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Photos from the Dudes’ Brewing 10th Anniversary
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at The Dudes’ Brewing Company Torrance location where they celebrated their 10th anniversary of brewing in Torrance. The event featured live music, games, a food popup, and vendors selling clothing, plants, chocolates and coffee. Naturally, there was plenty of Dudes’ beer available for the attendees.
To be honest, I think this was the first anniversary party put on by The Dudes’, and I am not sure why they did not publicize this more, but the end result of the lack of publicity is that there were not very many people there. Luckily, since I had advertised it, I ran into several friends and Craft Beer Guy followers. Continue reading
Two Coast Brewing Soft Open Photos
These photos were taken Thursday afternoon/evening at Two Coast Brewing Company, in Gardena, where the latest addition to the South Bay’s craft scene held their soft open. Their tap list consisted of eight German style brews including their Pilsner, Kolsch, German Pale Ale, a Dunkelweizen, Hefeweizen, Cream Ale, and a couple fest biers.
I arrived about 30 minutes after they opened and they already had a small group assemble, by the time I got ready to leave they were almost at capacity; it was obvious that co-founders Roger and Jan were enjoying watching their tasting room fill up. Continue reading
Common Space 5th Anniversary Photos
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Common Space Brewery in Hawthorne, where they celebrated their fifth anniversary. The event featured food trucks, live music, DJs, tarot card readings, a caricature artist, live mural painting, and an anniversary beer to accompany the 20+ beers and seltzers that were available on tap.
I arrived around 1:00 and things were already popping with at least 100 Common Space fans, a few kids, and lots of dogs (which made my day). Continue reading
Craft Beer Guy Visits Urban Roots and Oak Park Brewing
These photos were taken Wednesday afternoon, March 22, at Urban Roots Brewing and Smokehouse, and Oak Park Brewing Co., two of Sacramento’s Black owned brewpubs; in the interest of full disclosure, I have been unable to figure out if Sacramento has any other Black owned breweries, but that has nothing to do with this article.
After the final session of the California Craft Beer Summit, Tomm and I decided to hit up a couple local breweries because he had never visited any in Sacramento. Even thought I visited Urban Roots in 2021, I got there kind of late in the evening and they were still observing COVID protocol so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to pay another visit post-COVID. Oak Park Brewing had a booth on the expo floor at the Craft Beer Summit and we had both enjoyed a couple of their offering, so we decided to make them our second stop. Continue reading
2023 California Craft Beer Summit Closing Session
These photos were taken Wednesday morning, March 22, the final day of the California Craft Beer Summit, put on by the California Craft Brewers Association (CCBA) at the Safe Credit Union Convention Center. While there were a couple panels/workshops held earlier in the morning, I waited a couple hours and headed over for the final “Tap Talks” featuring the Pink Boots Society and the closing keynote featuring Sierra Nevada’s Ken Grossman and Russian River’s Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo.
The morning also included a pretty nice brunch and several of the breweries that had booths on the expo floor seemed to bring out special brews that may have been leftovers from earlier events that they did not want to lug home. And by “leftovers” I mean beers that were probably left over from Sunday’s Rare Beer Tasting, but no one was complaining. Continue reading
2023 California Craft Beer Summit Expo
These photos were taken Tuesday, March 21, at the Safe Credit Union Convention Center where the expo portion of the 2023 California Craft Beer Summit was held. The day featured speeches, educational panels, vendors, lunch, a Press Reception, and the Brewers VIP Reception.
My day started off by attending the Opening Session which began with the introduction of the CCBA Board of Directors with a rundown of what the CCBA has accomplished and what was planned for the future. This was followed up by the keynote address from Firestone Walker’s own David Walker, who gave a brief history of Firestone Walker along with his perspective of what the craft beer industry should expect in coming years. Continue reading
2023 CA Craft Beer Summit Welcome Reception
These photos were taken Monday, March 20 at Drake’s The Barn, where they hosted the 2023 California Craft Beer Summit Welcome Reception, sponsored by Strategic Tax Planning. The event featured beer, food, games, a DJ, and the opportunity to network and meet up with old friends. The first few photos were taken when we checked into the Safe Credit Union Convention Center prior to the reception.
I drove up to Sacramento Monday morning/afternoon with me friend Tomm Carroll, world-renowned BJCP judge, beer writer, and beer hoarder. Before checking into the hotel we checked into the summit to get our badges, and Tomm wanted to drop off a pile of Beer Paper LA for summit attendees before heading over to The Barn. Continue reading
Hermosa Brewing Company 5th Anniversary Photos
These photos were taken Sunday afternoon at Hermosa Brewing Company’s new brewery and tasting room in Torrance’s Beermuda Triangle, where they celebrated their five year anniversary. The family and dog friendly event featured 14 beers on tap, including their anniversary brew, Suburban Foam, a collaboration done with The Descendents, a punk rock band from the late 70s and 80s that was based out of Manhattan Beach.
The celebration also included food from Beach City Tacos, and the mellow tunes of guitarist Chris Shaw, followed by the rocking surf music of the Royal Rats. While I didn’t get food since that was already taken care of, the nachos looked amazing; and the Royal Rats caused me to hang out 30 minutes longer than planned. Continue reading
Project Barley Square Grand Opening Photos
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Project Barley Square in Torrance, where they officially celebrated their grand opening in Torrance. The event featured eight draft brews, five hand pulled ales, a couple beer cocktails, and their typical offerings of wines and ciders. The day also included live music and the introduction of their new food menu.
In case you were not aware, the end of 2022 saw the “closure” of Yorkshire Square Brewery, which was immediately taken over by Project Barley, so the transition was fairly seamless. Continue reading
2nd Annual Craft Beer LB Homebrew Invitational Photos
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site in Long Beach, where Craft Beer LB held their Second Annual Craft Beer LB Homebrew Invitational. The event featured brews from more than 40 homebrewers, a Pro Brewers lounge featuring local Long Beach breweries, food trucks, live music, games, a Kid Zone where parents could drop off the kids for a bit, and a bicycle valet for those that rode their bikes there. Proceeds went to benefit Rancho Los Cerritos.
The Pro Brewers lounge featured brews from Ten Mile Brewing, Syncopated Brewing, Ambitious Ales, Beachwood Brewing, Trademark Brewing, Ficklewood Ciderworks, Long Beach Beer Lab, and Altar Society Brewing. Continue reading