craft brewery
Los Angeles Ale Works 1st Anniversary Photos
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Los Angeles Ale Works, where Hawthorne’s first craft brewery celebrated their first anniversary with a couple hundred close friends. The tasting room itself was pretty packed, so the overflow congregated on the patio or the parking lot, which they shared with multiple food vendors and other local artisans. LA Ale Works also marked the event with a can and bottle release.
LA Ale Works has grown since my last visit as was evidenced by the 20+ beers available. Judging by the size of the crowd this has not gone unnoticed by the locals.
Los Angeles Ale Works is located at 12918 Cerise Avenue in Hawthorne and are open seven days a week. They are dog friendly and offer beer to go in growlers, crowlers, bottles and cans. Cheers! Continue reading
Yorkshire Square Brewery Ribbon Cutting
If it seemed a little overcast and drizzly Saturday afternoon, it was most likely because Yorkshire Square Brewery held their ribbon cutting and grand opening and along with the genuine English-style cask ales, they also furnished us with some authentic English-style weather.
No matter the weather, friends, family and craft beer aficionados were gathering outside in the Yorkshire Square parking lot for up to a half hour before opening time, anxiously awaiting a pour of their first authentic English pint in the South Bay.
The ribbon cutting was attended by Torrance Mayor Pat Furey, and city council members Mike Griffiths and Kurt Weideman; who presented Yorkshire Square with a Certificate of Recognition . . . and noted that Yorkshire Square is the 10th brewery for the City of Torrance (11th if you count Zymurgy) Continue reading
Los Angeles Ale Works Begins Soft Open
The South Bay has a new production brewery and tasting room as Los Angeles Ale Works held their soft open over this past weekend. If you did not hear about it, do not feel too bad as it was intentionally kept under wraps since LA Ale Works wanted to make sure they were ready for their anticipated crowds. Founder/Partner Kristofor “Kip” Barnes said that he wanted to be sure that first time visitors had a pleasant experience; after my visit on Sunday, I do not think that is going to be a problem.
The soft open will continue every Wednesday through Sunday until their Grand Opening, which will be held Saturday, February 11. According to their website, their hours are currently 3:00 to 10:00 PM on Wednesday and Thursday; 3:00 to 11:00 PM on Fridays; 12:00 to 11:00 PM on Saturdays, and 12:00 to 8:00 PM on Sundays. The Grand Opening will likely be a ticketed event, but the details on that have not been figured out yet. Continue reading
Absolution Brewing Mug Club Christmas Party Photos
On Sunday evening, Absolution Brewing Company held their annual Christmas party for members of their MUG Club loyalty program. Attendees were provided with a wide variety of snacks and were treated to a pint of Absolution’s cellar-aged Anniversary Ale. Of course, there were specials on any of the 19 other brews they pour; I spent my time enjoying their new 405 IPA. Finally, Absolution has brewed a true west coast style IPA. For entertainment, we enjoyed the rock and blues sounds of Nasty Bad Habit; it really was a good time.
You know, the ABC MUG Club makes for a pretty nice Christmas gift; in fact, I know one couple that was at the party last night because they had just received a membership as an early Christmas present. Membership includes a nice growler, a hat, shirt, discounts on beer and invitations to these private events. You might want to give yourself one. Cheers! Continue reading
Media Night at Strand Brewing Company
Monday evening, Strand Brewing Company hosted members of the LA Beer Bloggers and other local media outlets with an intimate evening of craft beer, snacks and networking. Strand Brewing Company co-founder/co-owner Rich Marcello took time to speak with attendees individually; then took everyone on a tour of their [relatively] new 36,000 square foot facility on Dominguez Street. Marcello also showed off their shiny, new canning line which will be put into use shortly. He also made sure to let us all know that Strand Brewing will be celebrating their 7th Anniversary on the weekend of November 11 through the 13th.
In addition to the tour and plentiful beer, Marcello personally made up several snack trays that one would have thought were professionally done. Attendees also had a chance to chat with the reigning, and six times Tetris World Champion, Jonas Neubauer who also happens to run the tasting room. For those into Tetris, the World Championships have been going on for seven years, with Neubauer taking first place every year, except a couple years ago when he ranked second. We are all pretty proud of him.
Strand Brewing Company is located at 2201 Dominguez Street in Torrance. Their 7th Anniversary celebration will feature special beers, casks, music and general fun for the entire family. Visit the Strand Brewing website or their Facebook page for more information. Cheers! Continue reading
Scholb Premium Ales – From the Beginning
Torrance has a new tasting room to visit; production brewery Scholb Premium Ales has begun their soft open. A week ago they opened for a few hours on Sunday and this past weekend they were open on Saturday and Sunday. Beginning this next weekend they will add Fridays; on April 7 they will begin normal tasting room hours, Thursday and Friday 4:00-9:00 PM, Saturday 1:00-9:00 PM and Sunday 12:00-6:00 PM.
I stopped by Saturday afternoon after finishing the craft beer panel at the Torrance library primarily because it was virtually next door to the Torrance Civic Center library; they are a couple hundred yards west of Absolution Brewing, in the same business park. In the short time we were there I noticed a nice group of people coming and going; it was obvious that people were taking advantage of the fact that the two tasting are so very close to each other.
Scholb had four of their brews available when I was there Saturday; SoCal Blonde, Roll With it Brown, Havanuther Session IPA and my favorite, Bat Ray Red IPA. By next weekend they should have at least five beers on tap at which time they will begin serving flights. Continue reading