy from noon until well after 10:00. The star of the day has to go to Rick who literally took things into his own hands when kitchen staff came up short. Continue reading

7th South Bay Tap Takeover to Feature 28 Breweries

The 7th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover is two days away, and as hard as it may be for me to believe, this may be the first time that I am not going to be rushing around trying to fill taps with less than 24 hours to go; knock on wood.

Just in case this is the first you have heard about my event, shame on me, but this is what you need to know.

The tap takeover is returning to Tortilla Cantina in Old Torrance, from noon until 10:00 PM. Tortilla Cantina is located at 1225 El Prado, in Torrance. Parking is always free in Torrance and there is a large parking structure just south of Tortilla Cantina. Continue reading

7th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover Coming September 2

commemorative-glassware

7th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover September 2

I have to admit, I do not think I ever anticipated saying this back when I put on the first South Bay Tap Takeover, but the 7th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover will be here September 2! And I am sure that even if there was someone that had that kind of optimism, they would not have foretold the event growing from 10 South Bay breweries to 25.

These tap takeovers have been a great success since the first one in 2015; over 400 people attended the inaugural event. Only due to a temporary change in management at the original venue, Flights Beer Bar, was I forced to find somewhere else in the South Bay that could accommodate the amount of beer I wanted to bring in; Tortilla Cantina fit the bill nicely as they actually had more taps than Flights. Icing on the cake was that owner Rick Gomez already had a positive relationship with all the local breweries.

The transition was smooth enough that we even survived the Great 2020 Pandemic, even if the second or third lockdown was scheduled to begin the day after the 6th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover. At least this year we do not have to worry about another lockdown disrupting the event as there is no way Newsom will do that right before the election, so we are a definite go. Continue reading

The Craft Beer Guy Recap of 2020

port-town-brewing

Port Town Brewing – progressing

Well, it is that time of year again. I usually call these articles a “review” of the prior year; but that would be a very short article. I give it two stars out of five, and would not recommend. Instead, this will be a recap of 2020; let’s see what happened.

January 2020

2020 started off mellow enough; little did we know what was in store for us. The highlight of the month, and possibly the year for some, was the Hop Culture Juicy Brews Beach Party Craft Beer Festival held at Brouwerij West. It was a very fun event featuring craft beer from more than 25 of the top breweries in the country.

The month ended with a going away party for Smog City’s taproom manager Jason “Breezy” Briseño as he and his bride prepared to move to Australia; I think COVID put a temporary damper on those plans. Continue reading

Photos of the 6th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover

These photos were taken Wednesday at Tortilla Cantina, where they hosted the 6th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover. This annual event took a little more to accomplish this year, but Tortilla Cantina, our local breweries, and hundreds of their fans made this possible “last hurrah” of 2020 a great success.

My first tap takeover was held on the first Thursday of September in 2015, and as the craft beer scene around here grew, there started to be overlaps when it came to craft beer festival dates and brewery anniversaries, and everyone started changing dates of their events to avoid conflicts. The fact of the matter is that there was just too much going on out there, so I set it in stone that all subsequent South Bay Tap Takeovers would be held on the first Thursday of September; that worked out okay until COVID-19 struck and the State of California and the County of Los Angeles decided restaurants, breweries, and bars had to discontinue in-person dining. Continue reading

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