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Photos from the 2014 Euro Bierfest at Alpine Village
It must have been six or seven months ago when Alpine Village General Manager Otto Radtke first mentioned the idea of a European beer festival to me. While I was not entirely sure how well it would be received, there was one thing I was quite confident of, the Alpine Village in Torrance would be the one logical location in the South Bay, possibly in Southern California that could pull this off. Saturday afternoon they proved me right by holding their first ever Euro Bierfest 2014, featuring more than 50 beers from France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Iceland, England, Czech Republic and Sweden to probably 300 attendees.
I do not know if I have ever attended a beer festival that had so few IPAs; there were three only Belgian IPAs, none of which displayed the hoppiness to which Southern Californians have become accustomed but the ciders, sours, Pilsners, stouts, porters, guezes, tripels, quads and various bocks more than made up for it. For people with Untappd accounts, this was an excellent opportunity to rack up some of those more difficult to achieve badges like Belgian Holiday, Johnny Appleseed and Crisp as Day. Even more important was the opportunity to try beers that are rarely seen in any of the beer bars I frequent. It was really fun trying brews that I really had zero knowledge of only to discover how delicious they were.
In addition to the fine biers, there was a buffet of German and American foods available to help soak up some of the alcohol; and there was a Chicken Dance in which contestants displayed their Oktoberfest dancing skills for a chance to win some Alpine Village t-shirts. All in all, this was a blast and I personally enjoyed meeting those of you that came up to say hello. Meeting you people is part of what makes my covering of these events so enjoyable; I thank you. Continue reading
Stone Brewing Company: Pasadena and Escondido
The photos in this gallery were taken over the course of two days. On Tuesday we headed over to the Stone Company Store in Pasadena to check out the Enjoy By 08.16.14 and w00tstout 2.0 on tap before deciding how many bottles to buy. Unfortunately, the Enjoy By seems to fluctuate a lot lately but this batch is great. The w00tstout 2.0 was also worth bringing home. They had a couple Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Liberty Stations; The Sacred Druid Hot and Lil’ Miami Tart available that were quite fun. Between those and the stash we brought home it was well worth the drive. It has been a while since I have been to the Stone Company Store due in large part to the fact that my daughter moved out of Pasadena. It is always a good place to look for the new releases; especially if you want them on tap.
If you have never been, it is at the Metro Station on Raymond. They have a full tap room for pours and filling growlers; they sell kegs, bottles, t-shirts, mustard and anything else Stone Brewing makes. Their tap list has everything you might find at the brewery itself and it is about 70 miles closer than Escondido. It is a clean setup and if you want a wide variety of Stone brews on tap, this is where you want to be. Their 4 oz pours are less than $2.00. Stone Company Store is located at 220 S. Raymond Avenue in Pasadena, CA. They are open seven days a week from 11:00 AM until 9:00 PM.
The next day I was planning on going back to my son’s to check out his Glacier Summer Ale. That morning he said they wanted to take me to lunch for my birthday so it was decided that we would meet at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens in Escondido. While there was a time that Stone Brewing Company was the only real game in town for me, things have changed and it had been probably three years since the last time I was there. I looked forward to experiencing it again. Continue reading
Founders Have Fun at Absolution Brewing Company
On Sunday evening, Torrance’s newest production brewery, Absolution Brewing Company held a private party at their tasting room for members of their loyalty program, The MUG Club, Founders Division. The MUG Club was limited to just 125 people the first year and sold out so quickly that they decided to open it up again for American Craft Beer Week, and named it the ‘R U Feelin’ Wicked’ division. I joined the initial Founders division of the MUG Club and I have spoken with several other MUG Club members and I have yet to meet anyone that regretted their decision. The merchandise received, including t-shirts and a custom growler, combined with discounts and special events makes this a steal. The Founders Have Fun event Sunday night was a great example of the value received.
MUG Club Founders and their guests were treated to free beer, finger foods and live music provided by one of the South Bay’s fun rock bands, Barley Legal. I have several friends that always spoke highly of Barley Legal but this was the first time I heard them play; I have to say, they put on a great show. It only took a couple songs before attendees were dancing in the tasting room and even a couple got an opportunity to sing with them. Barley Legal is one of those acts that definitely gets their audience into the groove with them. If you have an opportunity to see them perform, take it; you will not be disappointed.
If you have not visited Absolution Brewing lately, you should; and if you get a chance, try their new firkin options. They are fast becoming my favorite style from them. If you get a chance to join the Absolution Brewing MUG Club I would jump on it. They really make sure you get full value for your loyalty. Cheers! Continue reading
Stunning upset at Smog City Brewing’s Battle of the Casks III
Saturday was an afternoon of great beer and stunning upsets as Smog City Brewing held their Battle of the Casks, Part 3. The concept was started back in December, 2013 with Battle of the Casks, a friendly competition began which featured five beers on cask, each using Smog City’s Bloody Knuckle Porter as the base beer the five Smog City team members; Jonathan and Laurie Porter, Chris Walowski, Mike Freeman and Ryan Trousdale each created their own tweaks. It was a tight competition with Walowski’s Raspberry Chocolate Sticks Porter Cask getting the most votes; thus entitling him to the coveted Budweiser Belt and bragging rights.
Fast forward four months to April 2014 and the Battle of the Casks, Part 2. In four months Smog City Brewing had grown; plus when there is a champion in town, more people want to take a shot at the title. There were supposed to be six contestants but a couple of casks had technical difficulties and had to be disqualified. This time Amarilla Gorilla IPA was used as the base beer and the result was the same, Walowski wowed the crowd again with his recipe consisting of Merlot Concentrate, Mosaic and Simcoe hops. To be honest, he was looking invincible … until Saturday afternoon. Continue reading
Beachwood BBQ & Brewing 3rd Anniversary Celebration
These photos are from Saturday, July 5 at the Beachwood BBQ & Brewing 3rd Anniversary Celebration. As I tried to decide what to write about this event I thought back to their one year party when they had about 12 of their own brews available and made the event “A Tribute to Southern California Breweries.”
By the time their second anniversary rolled around, head brewer Julian Shrago had accumulated close to 30 brews under his belt and the event showcased Beachwood’s brews with a few guest taps also available. At yesterday’s event there were close to 50 Beachwood brews available along with several collaboration brews like Ghost of Jacob Barley and Unapologetic Double IPA; along with rare beers such as Barrel-Aged Jean-Quad Van Damme and Tovarish. There were also special food menus available as well as an assortment of housemade pickles and Scottish pickled eggs. One of the highlights for me was the release of their anniversary beer, Greenshift Double IPA; it is delicious.
There was a line from the time they opened until well into the afternoon, but it was well worth any wait. For those that arrived later, Beachwood helped them out by not tapping certain rare beers until set times of 1:00, 3:00, 5:00 and 7:00 so that no matter when you were there, the craft beer experience would be one to remember. Continue reading
Home Made Brew & Food Festival Photos
On Sunday afternoon I headed to the Port of Los Angeles for the Home Made Brew & Food Festival held to commemorate the second anniversary of Crafted, Southern California’s largest permanent market for handmade goods. As part of the anniversary celebration several homebrew clubs joined in to provide a wide selection of home brews provided by their members. In addition to the beer there were food trucks and live music. If one wanted to get out of the sun for a while, the historic Navy warehouse No. 10 was open with dozens of vendors inside providing everything from beads and jams to deep sea diving equipment (for decoration only).
The homebrew clubs that participated included The Crude Brew Crew, Long Beach Homebrewers, Yeastside Brewers, Maltose Falcons, F.E.R.M. Club and Strand Brewers Club. Live music was provided by The Gumbo Brothers. I got there a little late but I understand there was a home brewing demonstration also given. While I may have been late there were still plenty of nice brews to sample with just about every style of beer you could hope for from ales to stouts with several sours and many types of mead also available. There were also some food samples available, but I never did run across them; I may have been too late for that or they were in a portion of the warehouse that I did not get to. It was a fun event and everyone appeared to be have a great time enjoying the beer, music, sunshine and camaraderie with other beer brewers and consumers. Monies raised at the event were used to fund arts education programs put on by the San Pedro Art Association.
This was my first visit to Warehouse No. 10 and Crafted but I doubt it will be my last. I was a little surprised by all the cool items that were available; maybe even more surprised that I never knew the place existed. Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles is open every weekend; Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For hours and their schedule of special events you can visit their website at CraftedPortLA.com. Admission and parking is free. Cheers! Continue reading
A visit to Ohana Brewing and 38 Degrees 5th Anniversary
On Saturday afternoon we headed out to Alhambra to attend the 38 Degrees Ale House & Grill’s 5th Anniversary Celebration. Unfortunately, Caltrans decided they were going to close several lanes of the 710 freeway turning what should have been a 30 minute drive into an hour-long battle. As we finally turned down Main Street and approached 38 Degrees we immediately noticed that they had a very long line of people waiting to get in. To be honest, I was not ready to stand in any line; I wanted a beer. Luckily for us, Ohana Brewing Company had opened their tasting room a few months ago and they are literally around the corner from 38 Degrees so they became our first stop.
I had an opportunity to visit the Ohana Brewing tasting room back in January shortly after they had been granted their Conditional Use Permit and it was pretty much just a storefront with dreams of what the future would bring. Yesterday, we discovered six taps of Ohana brews, displays featuring their glassware, growlers, shirts and snacks and several customers lined up at the counter trying flights and filling growlers. We ordered up a flight consisting of their Pacific Ale, Hollenbeck Amber Ale, Saison Kau Wela, #Hashtag Hops IPA, Spawater Saison, Surf Shack Saison and Acorn Ambition. All the beers were solid brews; I really enjoyed the Surf Shack Saison which is a very good entry level sour. Owner Andrew Luthi informed me that they have a Double IPA getting ready to be released and after trying the #Hashtag Hops I look forward to trying it. The Ohana Brewing Company tasting room is located at 7 S. 1st Street in Alhambra. Continue reading
Stone Brewery Dinner at The Brewery at Abigaile Photos
On Wednesday evening, Hermosa Beach brewpub The Brewery at Abigaile held another of their delicious Brewery Dinners, this time featuring Stone Brewing Company. The event was attended by a couple dozen craft beer fans and we were all treated to quite a meal with the food menu put together by Chef Tin and Chef Jorge.
The meal started with Stone’s Go To IPA paired with a grilled peach and arugula salad then progressed to Stone’s Saison paired with a Cuban sandwich that was unbelievable with its intense flavors. The third course consisted of a Sprocketbier paired with Patatas Bravas; which I think would make an amazing breakfast dish. The main course was the Collective Distortion IPA paired with Egyptian curried baramundi (a very tasty fish dish) and for dessert; Chipotle Smoked Porter paired with torn chocolate cake, sweet pickled mangoes, pinenut and roasted banana gelato. I know I am not alone in saying that by the time the meal was completed, we were stuffed; Chefs Tin and Jorge are to be congratulated for putting together another tasty meal. Abigaile Restaurant and The Brewery at Abigaile is located at 1301 Manhattan Avenue in Hermosa Beach. Cheers! Continue reading
Naja’s Place 6th Annual IPA Festival
On Wednesday afternoon, the legendary Naja’s Place in Redondo Beach began their 6th Annual IPA Festival; with arguably the best assortment of IPAs from around the country and at least one that I noticed from Belgium. There were Session IPAs, Single IPAs, Double, Triple and Quad IPAs; and Strand Brewing brought a cask of their award winning White Sand with Amarillo hops. While Naja’s has 88 taps, they have more IPAs than they have taps so not every beer will be available every day of this week long festival. In fact, they blew through nine kegs on the first day alone.
On Friday, June 27 Naja’s Place will be releasing several Stone Brewing Company IPAs and on Saturday Pizza Port’s IPAs will be featured. If you enjoy IPAs there really is only one place to be this week and that is Naja’s Place, you can bet they will have something there for you. I know I will be back for sure. Naja’s Place is located at 154 International Boardwalk in Redondo Beach. Cheers! Continue reading
Home Brew Day: Glacier Summer Ale
I have discussed home brewing here a few times; primarily how much I respect those that do it and how home brewing really isn’t up my alley. I tried a Brooklyn Brewshop Beer Making Kit back in October and came away from the experience with the conclusion that when it comes to production or consumption I am a lot better at the latter. That being said, my son is an excellent home brewer. On Thursday afternoon I headed down to his place to participate in his 12th brew day.
Now it may seem that my son must be a total newbie when it comes to brewing since he “only” has twelve brews under his belt, but I am here to say that while he may be new at this there is no way you would taste his beers and come to that conclusion. I have had several of his brews including an IPA, DIPA, a red ale, a pale ale, his chocolate, vanilla, bourbon porter and most recently, his From Sochi to Stanley Stout and he has never failed to amaze; and that is not just the father in me talking. We both understand that good beer is more important than undeserved compliments. The fact is, I have been to many home brewing events and I would put my son’s brews up against most that I have tried; in fact, he is better than some breweries I have been to.
A couple weeks ago my son and his family went up to Montana to camp and visit places like Glacier National Park. While he was up there his wife came up with the idea of foraging for some items to use in his next brew. If you look closely at the photos you will notice a few things you do not normally find when brewing. The first thing you might notice are the stones in the brewing kettle. He gathered them at Avalanche Creek in Avalanche Gorge and included them throughout the process from beginning with the intent of adding additional minerals. Also included are fresh pine nuts and Forget-Me-Nots which he gathered from the trailhead of Trail of the Cedars and clumps of moss that he gathered from the Avalanche Lake trail. The water you see being added was fresh glacier water that he got from Avalanche Creek; I tasted a little before he added it to his wort and it was as tasty as water can be on its own. Because so many ingredients came from Glacier National Park he is naming this brew Glacier Summer Ale.
The last photo shows the color what the end result should be; which is exactly what he was aiming for. We will have to wait a couple weeks to try this brew but it should be interesting. I cannot wait to report back. Cheers! Continue reading