GoFundMe
Fundraiser for the Briseño Family at Smog City Brewing
These photos were taken Friday afternoon at Smog City Brewing in Torrance, where they held a fundraiser for the family of their Retail Director, Jason Briseño. A couple weeks ago, the family home of more than 30 years was destroyed by a quick moving fire that had started within the walls of the house. With no time to remove items from the house, the Briseños lost virtually everything they owned.
All day Friday, $3.00 from every pint sold went to the fund to help the family rebuild. While I was there, some great homemade cookies were made available for $1.00 each, which also went to the fund. As a side note, those cookies paired amazingly well with Smog City’s Infinite Wishes.
While there, I overheard a conversation between a Smog City regular and Smog City co-founder Laurie Porter. The regular had thanked Laurie and Smog City for putting the event together; Laurie’s response was pretty simple, “Jason is family.” Continue reading
In memory of Jeff Sanders
On Monday morning, members of the South Bay’s craft beer community were shocked to hear of the loss of one of their own, Jeff Sanders. Jeff was a long time (if not lifetime) resident of the South Bay that loved animals, friends and craft beer. Jeff was a member of the Strand Brewers Club and as such, many members of the club joined his other friends for a memorial at Phantom Carriage on Tuesday evening.
I must admit that I was not really sure what I was going to write to accompany these photos and over the past 24 hours many ideas have wandered through my head; death, friendship and depression being the original topics that came to mind. Soon after arriving at Phantom Carriage last night, I was pretty sure that I was going to have to let the photos do most of the talking.
I cannot speak for where you live, but the South Bay’s craft beer community is just that, a tight-knit community. Last night, the community seemed a lot more like family. I knew Jeff, but it is not like we hung out together. I probably first met him at a Strand Brewers Club meeting, but I saw him at many events and when I look at the photos that I captured him in, he always seemed to be smiling and having a good time. It was very obvious that many of those attending last night’s gathering knew him a lot better than I and that they all felt they had lost a very good friend. Continue reading