craft brewer

Day 6 of American Craft Beer Week 2013

beer menu

Smog City Beer on Tap

Saturday was day six of the 8th Annual American Craft Beer Week (ACBW) and to be honest, it was a day that I had been waiting for like a kid at Christmas; Smog City Brewing Company finally had their grand opening. It is not like the South Bay is lacking in microbreweries, but Smog City is geographically the closest to me (by about two blocks) and Jon Porter(owner/brewer, goes by Porter) brews the widest variety of beers for miles. On their tap list Saturday, they had Smog City XPA, Groundwork Coffee Porter, Sabre-Toothed Squirrel(Red Ale), Quercus Circus (Sour), Bourbon Red (Barrel Aged), Penumbra Stout, Amarilla Gorilla (IPA) and Weird Beer (Saison). The plan is to eventually have 20 beers available on their taps, so in my opinion, Smog City Brewing is a great addition to the South Bay craft beer scene. Oh, and Porter won a gold at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival for his Groundwork Coffee Porter.

beer taps

Every party should have 15 taps

After leaving Smog City I headed over to a birthday party for the president of one of the local home brewing clubs, Strand Brewers Club. I felt it appropriate that I include was able to include a home brewers gathering in this celebration of American craft beer. It seems that every biography I read about a respected brewer includes science and/or engineering and being a home brewer. In fact, Porter of Smog City started off as a home brewer and was a member of the Pacific Gravity home brewers club and won many competitions as a home brewer. The host of the Strand Brewers Club party was Rives Borland, the current president, because it was his birthday. A look around Rives living room shows he has several ribbons and plaques from brewing competitions under his belt, so you never know; someday I may be writing about his new brewery, only time will tell.

You can see all the photos from day 6 of the 2013 American Craft Beer Week on GotBaddog.com.

2013 American Craft Beer Week – Day 3

Stone Brewing Taps

Stone Brewing, Company Store – Pasadena

Wednesday was day three of the 8th Annual American Craft Beer Week (ACBW), and I continued my quest to visit as many Great American Beer Festival (GABF) gold medal winners from Southern California as possible. For day three we drove out to Pasadena to visit the Stone Brewing Company Store that opened the middle of last year. I have visited the location a couple times and I will admit that if I had an office job that required I commute, there would be nothing better that I can think of than to have something like the Stone Brewing store waiting for me at the end of my work day. Besides beers on tap, they offer growlers and bottles and extremely good prices. It is worth the trip.

Rated as one of the best brewers in the US and the world by two of the largest beer enthusiast websites, RateBeer and BeerAdvocate, I would be remiss if I did not include Stone Brewing in my quest for GABF award winning breweries from California. While I went to Pasadena yesterday, if you have an opportunity to visit their brewery in Escondido you should do it. Good food and great beer in a very scenic setting. It is appropriate for the entire family.

For my award winning flight I opted for a Stone Ruination IPA, a Stone Levitation Ale (2007 GABF Gold Medal), a Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale (2010 GABF Bronze Medal) and a Smoked Porter (2010 Asia Beer Award Gold Medal).

Haven Flight

Haven Gastropub Flight

After sampling at Stone for a while, we went around the corner to Haven Gastropub and Brewing. I have been there before, but as I recall they were just starting to brew on location. I had forgotten about that, but knew I could find some award winning beers on their guest tap list. As it turns out, Gastropub Brewing has a new Head Brewer, Brian Thorson, an award winning brewer formerly with Drake’s Brewing and yesterday they released his new brew, so I included it on my flight. My flight consisted of Haven Simcoded American Pale Ale, Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin (2010 & 2011 GABF Gold medal), Eel River Acai Wheat, and The Bruery White Oak. While the beers from Haven, Eel River and The Bruery were not medal winners, the breweries and brewers have won numerous awards.

All my photos from day three of the 2013 American Craft Beer Week can be found on GotBaddog.com.

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