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Welcome Enzo Craft Beer Can Exchange
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the Craft Beer Reclamation Center (AKA my house) where a couple dozen of us gathered to hold a craft beer can exchange to welcome Enzo (Nina and Jason’s new baby) to our craft beer family.
Nina and Jason joined our group a couple years ago when we held one of our exchanges at King Harbor Brewing. Nina came up and asked what it was we were doing, and before we knew it, she had disappeared over to Total Wine. When she returned she had four 4-paks with her and it was pretty obvious that this was something she understood and appreciated. Over the years we were there as they got engaged, married, and became new parents. Enzo was immediately welcomed to the group and he seemed to have a good time yesterday. Continue reading
Sugar Monkey Brewing Grand Opening Photos
These photos were taken Friday afternoon at the Sugar Monkey Social Club, in El Segundo, where they celebrated day one of the Sugar Monkey Brewing Grand Opening. In case you missed my article about their soft open, Sugar Monkey took over the old Upshift Brewing location.
I arrived shortly after they opened and they already had a pretty decent crowd forming, and ‘The Best Umbrella’ pizza, manned by Sugar Monkey’s head brewer, Jason Eich, was cranking out pizzas as fast as his pizza oven would allow. Continue reading
Trademark Brewing 5th Anniversary Photos
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon, June 1, when my friend Phil and I headed to Long Beach to attend Trademark Brewing’s 5th anniversary celebration. Sorry for the delay, but I had some out-of-town guests that I can only suggest have been a bad influence over the past few days; but that is what friends do, right?
I have only been to Trademark once before, and that was back in 2021, which means we were in the middle of our COVID lockdown and no one could go inside to drink. I was allowed to go in (since there was no one else in there) to grab some photos, but this was the first time I saw the location with consumers inside and the tap handles actually in use. Continue reading
Introducing Sugar Monkey Brewing
These photos were taken Wednesday afternoon at the new Sugar Monkey Brewing, at the Sugar Monkey Social Club, in El Segundo, where they opened their doors for day one of their soft open. For those wondering, yes, Sugar Monkey Brewing took over the old Upshift Brewing location.
For those paying close attention, yes, I did mention the Sugar Monkey Social Club; which I will do my best to explain. The back of Sugar Monkey Brewing has a nice tented area, with plenty of seating, and that section is the Sugar Monkey Social Club, with the taproom being Sugar Monkey Brewing. Continue reading
11th South Bay Beer & Wine Festival Photos
These photos were taken Sunday afternoon at Ernie Howlett Park, in Rolling Hills, where close to 1,000 people gathered for the 11th South Bay Beer & Wine Festival. Presented by the Rotary Clubs of Palos Verdes Peninsula, San Pedro and Southbay Sunrise (Torrance), all proceeds fund community outreach programs within the South Bay and Harbor cities of Los Angeles.
The event featured craft beer, wine, food and spirits (for VIP ticket holders) from 100 vendors, live music, a pretty upscale souvenir tasting glass, and free parking. Combine that with an outdoor venue that includes zero asphalt, just nice, cool, green grass. It really takes advantage of our local weather. When it all comes together it becomes pretty easy to see why I have called this one of the best craft beer festivals within 100 miles. Continue reading
Rob’s Birthday Party at Project Barley Square
These photos were taken Saturday evening at Project Barley Square, in Torrance, where they were closed for a private event to celebrate the birthday of a high school classmate, Rob. The event featured a taco bar, live music, and plenty of cask ales.
I am sure regular visitors to local breweries have probably seen Rob, even if you don’t know his name. He can frequently be found in area tasting rooms with his kilt and bicycle, or his dogs and a pint, dancing an Irish jig. Continue reading
El Segundo Brewing 13th Anniversary Photos
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at El Segundo Brewing Company, where they were celebrating 13 years of being the South Bay’s most hopcentric brewery. The day featured food from Buddha Boy Tacos, the White Dog of the Year finals, a dog adoption put on by SPCALA, and a tap list offering 22 selections, including their anniversary brews, Greetings from El Segundo TIPA and Lost in the Mail QIPA.
It was a pretty nice afternoon as far as the weather was concerned, so that was a pleasant change from our recent temperatures. There was a nice group of beer consumers, and lots of dogs, which is always a good thing in my book. Continue reading
Port Town Brewing – From the Beginning
This article has taken me over five years to put together. The first photos were taken in September 2018, with the most recent ones being taken Friday afternoon.
Ever since 2017, I have been suggesting that Port Town Brewing should open within the next year. Well, I am happy to announce that they are finally open! Continue reading
Celebrating Cambodian New Year at Three Weavers
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Three Weavers brewing Company in Inglewood, where beer drinkers and vendors gathered to celebrate Cambodian New Year. The event featured a lot of Cambodian foods, including barbecued meats and a surprisingly large amount of sweets. One of the featured food popups was Battambong BBQ, aka The Cambodian Cowboy, with whom Three Weavers did a collaboration brew called Cambodian Cowboy IPA.
Now, for those that wonder about such things, it turns out that Cambodian New Year is actually a three-day event that takes place in the middle of April. Even when I was asking Cambodian vendors about their New Year traditions, none of them even mentioned that it was actually a few weeks ago. Oh well. Continue reading
A Visit to Brewery X and Bottle Logic
These photos were taken Friday afternoon in Anaheim, where I met a couple friends for visits to Brewery X and Bottle Logic Brewing. This was my first visit to Brewery X, and the first time in almost 10 years that I had visited Bottle Logic.
I was joined by my friends Jay and his bride, Diana, who I have been friends with long before I became The Craft Beer Guy. In fact, I consider Jay one of my success stories in that when we first met, he was all about Coors Light; now he visits breweries on a regular basis and I even spotted them at a craft beer festival a few years ago. Jay and I have been talking about meeting up for a while now; we finally made that happen on Friday. Naturally, I brought Roxy with me. Continue reading