Project Barley
8th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover Photos
These photos were taken Thursday, September 1, at Tortilla Cantina in Torrance, where they hosted my 8th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover. The event, meant to celebrate the South Bay’s vibrant craft beer scene featured 19 breweries from Torrance, Redondo Beach, Inglewood, Torrance, Carson, Lomita, Hawthorne, El Segundo, Gardena, and Lawndale.
The featured South Bay breweries included Smog City, HopSaint, Scholb, Hermosa Brewing, Yorkshire Square, King Harbor Brewing, Far Field Beer, Crac, Honest Abe, Eureka Brewing, Common Space, LA Ale Works, Tortugo Brewing, Three Weavers, Crowns & Hops, El Segundo Brewing, Upshift Brewing, Burnin’ Daylight, and Project Barley. Continue reading
8th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover Coming September 1
8th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover – September 1, 2022
I know I say it every year, but there is no way I ever anticipated this event celebrating the South Bay’s craft beer scene would still be going on all these years later, but here we are. I didn’t let a little thing like a change of ownership at the original venue, or a global pandemic with its accompanying shutdowns stop us from continuing what has become, dare I say, a tradition.
There is no question that COVID has caused a few changes over the last two years, but we will not let that stop us. The 8th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover will provided live music, Tortilla Cantina’s fabulous food, and of course, plenty of craft beer that was brewed in the South Bay. Continue reading
The Craft Beer Guy Recap of 2021
2021 is about to tap out; I guess it was better than 2020, but was it really? It almost seems like 2020 was just to immerse us into our new normal, and 2021 was a test run to test scientific theories and our own personal abilities to deal with this crap.
Rest In Peace Jonas Neubauer – January 5, 2021
I know I did some stuff this year that I had not done since 2019, so I guess things are improving, it is probably my own personal comfort level that I have to work on. This was my first complete year without my dog or a girlfriend, which is probably resulting in my becoming more of a wallflower again. We shall see.
Did you ever see the movie Memento? Well, I am slightly better than Leonard (the star) at remembering stuff, so I use my camera and my websites so I do not have to cover my body in tattoos to recall the past year.
Anyway, here is the Craft Beer Guy recap of 2021; what the hell did I do over the last 12 months? Continue reading
Photos of the 7th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover
These photos were taken Thursday at Tortilla Cantina in Torrance, where they hosted my 7th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover, featuring 28 of the South Bay’s craft breweries, with more than 50 taps pouring, and a couple brews that came in cans as keg space was becoming an issue.
I do not know what to say other than thank you to everyone that came out to enjoy the liquid gold provided by the participating breweries, cidery, and meadery. And thanks definitely have to be given to the servers who were kept pretty busy from noon until well after 10:00. The star of the day has to go to Rick who literally took things into his own hands when kitchen staff came up short. Continue reading
7th South Bay Tap Takeover to Feature 28 Breweries
The 7th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover is two days away, and as hard as it may be for me to believe, this may be the first time that I am not going to be rushing around trying to fill taps with less than 24 hours to go; knock on wood.
Just in case this is the first you have heard about my event, shame on me, but this is what you need to know.
The tap takeover is returning to Tortilla Cantina in Old Torrance, from noon until 10:00 PM. Tortilla Cantina is located at 1225 El Prado, in Torrance. Parking is always free in Torrance and there is a large parking structure just south of Tortilla Cantina. Continue reading
7th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover Coming September 2
7th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover September 2
These tap takeovers have been a great success since the first one in 2015; over 400 people attended the inaugural event. Only due to a temporary change in management at the original venue, Flights Beer Bar, was I forced to find somewhere else in the South Bay that could accommodate the amount of beer I wanted to bring in; Tortilla Cantina fit the bill nicely as they actually had more taps than Flights. Icing on the cake was that owner Rick Gomez already had a positive relationship with all the local breweries.
The transition was smooth enough that we even survived the Great 2020 Pandemic, even if the second or third lockdown was scheduled to begin the day after the 6th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover. At least this year we do not have to worry about another lockdown disrupting the event as there is no way Newsom will do that right before the election, so we are a definite go. Continue reading
Photos from the March Madness Craft Beer Can Exchange
The photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the Craft Beer Reclamation Center (aka my house), where I held another in a series of what I call the COVID Craft Beer Exchange.
Those of you that read my recap of 2020 may recall that I mentioned that back in September Craft Beer Guy Facebook followers were being invited to participate in a craft beer exchange that I started holding. So far we have done it every month except February.
Yesterday we had our largest turnout, with 15 traders; it was also the first time that we had two people bring the same beers. We had lots of local breweries represented, including King Harbor, HopSaint, Common Space, The Crac Brewery and Grub, Project Barley, Brouwerij West, and Three Weavers. With a total of 27 craft beers to choose from, there were plenty of options available. Continue reading
Photos of the 6th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover
These photos were taken Wednesday at Tortilla Cantina, where they hosted the 6th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover. This annual event took a little more to accomplish this year, but Tortilla Cantina, our local breweries, and hundreds of their fans made this possible “last hurrah” of 2020 a great success.
My first tap takeover was held on the first Thursday of September in 2015, and as the craft beer scene around here grew, there started to be overlaps when it came to craft beer festival dates and brewery anniversaries, and everyone started changing dates of their events to avoid conflicts. The fact of the matter is that there was just too much going on out there, so I set it in stone that all subsequent South Bay Tap Takeovers would be held on the first Thursday of September; that worked out okay until COVID-19 struck and the State of California and the County of Los Angeles decided restaurants, breweries, and bars had to discontinue in-person dining. Continue reading
6th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover November 25
6th South Bay Tap Takeover – November 25
While our past events have had up to 26 South Bay breweries, with 49 taps, this year’s event will be a little smaller.
While four breweries that were in attendance last year have since closed up (Abigaile, State, Ximix, and Zymurgy), this year we have 21 South Bay breweries that have confirmed attendance this year, seven of which did not exist during last year’s tap takeover. Continue reading
South Bay Craft Beer Options Update
UPDATE: February 12, 2021 – The accuracy of this article leaves a lot to be desired. Please check with the brewery directly.
UPDATES: December 14 –The Crac Brewery and Grub now open for to-go beer pickup.
Eureka Brewing Company now open for to-go beer pickup.
In case you had not heard, there is currently NO DINE-IN in LA County.UPDATES: September 13 – Burnin’ Daylight modifies Sunday hours.
Phantom Carriage adds days for to-go beer pickup.
UPDATE: September 4 – Culture Brewing Company now open.
I was going to update my last article on the South Bay breweries to-go and pickup options, but it looks like just about everything has changed so I might as well start from scratch.
Like the original article, this is solely a reference guide, so all breweries will be listed in alphabetical order for your ease and mine. Hours are subject to change so be sure to contact the brewery directly if you have questions.
Absolution Brewing Company – Cans, bottles, crowlers, growlers and kegs can be ordered online at https://www.absolutionbrewingcompany.com/shop-1. You can also order by phone at 310.490.4860 x101 or by email at orders@absolutionbrewingcompany.com. Deliveries are done Thursday through Sunday; order before 6:00 PM on those days for same day delivery. You can also pick up beers to-go at the brewery Monday through Wednesday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Thursday and Friday from 9:00 to 7:00 PM, or on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 7:00 PM.
Brouwerij West – Brouwerij West now delivers throughout California; please visit https://www.brouwerijwest.com/buybeer for Pick Up, Local Delivery, and Shipping options. You can pick up beer to go at the brewery, daily from noon to 7:00 PM. Credit cards are preferred. Continue reading
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