Port Town Brewing

BAM Fest 2013: Another successful fundraiser for 18th Street Arts Center

On Saturday, October 5 the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica held their 4th Annual Beer, Art & Music Festival, commonly known as BAM Fest 2013, a fundraiser for the 18th Street Art Center, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. The beer festival featured close to 40 different craft breweries from around the country and it seemed like every brewery brought three or four different beers with them; suffice it to say, there was more beer selections than one could possibly go through in four hours. In addition to the beer tastings there was wine, craft soda, lots of gourmet food trucks and live music to listen to as we enjoyed another beautiful October day and wandered around the open art studios and listened to seminars by beer experts.

The breweries that I noticed in attendance included Ale Industries, Anchor Brewing Company, Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Angel City Brewing Company, Ballast Point Brewing Company, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing Company, Boston Beer Company, Bootlegger’s Brewery, Brasserie d’Achouffe, The Brewery at Abigaile, Brewery Ommegang, The Bruery, Deschutes Brewery, Dogfish Head, Drake’s Brewing, The Dudes’ Brewing Company, Duvel-Moortgat, El Segundo Brewing Company, Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Golden Road Brewing Company, Haven Brewing Co., Kinetic Brewing, Los Angeles Ale Works, Ladyface Ale Companie, Lagunitas Brewing, Liefmans, Monkish Brewing Company, New Belgium Brewing Company, Noble Ale Works, North Coast Brewing, Phantom Carriage, Pizza Port, Carlsbad, Port Town Brewing Company, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Smog City Brewing Company, Speakeasy Ales and Lager, Stone Brewing Company, Strand Brewing Company and Surf Brewery.

Music was provided by Ben Bateman, Cory Phillips & the Groove Orchestra, KoTolàn and Raul Pacheco & The Immaculate Conception. Sponsors included Buy a Dog a Beer, Wreck Check, Swoon and Taxi Magic. It was a fun day with lots of fun people that all seemed to be enjoying themselves thoroughly. I will admit, I am already looking forward to attending the 5th Annual Beer, Art & Music Festival. Cheers! Continue reading

LA Beer Week visit to Library Alehouse & San Pedro Brewing Company

I have some friends that just flew into LA from Paris, France to begin a road trip around the southwest; as they are fans of Craft Beer Guy and LA Beer Week (LABW5) is still going on they expressed a desire to go somewhere that served craft beer. Since they were staying in Santa Monica and I am not all that familiar with the gastropubs in the area, I put out a request for suggestions on my Facebook page; one of the suggestions was Library Alehouse, located at 2911 Main Street in Santa Monica.

The Library Alehouse looks pretty small from out front, but they have a pretty spacious patio in the back; if you have a party of more than two, that is probably the direction you want to head. They have a pretty respectable tap list and they do offer flights of four for $10; well, it is theoretically $10, but you have to be careful about the beers you choose as they can easily hit the $15 range. Our French guests both had the bison burger and really enjoyed it; we had the All-American and it was okay. It’s a burger, what can I say. I don’t spend a lot of time in Santa Monica, but I would not hesitate returning or recommending it to someone that wanted a good craft beer.

Since it was Friday and I had visited two of LA’s gold medal breweries the day before, I decided that I would head over to San Pedro and visit another award winning brewery, San Pedro Brewing Company (SPBC). SPBC is a brewpub nestled on 6th Street in San Pedro that has been in business since 1999. Back then there were a lot of “Brewcos” in the area with Manhattan Beach Brewing Company, Redondo Beach Brewing Company and San Pedro Brewing Company as just three of our local examples. It seems that most of them that opened back then either threw in the towel as far as brewing was concerned and became gastropubs, or they settled into a comfort zone and kept producing the same beers using the same recipes for years and years. SPBC is different in that they kept changing it up, being innovative and experimental, and the list of awards they have won under head brewer Jason Welke since they brought him on in 2006 shows that this is working for them. Continue reading

Photos from the 3rd Annual Local Craft Beer Festival at Rock & Brews

Sunday afternoon, Rock & Brews El Segundo held their 3rd Annual Local Craft Beer Festival which featured many of LA’s finest craft brewers as well as carnival games for the kids and some of the adults. This was my first time attending the Local Craft Beer Festival and I had a blast. While I am readily familiar with many of the beers brewed by our local brewers, a couple of my favorite microbreweries brought out new brews that I had not tried yet and at least one brewer, El Segundo Brewing Company, used the event to introduce their latest addition to their ever expanding list of craft beers.

It was a beautiful sunny day by the beach with families, dogs and craft beer aficionados enjoying each other’s company with lots of delicious food available and since it was held at Rock & Brews, the wafting sounds of rock and roll in the background.

The breweries in attendance included El Segundo Brewing Company, Strand Brewing Company, Eagle Rock Brewing, Smog City Brewing, Monkish Brewing Company, The Bruery, The Brewery at Abigaile, Hangar 24 Craft Brewery, Golden Road Brewing, Port Town Brewing, Ohana Brewing Company, Bootlegger’s Brewery, The Dudes’ Brewing Company, Cosmic Ales, Tap It Brewing, Cismontane Brewing Company, Nobel Ale Works, Angel City Brewery and Venice Beach Beer Company.

Rock & Brews is located at 145 Main Street in El Segundo, CA. Continue reading

Rock & Brews 3rd Annual Local Craft Beer Festival – Sunday September 15

Rock & Brews logo

Rock & Brews’ 3rd Annual Local Craft Beer Festival, September 15

This Sunday, September 15, 2013, Rock & Brews El Segundo will hold their 3rd Annual Local Craft Beer Festival from noon to 5:00 PM. Unlike most beer festivals I have attended, this one is family friendly and includes carnival type games such as a dunk tank and high-striker and many others. Win a game and win a prize. In addition to the beer and games, price of admission includes food tickets for tri-tip, pulled pork or barbecue chicken tacos.

Many of the best craft brewers Los Angeles has to offer will be pouring at this event, including El Segundo Brewing Company, Strand Brewing Company, Eagle Rock Brewing, Smog City Brewing, Monkish Brewing Company, The Bruery, The Brewery at Abigaile, Hangar 24 Craft Brewery, Golden Road Brewing, Port Town Brewing, Ohana Brewing Company, Bootlegger’s Brewery, The Dudes’ Brewing Company, Cosmic Ales, Tap It Brewing, Cismontane Brewing Company, Nobel Ale Works and Venice Beach Brewing. This should be a good time, and you do not even need to get a sitter for the kids.

Great beer, food, music and games all rolled into one great event. The price is $50.00 for adult [drinking] admission and $10 for children and designated drivers. Adult tickets include admission, commemorative glassware, 10-4 oz pours, and unlimited games. Non-drinking admission ticket includes sodas, cotton candy, popcorn, and unlimited games. Both passes come with three food tickets; additional food and drink can be purchased if you need more. You can purchase tickets online at http://www.rockandbrews.eventbrite.com/. I hope to see you there. Cheers!

The 3rd Annual Taste of Brews, Long Beach, CA

The 3rd Annual Taste of Brews summer beer festival was held Saturday afternoon, August 24, at Lighthouse Park in Long Beach, CA. Featuring more than 40 craft and micro breweries from around the country along with a couple wineries, several gourmet food trucks and live music by Journey tribute band “The Journey Experience” and 80s cover band “The Pac Men” it was a beautiful day to hang out in the sun with the cool ocean breeze. The Taste of Brews is a fundraiser for the Long Beach Marine Institute and the AIDS Food Store of Long Beach.

Among the many breweries participating were Firestone Walker, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing, Sierra Nevada, Packinghouse Brewing, Woodchuck Hard Cider, Legends, Grand Teton Brewing, Belmont Brewing, Strand Brewing, Black Market Brewing, Big Sky Brewing, Ninkasi, Mendocino Brewing, Brewbakers and the Brewluminati Homebrew Club. The food trucks included Urban Pie, Dogzilla and Viking Truck.

While there were several hundred attendees, the number of breweries pouring made it so that none of the lines were too long and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves too much to worry about a little wait in between pours.

Lighthouse Park is located at 200 Aquarium Way in Long Beach. I would like to thank Firestone Walker for the pass to a very entertaining event. Continue reading

18th Street Arts Center’s 4th Annual Beer Art & Music Festival October 5

BAM Fest 2012

Good times guaranteed at BAM Fest

On October 5, 2013, the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica will hold their 4th Annual Beer, Art & Music Festival, fondly known as BAM Fest 2013 and it is destined to be better than ever. I went to BAM Fest last year and every person I spoke to that had attended one or both of the prior events told me it was the best ever. Well, last year they had about 30 brewers with taps; this year they have 42 scheduled so far. The reason I say “so far” is that a couple weeks ago I wrote an article about this event and they were talking 30+. At this rate, they could have more than 50; I think space may be their only enemy; everyone wants to pour at BAM Fest.

In addition to the beer there will be three bands, wine and homemade soda tastings and lots of gourmet food trucks. BAM Fest is a fundraiser for the 18th Street Art Center, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, so while you are sipping beer and listening to tunes waft through the air you can visit the studios of most of the artists as they leave them open as a way of showing what you are supporting. Culture and beer with all proceeds going to the 18th Street Arts Center, and you can probably bet the farm that it will be a nice day in Santa Monica. Tickets can be purchased online for $45 each; they will be $50 at the door if there are still tickets available on October 5.

BAM Fest 2012

Come join the fun at BAM Fest 2013

The current list of participating craft breweries is: Continue reading

American Craft Beer Week, Day 5

San Pedro Brewing Company

San Pedro Brewing Company

Friday was day 5 of the 8th Annual American Craft Beer Week (ACBW) and I am fortunate enough to have two award winning brewers within a few miles of my home. The first being San Pedro Brewing Company and the other being Smog City Brewing.

As legend has it, in the beginning there were three microbreweries in the South Bay; Manhattan Beach Brewing Company, Redondo Beach Brewing Company and San Pedro Brewing Company. Manhattan Beach Brewing gave up on brewing and became a gastropub (Brewco Manhattan Beach), preferring to sell a wide variety of craft beers brewed by others. Redondo Beach Brewing Company continues to brew at their Riviera Village brewpub, but they do not experiment much and the beer recipes seemed to stay the same, batch after batch; it is a good entry level brewery to visit, but nothing exciting. Rumor has it that they will be discontinuing brewing there soon, preferring to go the route of Manhattan Beach Brewing. Of the three, San Pedro Brewing Company continues to brew and is opening a subsidiary of sorts, Port Town Brewing which has already won numerous awards.

Smog City Brewing

Smog City Beer on Tap

San Pedro Brewing Company (SPBC) is a brewpub that has been at their current location for 13 years. They have won more than 43 medals in local county fairs, commercial beer competitions and international beer festivals. In addition to award winning beers, they have some pretty good food. SPBC gives tours on Friday afternoons, so if in the area, you might want to check it out. I was given a mini-tour and have to admit, I was quite surprised at the quantity and quality of beers they brew with such a small operation. When I was taken downstairs I fully expected to see a massive operation; as you can tell by the photos that was far from being the case.

While there I tried a flight of all seven in-house brewed beers that were available: Bruin Blonde Ale (2012 Silver Medal, California Commercial Beer Competition), Longshoreman Lager (2009 Gold Medal American Style Lager, Los Angeles County Fair), Port Town Hefeweizen, Mai Bock Spring Lager, Iowa Battleship IPA, Beacon Street Barleywine (2012 American Style Barleywine, Los Angeles International Beer Competition) and Sunken City Imperial Stout.

When I left San Pedro I headed over to Smog City Brewing as they just got their growlers in and I wanted to be among the first on my block to own one. While there I had a Quercus Circus Sour and an Amarilla Gorilla IPA; we picked up a growler of the 2012 Great American Beer Festival gold medal winner, Smog City Groundwork Coffee Porter. Smog City’s grand opening was held on Saturday, so that will be the subject of my ACBW day 6 report. All my photos from day five of American Craft beer Week will be found on GotBaddog.com.

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