These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Ranch Los Cerritos Historical Site, where Craft Beer Long Beach held their 6th Annual Craft Beer LB Fest. The sold out event featured brews from 14 breweries and the Long Beach Homebrewers, as well as food from local vendors, live music, and a Kid Zone for the families in attendance.
It was a remarkably lovely day in Long Beach, especially when compared to the past couple of weekends. While it was sunny, the overhead clouds, trees and tents kept it from getting too hot. Continue reading
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the inaugural/first annual Craft Beer LB Homebrew Invitational, which was held at the Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site in Long Beach. If you noticed that I stuttered with whether or not to designate it as an inaugural event or the first annual, it is because while it was definitely an inaugural event, I am pretty sure that Craft Beer LB will be making this an annual event; I cannot think of one reason why they wouldn’t, it was that good.
To be honest, I do not think I have ever attended anything quite like this, even though I have attended a couple homebrew festivals and competitions, this was very different. Let me see if I can explain in fewer than 500 words.
First off, it was definitely a homebrew competition; this one had 45 competitors from around Southern California (everyone I spoke with seemed to be from the Long Beach area). There were several homebrew clubs represented, including LB Homebrewers, OC Mashups, QUAFF, So Cal Cerveceros, and Maltose Falcons. Continue reading
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the 5th Annual Craft Beer LB Fest, which was held at the Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site in Long Beach. The family friendly event featured craft beer from about a dozen Long Beach breweries, a couple homebrew clubs, and one cidery.
While I have attended each of the prior events, it seems that I typically had several events to photograph the same day, so I always attended the VIP session; I was late for the VIP session this time and it really showed me just how crowded this festival gets. Continue reading
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Brouwerij West in San Pedro, where the production brewery celebrated their fourth anniversary. The event included new beer releases, food trucks and live music.
Saturday was a very busy day in the South Bay with can releases, a soft open, and the Brouwerij West 4th Anniversary celebration. Unfortunately, I have yet to figure out how to be in multiple places at the same time, so I have to settle for being at one event at a time. To accomplish this I begin at the event furthest from my home and work my way back. That means I had to start at Brouwerij West first, which meant I got there long before the live music began. Continue reading
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the third annual Craft Beer LB Fest, which was held at the Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site. The event featured craft beer from 16 Long Beach area breweries, food from a few local restaurant pop-ups, live music from Katie Jo & The Mijos, as well as a few games for the competitive people in attendance. A portion of the proceeds from the event went to the Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site.
The breweries in attendance included such regulars as Ambitious Ales, Ballast Point, Beachwood Brewing, Beachwood Blendery, Belmont Brewing, Hog Canyon Brewing, Dutch’s Brewhouse, Congregation Ale House, Liberation Brewing, Long Beach Beer Lab, Rock Bottom, Smog City, Steady Brew Beer, Ten Mile Brewing, and Timeless Pints. Trademark Brewing made their first appearance, and Stein Fillers brew shop had a couple beers available including their version of Sierra Nevada’s Resilience IPA. Continue reading
These photos were taken Saturday evening at the Switzer Learning Center, in Torrance, where they held their 2018 Boots, Brews & BBQ fundraiser. The event featured unlimited pours of craft beer from about six local breweries, wine, and an open bar. They also had tequila flights available for an additional fee. In addition to the libations, there was plenty of barbecued meat available courtesy of Shady Grow Foods, as well Mediterranean food from Chicken Maison for the vegetarians in attendance.
The adult only event also offered tickets to ride a mechanical bull, or to practice your aiming at the shooting range that had rifles or revolvers available. They also had a spin and win booze wheel, gaming tables featuring blackjack, 3-card poker and roulette, and live and silent auctions. Continue reading
These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the second annual Craft Beer LB Fest, which was held at the Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site. The event featured craft beer from 14 Long Beach area breweries, food from a few local restaurant pop-ups, live music, as well as games and activities for every age group. A portion of the proceeds from the event went to the Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site.
Attending this event confirms that the Long Beach craft beer scene is really growing. Like last year’s event, participating breweries included old-timers like Belmont Brewing, Ballast Point, and Beachwood, as well as several breweries such as Ambitious Ales, Hog Canyon Brewing, and Steady Brew Beer Company that have yet to open or just opened recently. Continue reading