tasting room
Phantom Carriage Celebrates One Year
When I left off, we had left the Froth Awards at Saint Rocke and headed to Carson to catch the tail end of Phantom Carriage’s One Year Anniversary party which was held Saturday afternoon. Phantom Carriage pulled out all the stops which required them to take over the parking lot as well as the blendery’s tasting room.
I got there pretty late, but even as it may have been clearing out you could tell that this sold out event was rocking as everyone was in full party mode. With the beer selections that had been available earlier, it is no wonder why everyone was in a great mood. They had cellar blends Volume 1 through 5 to accompany Oude Muis, Muis, Citra Muis, barrel-aged Centennial Muis, Broadacres, Strawberry Broadacres, Triple Berry Melange Broadacres, Dragonfruit Broadacres, barrel-aged Peach/Nectarine Broadacres, Bergman, Blackberry Bergman, Baskerville (clean and on Brett), Wit Zombie, Pineapple Wit Zombie, Amarantha, Lugosi, Dolores, Tagalong Dolores, Toasted Coconut Dolores, Fleet Street IPA, Tripel Curse and Fog Island. As soon as I walked in, brewer Brendan Lake approached me with the last of the Vermiste Kat which was their collaboration with Cascade, so even though a lot of the super-rare varieties were already gone by the time I got there, the Vermiste Kat was a great way to start off. Continue reading
Nick Shattuck Live at King Harbor Brewing Company
On Friday evening, North Redondo was mellowed by the gentle tunes of local musician and general nice guy, Nick Shattuck as he performed at the King Harbor Brewing Company tasting room to a crowd of what seemed thousands. In addition to Shattuck’s tender tunes, attendees had their first opportunity to try King Harbor’s latest release, St. Jameson Stout. To be completely honest, I was there for the St. Jameson, which is a delicious Irish Dry Stout aged on Jameson soaked oak chips, having Shattuck there just ensured that King Harbor would be hopping with lots of photo ops. He did, it was.
I have to think back to two years ago and remember how empty King Harbor’s brewhouse was compared to today; and the tap list has literally tripled in size with a lot more diversity. Speaking of two years ago, King Harbor’s 2nd Anniversary is coming up on April 2. If you were at last year’s event you know what a good time it was; this year it is going to be even bigger. While everyone is welcome to come to the tasting room, if you want to participate in the festivities you will need a ticket. They have two prices, depending on if you want a bottle of their anniversary beer or not. You can get details and order on BrownPaperTickets.com. Cheers! Continue reading
Hoppy 2nd Birthday at Absolution Brewing Company
These photos are from Absolution Brewing Company’s Hoppy 2nd Birthday celebration that was held at the production brewery’s Torrance location on Saturday, March 5. The event featured the release of their Anniversary Ale which was featured on CO2 and cask, as well as cask versions of Angel’s Demise, Fallen Archangel and Padre Bravo.
For entertainment, the overcast day began with the bluesy sounds of Nasty Bad Habit; then as the day cleared up a bit the rocking music of Barley Legal kept everyone on their feet. Since it would be irresponsible to provide so much beer and not have food, there were two options available; Barley Hops Grill and Felice Italian Catering.
Several hundred people showed up throughout the course of the day, many from as far as San Diego where Absolution’s roots sprouted; and one guy from Milwaukee showed up. It was kind of funny because I met him a year or so ago at The Bruery but he did not know the party was going on and I did not know he was back in town; he just happened to be around and showed up. He really enjoyed the tasting room scene as they have mostly brewpubs in his part of the country and brewpubs tend to be less social than a tasting room. Continue reading
Photos of the Brouwerij West Grand Opening
On Saturday, San Pedro’s latest production brewery opened their doors to the general public as Brouwerij West held their grand opening. To say it was well attended would be on the same level as suggesting beer is damp. When I was at Brouwerij West on Friday evening for the Founders’ Club pre-opening party I was speaking with the ever humble co-owner and head brewer, Brian Mercer, and he seemed to have concerns on whether people would show up the next day or not. When their event coordinator asked me how many people I thought would show up, I guessed that they would probably hit 1,000 with ease. The event began at noon, when I arrived a little after 3:00 I immediately knew I had severely underestimated the turnout. I had failed to take into consideration how supportive San Pedro residents are to their local businesses. I would be willing to bet they had at least 2,000 people show up throughout the course of the day.
Update: On Sunday evening Brian Mercer texted me to say that they actually had 4,500 people attend their event with a maximum of 1,500 at any point in the day. I don’t know who else around here could handle a day like that with virtually no issues other than maybe running out of a couple beers. They are definitely to be congratulated.
While most craft beer tasting rooms could not handle a group of that size, Brouwerij West has a couple advantages over the others. Their tasting room is huge and they have a large area outside that not only took care of the overflow of people, but it also held four food trucks, an auxiliary pouring station and a stage for the live entertainment. If there is any brewery around here that is built for a crowd as large as they had Saturday, Brouwerij West is the place. Continue reading
Founders Club Party at Brouwerij West
These photos are from the Founders’ Club party that was held at the Brouwerij West tasting room on Friday evening. The Founders’ Club is a yearlong membership for supporters of Brouwerij West, and one of the many perks is invitations to special events at the brewery; as their Grand Opening is Saturday, this pre-opening party was the first event for Founders’ members.
We were treated to samples of their latest releases, Buckwheat Sour and Mør Mør, as well as the seven other brews they had on tap including Sour Orange Wit, Super Orange, Bitter Blonde, Dog Ate My Homework, My First Rodeo, Tripel and Spelt Saison. Vella Pizza was also on hand providing their delicious pizza slices. There were a few hundred supporters in attendance and everyone seemed to have a great time.
The Founders’ Club is $175.00 for a year-long membership and benefits include six Brouwerij West bottle releases, 10% off Brouwerij West beer and merchandise, a growler and fill, a limited edition Founders’ Club t-shirt and glass, and other perks like VIP access to special events as well as events just for Founders’ members. Continue reading
Brouwerij West: From the Beginning
I guess it was at The Festival 2014 put on by the Shelton Brothers back in November of 2014 that many learned that Brouwerij West was planning on opening in the warehouse next to CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles. As people waited in line to enter The Festival, it would have been tough to not see the notice painted on the side of Warehouse No. 9 declaring that Brouwerij West was planning on opening in the spring of 2015. Of course, anyone that has been paying attention has probably noticed that the actual opening of a brewery is rarely constant with the dreams and desires of the brewery owners. But good things come to those that wait and patience is a virtue; Brouwerij West will have their Grand Opening on Saturday, February 27, 2016 from 12:00-9:00 PM!
Brouwerij West’s owners/founders Brian Mercer and Dave Holop were kind enough to allow me to photograph the building of their brewery so these photos begin back in March of 2015 when it consisted of a huge room with an old leaky roof. As time went on I was able to be there when their brewhouse was being assembled, during one of their first brews, and ending with the Hoppy Valentine’s Dinner that was held this past weekend.
Saturday’s Grand Opening will feature brewery tours, a beer garden, live music and food trucks. The live music begins at 5:00 PM featuring three local San Pedro bands; Bombon, Crow Baby and Underground Railroad to Candyland. After experiencing their Valentine’s dinner I can say with no reservation that this is going to be a fun event; you are going to want to come out to San Pedro if you can. Continue reading
Smog City Brewing Infinite Wishes Bottle Release
One of the greatest challenges I face in promoting the local craft beer scene is finding time to go to as many events as possible. On Saturday I started off with Laughs by Volume which meant I was going to be late for Smog City Brewing Company’s 2016 Infinite Wishes bottle release; but better late than never, right?
It was early evening by the time I arrived at Smog City and it was pretty obvious people were having a great time, no matter what brew they were drinking.
Smog City had done a pre-sale of bottles of the barrel-aged goodness, so people that had ordered online were able to pick up their bottles. The rest of us were able to enjoy the 2015 and 2016 versions of Infinite Wishes on tap, as well as The Nothing; Infinite Wishes is the barrel-aged version of The Nothing. Whatever bottles were not sold online were made available Sunday, but if you were not at Smog City on Sunday, I am sure they are all gone by now. Continue reading
The Dudes’ & KLOS Bohemian Hopsody Release Party Photos
These photos were taken at The Dudes’ Brewing Company’s release of Bohemian Hopsody that was held at The Dudes’ tasting room on Friday evening. While the release of a session IPA might not usually be very newsworthy, Bohemian Hopsody was done in collaboration with KLOS 95.5 radio, in that it was named the “Official beer of KLOS” so the release definitely became an event. Heidi Hamilton and Frank Kramer of The Heidi and Frank morning show on KLOS were in attendance so The Dudes’ was packed with fans of craft beer and Heidi and Frank.
To me the star of the evening was Alex Rabe, the new Master Brewer at The Dudes’ and his Bohemian Hopsody. I will be honest with you, when I first heard about the beer with its blend of Mosaic, Simcoe and Citra hops I was interested but so many session IPA’s seem to try to make up for the lack of ABV by smacking you in the face with bitterness, I was not really expecting a lot. The reality is that The Dudes’ had a session IPA that did just that. Continue reading
Absolution Brewing Begins Expansion
It seems like only yesterday that I was reporting that the City of Torrance had granted production brewery Absolution Brewing Company their Conditional Use Permit. The reality is that it was just two years ago, November 19, 2013 that Absolution appeared before the Planning Commission. In that time they have gotten a new brewer, Bart Bullington; as the initial brewer, Wes McCann went back east to brew when his wife was reassigned in the Navy. They bottled a barrel-aged brew and then began brewing in Denver so they could begin bottling six-packs of their Cardinal Sin red ale and Angel’s Demise IPA. Now they have removed their original brewhouse and have begun some pretty massive expansion at the Torrance tasting room.
Today I was there when they received a new boiler and three new 30 bbl fermenters. When I spoke with Bullington about their immediate plans, they plan on getting five more 30 bbl fermenters but in the meantime they will utilize the 15 and 20 bbl fermenters they started with. A couple more brite tanks are on the way as I write this; I will go back tomorrow and see what else is new.
Absolution has stocked up on a few of their brews, but some options will be removed from the tap list as the expansion proceeds and some tap out. If push comes to shove they can get some of their beer back from the distributor, but they have enough to hold them over for a while. They hope to be brewing again by the end of the year. Continue reading
Pac City Brewery to Close Doors
Pac City Brewery to Close
Ever since Pac City opened in April of 2014 they have been dealing with gang activity due in part to the fact that a housing project was virtually across the street and they considered Pac City to be on their turf. Attempts to get help from the City of Pacoima or LAPD were futile. When I visited them a month ago someone had attempted to break into their location the previous evening. Every time I spoke with Cortez he expressed his frustration and disgust at how his neighbors were treating his customers and his business. There were extortion attempts and even death threats. As there have been at least six homicides within a mile of the brewery this past summer, Cortez made the decision last night to close the doors at this location. Continue reading
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