photos
Festival Obscura at Sunnyside Cemetery
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the inaugural, and hopefully the first of many, Festival Obscura at Sunnyside Cemetery in Long Beach, California. The event was a fundraiser for Sunnyside Cemetery; the second oldest cemetery in Long Beach and one of the oldest in California.
While the rest of the country was baking under a nationwide heat wave, the temperature in Long Beach was more like the mid to high-70s, with a cooling breeze that really felt nice; especially if you were in the shade.
While I did not count them, the sold-out event featured more than 40 craft breweries, wineries, and cider makers. In addition to the libations, there were at least 20 booths featuring macabre artists, historians, merchants, and at least one tarot card reader. There were also several food trucks, and live music provided by at least two bands that I noticed. Continue reading
King Harbor Brewing Village Tap Room Now Open
These photos were taken Thursday evening at King Harbor Brewing Company’s new satellite tasting room located in the Riviera Village area of Redondo Beach.
Redondo Beach’s first, and so far only, production brewery has announced that their dominance of Redondo is nearing completion with the opening of their second satellite tasting room, thus creating their own Beermuda Triangle.
Those of you that attended the Riviera Summer Festival last weekend and were paying attention, may have noticed that the King Harbor Village Tap Room had opened their doors for a “very soft” soft opening; apparently it was very well received by those that did notice. Thursday evening’s soft open was primarily a friends and family event, but a sandwich board was placed outside so those strolling by were aware that the doors were now open and the taps were flowing. Continue reading
Travis and Josh Birthday Party at South Bay Customs
These photos were taken Saturday evening at South Bay Customs in El Segundo, where Travis Lavoie celebrated his 40th birthday, and his friend Josh Linden celebrated his 35th birthday. The birthday party was attended by close to 100 of their friends and family, and featured live music by local band, Pork Chop Express who provided the music for my first experience of live punk/rock karaoke.
Anyone that has been a long-time fan of El Segundo Brewing, and has visited their tasting room, probably either knows, or at least has met Travis. I think I met him there about six years ago when I first started going to El Segundo Brewing. Josh is another local El Segundo guy that I just met last night, but apparently went to El Segundo High the same time my kids did. The party had the feel that the attendees were long time friends, so most of them probably grew up in El Segundo; it was a fun group. Continue reading
Brewmo Pseudo-Sumo Showdown at Three Weavers
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Three Weavers Brewing Company in Inglewood, where they held their 1st Annual Brewmo Pseudo-Sumo Showdown. The inaugural event was sponsored by BSG CraftBrewing, Prospero, and Stradling Attorneys at Law.
The “sumo wrestlers” were brewers from about 14 LA County Brewers Guild member breweries stretching from Palmdale to San Pedro and Long Beach.
The brewers were broken into four groups; Water, Malt, Hops, and Yeast. Following strict sumo wrestling protocol, the matches were best two out of three, double elimination with the winners advancing to the Cellar and Brewhouse Divisions. Continue reading
LA Beer Week 2018 Kickoff Festival Photos
These photos were taken Saturday at the LA Brewers Kickoff Festival which was held at the Los Angeles Center Studios in Los Angeles. This event marked the beginning of the 10th Annual L.A. Beer Week, and featured more than 80 independent craft breweries; including about 66 Los Angeles County Brewers Guild member breweries.
In addition to the copious amount of beer that was available, the Kickoff Festival also featured live music, games, food, and water for staying hydrated. Unlike last year when the temperature was over 100 degrees, yesterday was overcast for a good portion of the day which kept the temperature down to the low to mid-70s; people seemed relieved, and I even saw a couple sweaters being carried around. Continue reading
Scholb Premium Ales Celebrates Two Year Anniversary
These photos were taken Sunday at Scholb Premium Ales in Torrance, where they celebrated two years of brewing. The event featured $5.00 pours from their 17 taps, their first bottle release, live entertainment, food, games, raffles and giveaways all day long.
While the anniversary party was advertised minimally, the Scholb tasting room filled up nicely with both regular attendees and a few first-timers. Scholb gave away Scholb glassware to the first 100 customers; and gave raffle tickets with every beer purchased. Bibb’s BBQ filled the brewery with great aromas, while DJ Cancun Joey and CAL1FA filled the room with their mellow tunes.
Scholb also used the opportunity to have their first bottle release, Tall, Dank & Handsome; it is a full-bodied IPA featuring Mosaic and Columbus hops to give it its lingering dankness. Continue reading
Photos from The Rarest Experience 2018
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Stout Burgers and Beers Hollywood location, where they held The Rarest Experience 2018 on the Stout parking lot. Presented by Beer Fest for Beer Geeks, The Rarest Experience featured close to 40 extremely rare beers collected and cellared by the National Beer Manager for Stout Burgers & Beers, Joey Anderson over the years.
In addition to the outstanding beer selection, attendees were treated to treats from the Stout kitchen, including lamb meatballs, grilled cheese sandwiches and sliders. Cornhole and Jenga were set up for those with a competitive nature, and live music was provided by 1950’s inspired Los Angeles based rock band, The Miskreants. They also raffled off a few homebrew kits as well as a barrel that had been used by The Brews Brothers.
As this may be the last in The Rarest Experience series of beer festivals, Anderson and Stout did not hold back; take a look at the official beer list: Continue reading
5th Annual South Bay Beer & Wine Festival Photos
These photos were taken Sunday afternoon at the 5th Annual South Bay Beer & Wine Festival which was held on Sunday at Ernie Howlett Park in Rolling Hills Estates. Presented by the Rotary Club of Palos Verdes Peninsula and Rotary Club of South Bay Sunrise, 99.9% of the proceeds from this year’s charity fundraising event will go to support the Pediatric Therapy Network and Wounded Heroes of America.
The South Bay Beer & Wine Festival is arguably the best craft beer festival within 100 miles of the South Bay, with unlimited pours from a reported 43 craft breweries (assembled by Beer Paper’s own Daniel Drennon), 17 wineries and food samples from 45 different restaurants and food vendors. People that purchased VIP tickets not only got in early, but they had access to additional vendors offering vodka, tequila and additional food options. Continue reading
The Mason Jar Brewing Company
Saturday afternoon was set aside to travel to Menifee so I could watch my six year old grandson participate in the finals of a talent show put on by the Boys & Girls Club of Menifee Valley. It was being held at a church, so craft beer was the furthest thing from my mind when we pulled onto New Hub Drive in Menifee. As my sister passed the church, she swung the car around at the first street parking spot. As I stepped out of the car, to my surprise was The Mason Jar Brewing Company.
Mason Jar Brewing opened their doors in 2015, and brew with a 10bbl system and 20bbl fermenters. When I was there, they had 16 brews on tap. A look at the tap list made me think that they brew what they like; they aren’t just brewing it because it is faddish. They don’t distribute, and seemed like a neighborhood tasting room with a lot of regulars. Continue reading
Najas Place 10th Annual IPA Festival Photos
These photos were taken Wednesday afternoon at Naja’s Place in Redondo Beach, where they are holding their 10th annual IPA Festival. The annual event started Wednesday afternoon and will run through May 23, with over 80 IPAs to be served over the course of the week.
If you have never attended Naja’s IPA Festival, it works like this. Naja’s pretty much turns 80 taps from a variety of beers to just IPAs; Session, West Coast, New England, Hazy, Black, Doubles, and Triples. Attendees pay $15 for their first pour, which comes in a commemorative mug, and you get a commemorative bottle opener. From that point on, you just bring back your mug and you can refill it for $6.00, $7.00, or $8.00. Take the mug home and return any day of the festival to get it filled for those prices. Continue reading