Crooked Stave

GABF Begins: Day One

Published October 6, 2017 | By Lloyd Brown

These photos were taken Thursday evening at the Colorado Convention Center, where the Brewers Association is holding their 36th annual Great American Beer Festival (GABF). The event runs through Saturday.

If you have never attended GABF, think what it might be like to be a kid locked overnight in a candy factory; where would you begin? That is precisely the predicament I faced as I entered the huge venue, filled with 800 breweries pouring more than 3800 beers. In a word, it is a little overwhelming; I probably wandered around for close to 30 minutes, chatting with friends from various Southern California breweries and taking photos before I had my first beer. I did not want to spend my time drinking beer I can easily get at home, but with 800 breweries to choose from, where do you start? Continue reading →

Posted in Beer Festivals | Tagged Beachwood Blendery, Beachwood Brewing, Bell's Brewery, Bottle Logic Brewing, Brewers Association, Colorado Convention Center, Crooked Stave, Denver, GABF, Great American Beer Festival, HoppyPlace, HopSaint Brewing Company, Ironfire Brewing Company, photos, Russian River Brewing, Ventura Coast Brewing Company | Leave a comment

The Shelton Brothers blow away LA craft beer freaks

Published November 10, 2014 | By Lloyd Brown

This past weekend was nothing short of amazing in the craft beer world as Shelton Brothers, importers and distributors of small batch beers and ciders from all over the world, brought The Festival 2014 to the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro. The Festival 2014 took place over the course of four sessions split up over Saturday and Sunday afternoon. There were literally beers from all four corners of the world with close to 100 breweries represented and probably close to 400 different brews to choose from. Someone commented to me that it would be impossible to try all the offerings in one session. The fact of the matter is that it would be impossible to try everything there over the course of the four sessions.

The Saturday sessions were very well attended, but with all the amazing brews available there were only two booths that even had a line, 3 Fonteinen and Cantillon; by Sunday even they had no lines. It is not very often that you can go to a beer festival and have no lines for Beachwood, Firestone or The Bruery. I understand that San Diego Beer Week started on the same weekend, but if you drove to San Diego instead of staying in LA I am afraid you blew it. The selection of beer at The Festival would be pretty tough to beat anywhere.

Like many of you, when I go to a beer festival I like to try beers I have not had an opportunity to try before; at The Festival 2014 I was able to try numerous beers from breweries I had never heard of. Of course, there were plenty of breweries I had heard of, just never experienced and I did my best to make up for that. Continue reading →

Posted in Beer News | Tagged 8 Wired Brewing, Anchorage Brewing Company, Arizona Wilderness Brewing Company, Bagby Beer Company, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing, Beer festival, Bier Factory Rapperswil, Bluejacket Brewery, Bottle Logic Brewing, Brasserie de Blaugies, Brasserie du Pays Flamand, Brasserie l'ancienne, Brasserie Trois Dames, Brauhaus Hartmannsdorf, Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, Brouwerij de Molen, Brouwerij West, Burning Sky, Cantillon Brewery, Celestial Meads, Cellarmaker Brewing Company, Cervesa Marina, Companyia Cervesera del Montseny, Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles, Crooked Stave, Faction Brewing, Firestone Walker, Freigeist Bierkultur, Hanson Brothers Beer Company, Harvestmoon Brewery, Hill Farmstead Brewery, Hobbybrouwerij Het Nest, Jester King Brewery, Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Mikkeller, Oersoep Brewery, Prairie Artisan Ales, Saint Somewhere Brewing Company, Sharefest, Shelton Brothers, Shmaltz Brewing Company, Telegraph Brewing Company, The Bruery, Weird Beard Brew Company | Leave a comment

The Festival 2014 at CRAFTED: Promo Code

Published October 23, 2014 | By Lloyd Brown

The Festival 2014: Los Angeles Edition

There are beer fests and then there are beer festivals and my regular readers know that I attend quite a few beer festivals of various sizes and styles. Around the Los Angeles area we primarily see beer fests that concentrate on American craft beers with an emphasis on the burgeoning local craft beer scene; and why not, there are some amazing beers being brewed in Southern California lately. Back in July The Alpine Village in Torrance held their first ever Euro Bierfest 2014, featuring more than 50 beers from France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Iceland, England, Czech Republic and Sweden. It was one of those events that any true craft beer lover should not miss; but we have a new [to Los Angeles] beer festival that will be held November 8 and 9 that looks to be a festival for the ages; The Festival 2014: Los Angeles Edition.

Presented by Shelton Brothers and Sharefest in collaboration with Brouwerij West at CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, The Festival 2014 will be bringing you craft beer from all four corners of the globe with almost 100 breweries being represented. Not only are there more than 90 breweries in attendance, you will have the opportunity to meet more than 70 of the best beer, cider, and mead makers in the world!

If you think this is an exaggeration, take a look at the breweries scheduled to attend. International breweries include 8 Wired (New Zealand), Amager Bryghus (Denmark), Au Baron (France), Baird (Japan), Be.Er Brewery (Belgium), Birra Toccalmatto (Italy), Blaugies (Belgium), Brasserie Dunham (Quebec, Canada), Brekeriet (Sweden), Brew By Numbers (England), Brewfist (Italy), Burning Sky (England), Nøgne Ø (Norway), Oersoep (Netherlands), Oliver’s Cider and Perry (United Kingdom), Partizan (England), Pays Flamand (France), Peckham’s Cider (New Zealand), Rappi Bier Factory (Switzerland), Ribela (Spain). Ritterguts (Germany), Rooie Dop (The Netherlands), Shiga Kogen (Japan) and many more.

Just so you do not think that the American breweries have been left out, you will also find such breweries as AEppelTreow Winery (Wisconsin), Arizona Wilderness (Arizona), Cambridge Brewing Company (Massachusetts), Celestial Meads (MA), Crooked Stave (Colorado), Hair of the Dog (Oregon) Jolly Pumpkin (Michigan), Mystic Brewery (Massachusetts), Oxbow Brewing (Maine), Prairie Artisan Ales (Oklahoma), Pretty Things (Massachusetts) and Saint Somewhere (Florida) will also be pouring. California craft breweries Bagby Beer, Beachwood BBQ, Bottle Logic, Brouwerij West, Cellarmaker, Faction, Firestone Walker, Monkish, Rare Barrel, San Pedro Brewing Company, Tahoe Mountain, Telegraph and The Bruery will also be among those in attendance. Continue reading →

Posted in Beer News | Tagged 8 Wired Brewing, Allagash Brewing Company, Amager Bryghus, American Craft Beer, Anchorage Brewing Company, Arizona Wilderness Brewing Company, Artisan Beverage Cooperative, Au Baron, ÆppelTreow Winery & Distillery, Bagby Beer Company, Baird Brewing, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing, Beer festival, Beryllium Erbium Brewery, Bier Factory Rapperswil, Birra Toccalmatto, Bluejacket Brewery, Bottle Logic Brewing, Brasserie de Blaugies, Brasserie de Jandrain-Jandrenouille, Brasserie de la Senne, Brasserie du Pays Flamand, Brasserie Dunham, Brasserie Saint Germain, Brasserie Thiriez, Brasserie Trois Dames, Brekeriet, Brewfist, Brodie's Beers, Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, Brouwerij de Molen, Brouwerij De Ranke, Brouwerij de Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren, Brouwerij Kerkom, Brouwerij West, Burning Sky, Buxton Brewery, Ca l’Arenys/Guineu, Cambridge Brewing Company, Cantillon Brewery, Celestial Meads, Cellarmaker Brewing Company, Cervesa Marina, Cidrerie Traditionnelle du Perche, Companyia Cervesera del Montseny, craft beers, Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles, Crooked Stave, De Struise Brouwers, Dieu du Ciel!, discount code, Faction Brewing, Firestone Walker, Freigeist Bierkultur, fundraiser, Fyne Ales, Hair of the Dog Brewing Company, Hanson Brothers Beer Company, Harvestmoon Brewery, Hill Farmstead Brewery, Hobbybrouwerij Het Nest, International craft beer, Jester King Brewery, Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Lagar de Ribela A Estrada, Les Trois Mousquetaires, Les Vergers de la Colline, Magic Rock Brewing, Mahr’s Bräu, Microbrasserie Le Trou du diable, Microbrouwerij Rooie Dop, Mikkeller, Minoh Beer, Monkish Brewing Company, Moor Beer Company, Nøgne Ø, Oersoep Brewery, Oliver Breweries, Oxbow Brewing Company, Partizan Brewing, Peckham’s, Prairie Artisan Ales, Pressure Drop Brewing, Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project, promo code, Renaissance Brewing, Ritterguts, Saint Somewhere Brewing Company, San Pedro, Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, Sharefest, Shelton Brothers, Shiga Kogen Beer, Side Project Brewing, Siren Craft Brew, Tahoe Mountain Brewing Company, Telegraph Brewing Company, The Bruery, The Festival 2014, The Monarchy, The Rare Barrel, To Øl, Tree House Brewing Company, Weird Beard Brew Company | Leave a comment

Support Your Local Independent Brewery In These Difficult Times

Crooked Stave

GABF Begins: Day One

The Shelton Brothers blow away LA craft beer freaks

The Festival 2014 at CRAFTED: Promo Code