Smog City Brewing

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

tortilla-cantina

6th South Bay Tap Takeover – November 25

So, let’s make this official; the 6th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover is not going to let a little thing like COVID-19 stop it! Yes, in the past I have been pretty adamant that I was not going to deviate from the “first Thursday of September” and for the first five years, we made it work. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has caused some things to be out of my control; however, Tortilla Cantina has been set up for outside dining and they are ready to once again host the South Bay Tap Takeover.

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

South Bay Breweries To-Go / Delivery Options Revisited

UPDATE: June 24 – Most local breweries now have some sort of dine in service, however, in my opinion this is still far too fluid for me to spend the hours to update manually, so please follow the links provided to see what the updated hours might be.

Phantom Carriage is now open for limited beer pickup.

It is hard to believe it has been more than two months since I wrote my initial South Bay Breweries To-Go and Delivery Options article; but here we are. The fact of the matter is that my initial article is getting cluttered with updates, and some links have been changed by the breweries. This update should be good through the Memorial Day weekend; I will update this as necessary.

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 subject to change, be sure to contact the brewery directly. Continue reading

South Bay Breweries To-Go and Delivery Options

Update: May 22 – Please visit https://craftbeerguy.com/south-bay-craft-beer-delivery-options/ for the latest updates.

Updates: April 21 – Brouwerij West expands delivery options.
The Dudes’ Brewing Torrance extends hours, adds delivery.
Smog City expands delivery area.

Updates: April 20 – R6 Distillery extends pick up hours.
Upshift Brewing open three days a week for to-go beer.
The Dudes’ Brewing Torrance extends hours.

Updates: April 19 – Burnin’ Daylight modifies hours for food and beer.
King Harbor Brewing is canning again.
Monkish Brewing goes to online ordering only.
Project Barley modifies hours.
Red Car Brewery modifies hours and days open.
San Pedro Brewing offers growler delivery.
Scholb Premium Ales modifies hours.

Updates: April 9 – Common Space expands pickup hours.
HopSaint modifies hours; closed Mondays.
Burnin’ Daylight kitchen opens Friday and Saturday.

Updates: April 8 – Ximix Craft Exploration modifies hours, closed weekends. Adds limited delivery.

Updates: April 6 – Surfridge Brewing offers to-go pickups.

Updates: March 29 – Absolution Brewing extends weekday pickup hours.

Updates: March 28 – The Red Car Brewery open three days a week.

Updates: March 25 – Three Weavers Brewing now offering cans to go.
Ximix Craft Exploration modifies hours, adds days open.
The Slice and Pint will reopen Thursday, March 26 with food and beer available.
The Brews Hall offers online sales of crowlers with multiple pickup locations.
King Harbor Brewing pick-up hours expanded.
The Dudes’ Brewing in Torrance modifies hours, days open.

Updates: March 22 – El Segundo Brewing and The Slice and Pint are closed until further notice.
King Harbor Brewing now offers crowlers to go.
Absolution Brewing extends same day delivery hours.

Updates: March 20 – Yorkshire Square extends hours to 7:00 PM
Hermosa Brewing Company adds crowlers to menu
Cosmic Brewery modifies hours to 2:00 to 6:00 PM
R6 Distillery offers bottle delivery
Brouwerij West adds new page for available beers, change hours
Honest Abe Ciders & Mead has modified their hours
El Segundo Brewing goes to pre-order only
San Pedro Brewing adds mixed drinks to-go

This Coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak has definitely changed things in pretty much everyone’s world. As I am sure you are aware, in Los Angeles County there are new restrictions for breweries and brewpubs. I will attempt to keep you posted with latest developments as far as South Bay craft breweries are concerned, and how you can support your favorite breweries in these trying times.

This situation is, pardon the pun, quite fluid, which is why I did not write this two days ago. That being said, to be on the safe side, you should probably contact the brewery directly or check their social media page to see if things have changed since I published this.

This is solely a reference guide, so all breweries will be listed in alphabetical order for your ease and mine. Continue reading

Burnin’ Daylight 1st Annual Anniversary Party Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Burnin’ Daylight Brewing Company, Lomita’s first brewpub, where they celebrated their first annual anniversary party. The event featured 25 craft beers on tap, live music, food, the release of their canned anniversary beer, Burn One West Coast IPA, and the best weather we have seen this decade.

As we have become accustomed, Burnin’ Daylight took advantage of their parking lot and the ability to have guest taps to throw one heck of a party. Guest taps were provided by Beachwood Brewing, El Segundo Brewing, HopSaint Brewing, Smog City, Stone Brewing, and Topa Topa Brewing. Live music was provided by The Vibe Tribe, and food was available from Burnin’ Daylight’s own kitchen and outside grill. I am not sure who was in charge of the weather, but kudos to them for an amazing day.

While Burnin’ Daylight may only be one year old, they have quickly risen to be one of the most popular breweries in the South Bay. Throughout the day I spoke with several people that agreed that Burnin’ Daylight was one of the best new breweries in the last few years. Judging by the number of people that showed up, that opinion seemed to be the consensus. Continue reading

The Sun Sets on an Era at Smog City

These photos were taken Friday evening at Smog City Brewing’s tasting room at their production brewery in Torrance, where several dozen friends, regular customers, and co-workers of Smog City’s taproom manager Jason “Breezy” Briseño gathered to say farewell as Friday was his last day.

Briseño started working as a beertender at Smog in 2014; since then he went on to become their Retail Director and taproom manager of all three Smog City locations. He will be spending the next few months doing consulting jobs and some mixology while he waits on the processing of his visa to move to Australia with his wife, Lauren, who just happens to be from Australia. Apparently Lauren has family in Australia that are involved in the wine and restaurant business, with one of her relatives getting ready to open a brewery; Briseño seems to be looking forward to the opportunity to help them get it off the ground. Continue reading

The Craft Beer Guy Recap of 2019

As the year comes to an end it is time for me to sit down with a beer and try to figure out what I did that made this year go by so quickly. To be honest, I feel like I have really slowed down on my coverage of the local craft beer scene, but the growth has been so rapid that I cannot keep up. Heck, there were two new breweries getting ready to open in El Segundo that I did not know about until three months before they opened! Oh well, I will continue to do what I can; if I don’t visit a particular brewery as much as I used to it is probably because there are so many breweries around here now. In fact, while my personal craft beer life may have slowed, the growth over the past year is kind of mind blowing. Let’s see what happened in 2019.

tortugo brewing

Tortugo Brewing, Inglewood

January 2019

In my review of 2018 I had mentioned there were two new local breweries that I still had not visited, one of those was Tortugo Brewing. I started off 2019 by remedying that. If you have not been, it is a nice location and they have some good brews; you should check them out. Continue reading

Pawsitive Pints – A Great Christmas Gift for Craft Beer Fans

Get $1 Pints at participating taprooms

As the Christmas season swoops in on us like a cheetah on a baby gazelle, those last minute gifts and stocking stuffers can be difficult to come up with, and getting to the mall can be a real pain; so as I find them, I will try to bring them to your attention in time for you to scratch another gift off your list. Today, I want to introduce you to the Pawsitive Pints card.

Pawsitive Pints is a fundraiser for Zelda’s Foundation for Animals, formerly known as Dirty Dog Squad, a small, all-volunteer organization that saves homeless and abandoned pets on death row at high-kill shelters. They depend completely on private donations to continue their mission.

Holders of a Pawsitive Pints card will get one pint for $1.00 from up to 50 craft breweries, brewpubs, and gastropubs between Santa Barbara and San Pedro. The list of participating breweries includes: Continue reading

2nd Annual Cask’s Not Dead Fest Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Yorkshire Square Brewery in Torrance, where they held their second annual Cask’s Not Dead Fest which featured 29 cask ales provided by 27 craft breweries primarily from around the Los Angeles and Orange County area as well as a couple entries from as far away as Chico (Sierra Nevada Brewing) and Redwood City (Freewheel Brewing).

Like last year, the ticketed event was a fundraiser for the Los Angeles County Brewers Guild as well as being a friendly competition to determine who made the best Traditional Cask Ale and Abnormal Ale; the Abnormal Ales are cask ales that included adjuncts such as cacao nibs, oak chips, vanilla beans, and such. Unlike last year, there were no food trucks as the Snap Tin Eatery is now open; a special menu was set up for the event. Continue reading

Subscribe To Our Newsletter
Archives