Smog City Brewing

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Smog City – Steelcraft to Begin Selling Beer To-Go

smog city steelcraft

Laurie & Jonathan Porter at Smog City- SteelCraft

As I mentioned three weeks ago, Smog City Brewing’s satellite tasting room at SteelCraft has begun their soft open providing the ability for Long Beach area residents, and those further south, the ability to sample most Smog City beers that are served on tap. Unfortunately Smog City was not allowed to sell growlers or bottles to-go under their permit with the City of Long Beach; that changed last night when Smog City appeared before the City of Long Beach Planning Commission; the Planning Commission approved Smog City’s Conditional Use Permit Application 1611-19.

Laurie Porter, co-owner/founder of Smog City Brewing informed me that the decision was unanimous and they will begin offering growlers and bottles to-go beginning January 31, 2017.

I was unable to attend last night, but I did submit a written letter to the Planning Commission in support of the application. I have decided to post the letter I sent, not for any kind of “atta boy” but rather so others can use my letter as a template; trust me; I have used all my previos letters of support as a template for the next one I write. Feel free to use this to support your local craft brewery. Continue reading

Smog City Brewing – SteelCraft Soft Open Begins

The long anticipated opening of Smog City Brewing Company’s SteelCraft location has arrived. These photos were taken late Wednesday afternoon at the “friends and family” soft open that was held primarily for the friends and family of the people that assembled the SteelCraft enclave. After talking to a few attendees, it seemed like the news spread around the Bixby Knolls neighborhood quickly as the SteelCraft park began filling up with locals that expressed that they were happy to save the Uber expense of traveling to Torrance as the SteelCraft location was walking distance from their homes.

For those unfamiliar with the SteelCraft concept, essentially, a vacant 14,500 square-foot lot of the corner of Long Beach Boulevard and Bixby Road has been set up with about a dozen shipping containers that will house businesses selling various foods; such as hamburgers, ramen, and shaved ice, there is also a coffee shop, and of course, Smog City’s beer. Continue reading

2nd Annual South Bay Tap Takeover at Flights – September 1

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2nd Annual South Bay Tap Takeover, September 1

Those of you that follow the Pilot Batch column or my Facebook page have probably heard, but for everyone else, I am happy to announce that Craft Beer Guy and Flights will be holding their 2nd Annual South Bay Tap Takeover on September 1, 2016 at Flights beer bar in Hawthorne, from noon until at least midnight.

Those of you that attended our inaugural event last year will recall what a great time was had, with an amazing turnout; we had 40 taps of South Bay craft beer from 10 South Bay production breweries. This year we are going to make it even better by featuring 15 breweries from the South Bay. Continue reading

Business & Beer Celebrates Four Years

These photos are from the Business & Beer gathering that was held Thursday evening at the Smog City Brewing Company tasting room in Torrance. This marked the 4th anniversary of the networking group’s existence, which probably accounted for the better than average turnout. There was a mix of old and new in attendance with at least a couple first time attendees, and at least seven people that had attended the first Business & Beer at Select Beer Store back in 2012.

To help mark the occasion, Business & Beer co-founder Tanya Martin baked up a bunch of calzones which were readily consumed. Instead of having their monthly beer drawing, all attendees received a coupon for a free beer at an upcoming Business & Beer gathering.

The next Business & Beer will be held at El Segundo’s newest production brewery, Rob Rubens Distilling & Brewing on August 11. You can find more details about the event on the Business & Beer website. Cheers! Continue reading

Pink Boots Society Takeover of Three Weavers Brewing

These photos are from the Pink Boots Society takeover of Three Weavers Brewing Company which was held Monday afternoon and evening at the Three Weavers Brewing Company brewery and tasting room in Inglewood. This second annual fundraising event featured craft beers from more than 20 production craft breweries.

While pouring brews from other breweries would normally be frowned upon by the likes of the ABC, Three Weavers turned over their tasting room license to the Pink Boots Society for a night of great beers and fundraising for a worthy cause. 100% of the proceeds from the event went directly to the Pink Boots Society Scholarship Fund. Continue reading

LA Beer Week Kickoff Festival Photos

LA Beer Week 2016 (LABW8) started off in prime form Saturday afternoon by showcasing more than 45 of the Los Angeles County Brewers Guild breweries with almost as many special guest breweries, pouring more than 200 different beers; a few of the breweries represented used the LA Beer Week Kickoff Festival to release new beers.

The sold out kickoff festival was held at the Los Angeles Center Studios and in addition to the massive amount of beer there was live music, plenty of food trucks, and lots of water. Luckily, the heat wave that struck Los Angeles was kind enough to wait until the next day; that is not to say it wasn’t hot, but it probably wasn’t over 90. Luckily, the Los Angeles Center Studios is a pretty massive location so there was plenty of shade and somewhere to go sit if desired. Continue reading

Laughs By Volume 4 – Bringing comedy & craft beer to Buena Park

Four Sons Brewing

Four Sons Brewing – at Laughs By Volume

In what I have heard is the first craft beer event ever held in Buena Park, Laughs By Volume 4 will be held Saturday, June 25, 2016 at the Buena Park Community Center from 7:00-10:00 PM. Presented by PINT Magazine, Laughs By Volume is essentially a three hour long comedy show featuring four comedians, a foosball tournament and unlimited tastings of more than 40 craft beers; all for the very low price of $20.00 each, if you use the coupon code I have for you.

A few of the breweries that are scheduled to be poured include The Dudes’, Stone Brewing, Absolution Brewing, Four Sons, Mission Brewery, Great Beer Co, Smog City, Refuge Brewery, Timeless Pints, Anaheim Brewery, Telegraph Brewing, Pizza Port Brewing, Julian Hard Cider, Tahoe Mountain Brewing, 21st Amendment, The Lost Abbey, Bear Republic, Victory Brewing, Oskar Blues, Ska Brewing, Alesmith, Brewery Ommegang, Boulevard Brewing, Maui Brewing, Double Mountain, Brouwerij Wolf, and Sixpoint Brewery. If history is any indicator, this list will fluctuate between now and June 25. Continue reading

Business & Beer Returns to Monkish Brewing Company

These photos were taken Thursday evening when the Business & Beer networking group met at the Monkish Brewing Company tasting room. The group was small, but it did not prevent new relationships to be established as most of the attendees were first timers for Business & Beer and a couple had never visited Monkish before this event.

In addition to the beer and networking, the Mad Pambazos food truck was there with some pretty tasty sandwiches for those so inclined.

Business & Beer will celebrate their 4th Anniversary on July 14 at Smog City Brewing Company. The gatherings begin at 6:00 PM and last until people leave, but 8:00 PM is the official end time. If you own a small business or have a job that requires networking and you enjoy fresh craft beer you should look into Business & Beer. Cheers! Continue reading

Smog City & El Segundo Brewing Birthday Bash Photos

These photos were taken Saturday, when Smog City Brewing in Torrance and El Segundo Brewing in El Segundo combined forces to celebrate Smog City’s third and El Segundo’s fifth anniversaries.

I started the morning off at the VIP session of Smog City’s festivities. They had opened up the cellar room that connects directly to the south of the main tasting room where they added two beer stations. One had their sours, like Cuddlebug, Snugglebug and Jason’s now famous Cuddle Paloma; and a citrus station where you would find Bloody Optimist, Mexican Vacation and Kumquat Saison. The main taproom had an additional Brewers Station back in the brewhouse where you would find brews like Bourbon O.E., Infinite Wishes and The Nothing. The Old Fashioned O.E. made its return from last year; I was glad Tanya got one so I could taste it.

The group was limited to 200 people which might sound like a lot for the tasting room, but with the cellar room being opened up, it was quite comfortable and the Smog City staff was keeping up handily with any lines that formed. Continue reading

Photos of the 2nd Annual L.A. Local Craft Beer & Artisanal Food Fest

These photos were taken at the 2nd Annual L.A. Local Craft Beer & Artisanal Food Fest which was held at the Steinhaus at Alpine Village in Torrance on Saturday afternoon. The event featured 31 Los Angeles area craft breweries and maybe a dozen artisanal food vendors from the LA area.

L.A. Local provided the first opportunity for most of the attendees to try brews from several breweries that have opened within the last year like Scholb Premium Ales, Dry River Brewing, Brouwerij West, HopSaint, Iron Triangle, Mumford Brewing, State Brewing and Honest Abe. Other breweries in attendance included Three Weavers, Port Town, Smog City, Monkish, Phantom Carriage, The Dudes’, Claremont Craft Ales, Ohana, Enegren, California 101 Cider House, King Harbor, Strand, Absolution, MacLeod Ale Brewing and several others. Continue reading

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