Hand-Brewed Beer
Brewtopia Returns to the Brewery at Abigaile
These photos were taken Saturday at Abigaile Restaurant and Brewery, where they held another in what is becoming their regular series of Brewtopia craft beer festivals. Saturday’s event featured unlimited tastings from Brewery Draconum, Common Space, Firestone Walker, Hand-Brewed Beer, Karl Strauss, King Harbor Brewing, MacLeod Ale, Pacific Plate Brewing, and The Brewery at Abigaile, as well as cider offerings from 101 Cider House. Attendees also had access to a complimentary buffet, and were automatically entered in raffles that included swag, a growler fill from Abigaile and a gift certificate to Abigaile as prizes.
People that attended Brewtopia in February, and there were several, were treated to a much better version on Saturday; I spoke with most of the people that attended both events and everyone agreed that it was like night and day. Saturday’s event had a wider selection of beers, free food, and definitely more attendees, so I guess their improved advertising made a huge difference; even if there was a last minute date change from Sunday to Saturday. Continue reading
LA County Brewers Guild Inaugural Beer and Food Fest Photos
These photos were taken at the inaugural L.A. Beer and Food Festival, which was presented by the Los Angeles County Brewers Guild Saturday afternoon at the Mack Sennett Studios in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles.
I was going to say that for an inaugural event, the turnout was outstanding; but the reality is that they sold out 650 tickets, which is pretty outstanding whether it was the inaugural or 10th annual event. The reality is that the venue probably could not hold much more and remain comfortable.
With close to 50 breweries, all members of the L.A. County Brewers Guild, and at least 15 food vendors there was something for everyone. Although the photos may give the impression that the place was packed, there were virtually no lines for beer. Some of the food vendors may have had a little trouble keeping up with demand, but I heard no complaints because everything (that I tried anyway) was delicious. Continue reading
LMU Beer Festival 2016 Photos
These photos were taken Saturday at the LMU Beer Fest 2016, which was held on Hannon Field on the Loyola Marymount University campus. The event featured beer from 24 craft breweries, live music by Phoenix Rising, access to six food trucks and a few games of skill. As one person mentioned to me, it was one of the best inaugural events in recent memory.
The beer festival was hosted by the LMU Alumni Association and was a fundraiser to support student athletes through the Lions Athletic Fund. As it turns out there are a lot of brewery owners in the LA area that are LMU alumni, like Allison Kolb of Scholb Premium Ales and Tom Dunbabin of King Harbor Brewing; Steve Farguson of Absolution Brewing has a son that currently attends LMU.
Being the inaugural event, ticket sales were limited; I am going to guess that there were a lot of alumni that purchased tickets to the event with no real intention of attending. This is just a guess, but the VIP session had sold out and there were not very many people for that session. By the end of the day, I would guess that they had a few hundred attendees. Continue reading
LA Beer Week Kickoff Festival Photos
LA Beer Week 2016 (LABW8) started off in prime form Saturday afternoon by showcasing more than 45 of the Los Angeles County Brewers Guild breweries with almost as many special guest breweries, pouring more than 200 different beers; a few of the breweries represented used the LA Beer Week Kickoff Festival to release new beers.
The sold out kickoff festival was held at the Los Angeles Center Studios and in addition to the massive amount of beer there was live music, plenty of food trucks, and lots of water. Luckily, the heat wave that struck Los Angeles was kind enough to wait until the next day; that is not to say it wasn’t hot, but it probably wasn’t over 90. Luckily, the Los Angeles Center Studios is a pretty massive location so there was plenty of shade and somewhere to go sit if desired. Continue reading
Photos from PINT Magazine’s Inaugural Laughs by Volume
On Saturday afternoon PINT Magazine held their inaugural “Laughs by Volume” craft beer festival at LA Mother which is located at The Carriage House in Hollywood. Laughs by Volume provided a twist to the typical craft beer festival in that they added comedy to the mix by having local comedians Evan Wecksell, Sammy Obeid, Jason Love, Atsuko Okatsuka, Jonesy and Stevie Mack perform for the festival attendees.
Laughs by Volume was held over three sessions, with the first beginning at 1:00 PM, followed by 5:00 and 9:00 sessions. As I had other events to cover, I opted to attend the 1:00 show. To say that the event got off to a shaky start would be an understatement but when I stop to think about it, they had the same issues I have seen at just about every beer festival I have attended. Things like jockey boxes messing up, not enough ice, or volunteers not showing up.
Luckily, the 1:00 show was not very crowded so any slight inconveniences were pretty much blown off; additionally, people that attended the first session were told they could stick around for the second session. It is my understanding the 5:00 show had the most pre-sold tickets; I have a feeling it came off as much more organized by then because everything was set up pretty well and there was plenty of ice for all the beer by the time the 1:00 session ended. Continue reading
Laughs By Volume Update: New Breweries Added
A couple of weeks ago I informed you of an upcoming craft beer event, Laughs By Volume, which is being held January 30, 2016 at LA Mother, located at 1627 N. Gower Street in Hollywood.
In my initial post I listed the participating breweries as Santa Monica Brew Works, Absolution Brewing, The Good Beer Company, Hand-Brewed Beer, Fireman’s Brew, The Bruery, The Great Beer Company, Four Sons Brewing, Kinetic Brewing Company, Congregation Ale House and Pacific Plate Brewing. I am happy to announce that the number of participating breweries has been increased to include Timeless Pints, Mission Brewery and The Dudes’ Brewing Company however, Congregation will not be participating.
I also mentioned that everyone attending Laughs By Volume will receive a gift bag with products, discounts and special offers from all the participating sponsors; this too has been expanded and is now valued at over $300! Continue reading
Laughs By Volume, January 30: Discount Code
Happy New Year, everyone; I have a feeling this is going to be a fun, beer-filled year. I would like to tell you about an upcoming craft beer event that will be held January 30, 2016. Laughs By Volume, presented by PINT Magazine will present a new twist on your typical local craft beer festival by including comedy from local comedians. Included in the price of admission is a souvenir PINT glass, three hours of unlimited tastings of at least 20 different brews, six comedy acts and an amateur comedy contest with a cash prize. So, if you get funnier the more you drink, you might want to enter the contest.
As far as the breweries represented, at this time they will have Santa Monica Brew Works, Absolution Brewing, The Good Beer Company, Hand-Brewed Beer, Fireman’s Brew, The Bruery, The Great Beer Company, Four Sons Brewing, Kinetic Brewing Company, Congregation Ale House and Pacific Plate Brewing.
Comedians scheduled to appear include Evan Wecksell, Sammy Obeid, Jason Love, Atsuko Okatsuka, Jonesy and Stevie Mack. These guys have been on everything from MTV to David Letterman so it should be pretty fun. Continue reading
The Craft Beer Guy 2015 Year in Review
HopSaint Brewing Company Now Soon!
There were several beer buyouts that seemed to dominate most other craft beer sites, but the craft world in my immediate domain only seemed to increase. Yeah, Golden Road got bought, but I only went there for special events and I guess that means there will be fewer of them there in the future. In the meantime, the reach of this site seems to be increasing. In the beginning people pretty much pigeonholed this site as covering the South Bay craft beer scene only. This year I covered various local beer events from the Antelope Valley to Orange County. Attendees have come up asking if I am now covering the west side, or wherever we might be. I guess the answer is yes; and I will expand my area as long as it is requested.
2015 in the South Bay ended pretty much as it started, with the soft open of a new brewpub. In January Phantom Carriage officially opened, and at the end of December HopSaint Brewing Company opened their doors. While they are open daily, the official opening of HopSaint will be January 1, 2016 when they will start serving lunch at 11:30 AM. Continue reading
LA Local Craft Beer & Artisanal Food Fest Photos
These photos are from the inaugural L.A. Local Craft Beer & Artisanal Food Fest that was held Saturday afternoon at the Alpine Village Restaurant in Alpine Village located in Torrance. As hinted by the name, this event featured craft beer brewed in Los Angeles County and artisanal food vendors from the Los Angeles area. I would venture to say that there were close to 500 attendees which far exceeded the expectations of Alpine Village, but for the most part things went smoothly, all things considered.
The last update that I had received suggested that there would be 31 craft breweries represented but by the time the map/program was printed only 29 were listed and not all of them were available. To say that there was some confusion would be putting it mildly. I am not going to pretend to know what arrangements were made, but it was my understanding that Alpine Village had purchased the beers rather than relying on donations from the breweries. The end result was that some of the breweries sent representatives to be on-hand to pour and some did not. Some of the beers did not even make it onto the floor until the event was half over. The breweries that I saw, or at least heard from reputable sources were there, included California 101 Cider House, Absolution Brewing, Eagle Rock Brewing, Strand Brewing, Phantom Carriage, Santa Monica Brew Works, Timeless Pints, Smog City, Wolf Creek, Hand-Brewed, Enegren, Bravery Brewing, Boomtown Brewing, Three Weavers, Solarc Brewing, Cosmic Ales, The Dudes’, King Harbor Brewing, Golden Road, Monkish, Ohana, San Pedro Brewing Company and Congregation Ale House. I am not saying others were not there, I just never spotted them. On a personal level, it was good to see Enegren Brewing represented as I have not visited them in well over two years and it was nice to finally meet the guys from Hand-Brewed and having the opportunity to try one of their brews (Deez Nuts Brown Ale). Continue reading
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