live music

Sierra Nevada Hop Harvest Festival Photos

These photos were taken Saturday, October 19, day 20 of Craft Beer Tour 2019; my annual craft beercation taken before and after the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver. These photos were taken at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California; primarily of their 2019 Single, Fresh, Wet & Wild Hop Harvest Festival, which was put on by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company and the California Craft Brewers Association. I say the photos are primarily of the Hop Harvest Festival because I did go to the taproom a couple hours earlier just to figure out where everything was; and it was a little too early for me to check in to my room.

Since the entire reason that I returned to the Pacific Northwest two years running is fresh hop IPAs, attending this event seemed like a match made in Hop Heaven. I have to give credit to HopSaint Brewing Company owner Steve Roberts for putting this event on my radar. A few days before I left for Denver, and GABF, I went to HopSaint where Steve same up to say hello. After chatting a bit about GABF he mentioned they would be pouring at Sierra Nevada’s Hop Harvest Festival shortly after GABF ended. When I saw that it was being held on the 19th I took it as a sign, since that was the date I would be entering California anyway; and I would be driving right by Chico anyway. Continue reading

Barktoberfest 2019 at Absolution Brewing Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Absolution Brewing Company, in Torrance, where they held Barktoberfest 2019; an afternoon where the dogs literally took over the production brewery’s tasting room, with a portion of the proceeds from the beer sold going to benefit spcaLA.

After leaving the Craft Beer LB Fest I headed home to get Buddy, one of the South Bay’s well known brewery dogs to join me at Barktoberfest. He was in doggy heaven.

The extremely dog friendly event featured live music from Nasty Bad Habit, a food popup, and lots of dogs that all seemed to enjoy each other’s company. It is not unusual for there to be a dog or two that is not as ecstatic to hang out with other dogs, but everyone seemed to happy to be there; there were dog smiles everywhere. Continue reading

Summit Beer Festival 2019 Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Marina Green Park in Long Beach, where the California Craft Brewers Association (CCBA) culminated their three day celebration of California craft beer and the CCBA’s 30 years of protecting and supporting the more than 1000 breweries in the state of California with California’s largest craft beer festival which featured 170 craft breweries from around the state.

To be honest, I almost did not make it due to the fact that I seemed to have picked up some type of convention crud on Thursday. I didn’t feel too bad on Friday, so I toughed it out and substituted handshakes with fist bumps; unfortunately, while that may have prevented me from spreading the bug to others, it did nothing to make me feel better Saturday. I felt worse than I have in years and it was very hot which did not make it any easier on me. But, as I am having another craft beer festival in a few months there was research to be done; so I struggled through it. Continue reading

5th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover Photos

These photos were taken Thursday, September 5, at Tortilla Cantina Taco Bistro and Sports Bar in Torrance, where they hosted my 5th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover. This year’s event featured beer, cider and mead from 26 of the South Bay’s best breweries and cideries, and live music featuring Ashleigh Correa. For the first time, there were two anniversary brews commemorating five years of putting on the South Bay Tap Takeover.

One of the anniversary beers was Better Weather Sweater IPA, which was a collaboration beer brewed at Smog City last month with 20 South Bay breweries. Better Weather Sweater came out amazing; it is very well balanced and with a 5.9 ABV, it is perfectly crushable for this heat we are going through. Better Weather Sweater will be released today (Friday) at all the Smog City locations and at several brewpubs throughout the Los Angeles area. It is perfect for those that complain about IPAs being “too hoppy” as that is not going to be a complaint from anyone. The second anniversary beer was 2nd Cold War Russian Imperial Stout, a collaboration I did with Zymurgy Brew Works back in April. As Zymurgy was sold to Smog City, this was officially the last Zymurgy beer to be commercially available. Continue reading

5th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover Coming September 5

collaboration brew

Better Weather Sweater Collaboration Brew Team

Clear your calendars; one week from today, Thursday September 5, I will be presenting my 5th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover at Tortilla Cantina in Old Torrance.

If you have attended any of the previous four tap takeovers, you have a pretty good idea of what to expect; if you have never been I can summarize with at least 25 South Bay breweries/cideries pouring from 50 taps.

When I started this in 2015, we had 10 South Bay breweries with 40 taps; in 2016 there were 15, and in 2017 we had 18 South Bay breweries with 40 taps. In 2018 there was a change of management at the original venue (Flights), and they decided they wanted to do their own thing. I wished them luck, and then approached Rick Gomez of Tortilla Cantina to see if they would be interested in hosting the 4th annual tap takeover. I approached Rick for three reasons; I knew he was a big supporter of the local craft beer scene, every South Bay brewery owner I spoke with knew and really liked Rick, and I knew he had 48 taps. I do not think Rick really knew what he was in for, but he went all-in and the 4th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover ended up featuring 22 local breweries participating, and with the help of a jockey box, 49 taps of craft beer! Continue reading

Photos from the Project Barley Ribbon Cutting

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the Project Barley ribbon cutting, Lomita’s first nano brewery. The event was well attended by friends, family, the Lomita Chamber of Commerce, and various representatives of the Lomita City Council, the State Assembly, State Senate, and the County of Los Angeles. And with that, Lomita became a craft beer destination, sharing the city with Burnin’ Daylight which is about a mile away.

The tap list consisted of their Witbier, Mexican Lager, Pacific Cream Hwy Creme Ale, Parkers Milk Stout, Neverland IPA, Marine Layer Hazy IPA, and Blonde Kettle Sour. There was a hotdog and brat station provided by The Standing Room, whose owner is one of the owners and co-founders of Project Barley. Live music, while I was there, was provided by Barclay Roach; music continued through the day with performances by three other soloists and duos.

The Grand Opening weekend continues when they open at noon Sunday. After that, Project Barley is scheduled to be open seven days a week. Continue reading

Photos from Small Town Feel at Burnin’ Daylight

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Burnin’ Daylight Brewing Company in Lomita, where they held their Small Town Feel Summer Beer Festival. Like their grand opening of a few months ago, they took full advantage of their parking lot and ability to pour guest taps by utilizing several pouring stations to provide 20 different brews, including several collaboration brews.

The tap list showcased just how busy Burnin’ Daylight co-founder and head brewer Brendon Lake has been over the last few months. Burnin’ Daylight brews included their Brewtiful Blueberry Blonde, Strawberry Lemon Lager, Raspberry Lime Grove, Small Town Feel DIPA, Nana’s Porter with Peanut Butter, Rolling Pils, Switchgear Imperial Stout aged bourbon barrels, Bourbon Daylight, Dark Harbor Coconut on Nitro, and Peach Sour Dry Hopped with Citra. Continue reading

11th Annual L.A. Beer Week Kickoff Festival Photos

These photos were taken Saturday at the LA Beer Week Kickoff Festival which was held at the Los Angeles Center Studios in Los Angeles. This event marked the beginning of the 11th Annual L.A. Beer Week and featured more than 90 independent local craft breweries, pouring a reported 250 brews.

Similar to last year, it was a pleasant, mostly overcast day, which sure beats the 100+ temperatures of years past. I did not even notice the sunburn on my face until Sunday.

The annual event also featured games, a DJ, live music, a panel discussion, and food trucks and popups from Slice and Pint, Simmzy’s, Bartz Barbecue, Cousin’s Maine Lobster, Baby’s Badass Burgers, Angry Pig, and Street Kitchen. Continue reading

King Harbor Brewing 5th Anniversary Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon in Redondo Beach, where King Harbor Brewing celebrated their 5th anniversary at their brewery and main tasting room. The ticketed event included a 1 1/2 hour VIP session, followed by a four hour long General Admission session.

VIP attendees were treated to a special menu that included tasters of their award winning Ride the Wild, Radberry Wild, and King Swirly II through IV. VIP attendees also received a bottle of King Harbor’s anniversary beer, Grand Cru; a Flanders style wild red ale aged in Cabernet Sauvignon oak barrels to take home with them. Head Brewer Phil McDaniel gave tours to those interested in how he makes his “sugar water.”

All attendees received very nice commemorative glassware and had access to close to 30 different King Harbor brews, including nine previously unreleased beers, a couple slushies, several beer cocktails made with Tiki Hut and Hermosa Cerveza, and the three entrees to the Employee Beer Contest. Continue reading

Photos From The Propagator Turns 3

These photos were taken Sunday afternoon at Firestone Walker Brewing Company’s – The Propagator location in Marina del Rey, where they held a block party in their parking lot to celebrate their third anniversary. The event featured live music, games, and lots of Firestone Walker brews and food. There was an on-site art sale with the proceeds benefiting the nonprofit Venice Arts. They also had a graduate of the Venice Arts creating art in real time, as well as an area for attendee to create their own street art.

While it was a free to attend event, they did offer a $15 punch card which was good for two beers, a small plate of food, and a commemorative Klean Kanteen stainless steel pint cup. Continue reading

Subscribe To Our Newsletter
Archives