Torrance

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Discover Torrance: My Spring Break Staycation

These photos were taken April 1st and 2nd during my Spring Break staycation, when I stayed at the Bluestem Hotel and paid visits to the Madrona Marsh, Monkish Brewing, Smog City Brewing, Hermosa Brewing, Red Car Brewery, The Brews Hall, HopSaint Brewing, Absolution Brewing, Scholb Premium Ales, and Project Barley Square. This article is sponsored by Discover Torrance.

Numerous friends have asked, “You are retired, isn’t every day a staycation for you?” Well, maybe kinda, but sometimes one can be unhoused without being homeless. Sometimes, things can be too toxic to stay home; like if your home is being fumigated. While I have lived here longer than many of my readers have been alive, the reality is that when friends come into town I don’t help much when it comes to answering questions about what is the best deal as far as the 20+ hotels available in the City of Torrance. I decided I would reach out to the Discover Torrance Visitors Bureau to find out where the best deals were. That is when Debbie Hays, the Sales/Community Representative for Discover Torrance, stepped in and introduced me to the Bluestem Hotel. Continue reading

HopSaint at the Ditch: From the Beginning

These photos were taken in the Beermuda Triangle area of Torrance, on almost a weekly basis, beginning in June 2023 and continuing until February 13, 2025, of the newest soon to be open taproom in Torrance; HopSaint at the Ditch.

Nestled along the shores of the scenic Torrance River on Del Amo Brewlevard, HopSaint’s newest taproom is almost ready to begin welcoming their fans to HopSaint at the Ditch; and when I say “almost ready” I mean probably within the next few weeks. Continue reading

A Day with Three Weavers, Tortugo Brewing and Cellador Ales

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon and evening, when my friend Joe, aka Dastardly Brews, and I ventured out to Inglewood to attend Three Weavers Brewing 10th anniversary celebration. Before the day ended we had worked our way over to Tortugo Brewing for their annual Mahalo Days Luau celebration and ended up at Cellador Ales in Torrance, where they were celebrating their 8th anniversary. Continue reading

Smog City Brewing 13th Anniversary Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Smog City Brewing Company, in Torrance, where hundreds of friends, family, and fans gathered to celebrate Smog City’s 13th Anniversary. If you have ever attended a Smog City anniversary celebration in the past, you know that this was another very fun event.

I was there for the early portion of the event, which featured axe throwing for adults, and kids, as well as numerous food trucks/popups, pie throwing for charity, live music, the release of their 13th Anniversary IPA, and a special guest, my new dog, Roxy. Continue reading

Hermosa Brewing 6th Anniversary Photos

These photos were taken Saturday at Hermosa Brewing Company’s Torrance location where they had a party celebrating six years of brewing beer. I actually made two visits, the first being early in the afternoon with my friend Phil, on the way home from the Brouwerij West party. I returned a few hours later solo; those photos start on page two.

When Phil and I arrived there was still plenty of parking. They had a couple food trucks and almost as many dogs as people, which was definitely fine with me. We each had a beer and Phil got some food for his wife at which point we headed to his place. Continue reading

Project Barley Square One Year Anniversary Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Project Barley Square in Torrance, where they celebrated their first year as Project Barley Square having taken over Yorkshire Square after their closure in 2022.

As I had multiple events to attend, I started off my day at the Project Barley Square anniversary party. Admittedly, since I was there at the beginning of the day, there were not a lot of people in attendance, but they did have live music provided by Acoustic Warriors as well as new cocktails and a re-release of their Dirty Leeds English Brown Ale on cask; it was quite smooth and tasty.

While there wasn’t much in the way of attendees while I was there, I saw photos and videos later in the day that indicated that things picked up as the day progressed. Continue reading

Cellador Ales Celebrates 7 Years

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon, December 16 at Cellador Ales, a blendery in Torrance, where they celebrated seven years of blending sour ales. The event featured $5.00 pours, new beer releases, snacks and cake.

To say that Cellador Ales has had a tough row to hoe is definitely an understatement. Yeah, everyone has had a tough three years due to the global pandemic, but Cellador has had to tackle a couple extra hurdles.

Last June, Kevin and Sara Osborne announced that their brewery/blendery and taproom in North Hills would close at the end of 2022. According to Kevin’s announcement, it was a combination of Covid related “financial issues, lease issues, personal life changes, and more.” Continue reading

Blow a Glass at Scholb Premium Ales

These photos were taken this past Friday evening at Scholb Premium Ales, in Torrance, where they hosted Blow a Glass, a mobile operation that teaches glass blowing. Friday evening they set up shop in Scholb’s tasting room to display several of their glass water pipes and offered classes to those wanting to create their own glass.

I have to admit, I was hoping that there would be more in the way of demonstrations on how they create the intricate water pipes, but this was more for teaching people how to make their own drinking glasses. Since there was a lot of twirling of molten glass by newbies, I stayed out of the way which means I was unable to get the photos I was hoping for. Continue reading

HopSaint Brewing Company 7th Anniversary Photos

These photos were taken Saturday, April 29, at HopSaint Brewing Company in Torrance, where, for the first time ever, they celebrated their [seventh] anniversary with a party. The event featured music, tacos, an anniversary beer and free commemorative glassware.

Since I had already committed to the 2nd Annual Halfway to Halloween Hootenanny, and both events were scheduled for pretty much the same time (noon to 5:00 for the Hootenanny; noon to 4:00 for HopSaint) it meant I was going to have to hustle to cover both events. As a result I only got about 90 minutes at HopSaint, but it was obvious that I missed a lot of people. Continue reading

Smog City Brewing 12th Anniversary Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the Smog City Brewing Company brewery and tasting room in Torrance where Smog City celebrated 12 years of brewing beer. The event featured multiple food trucks/popups, live music, a charity dunk tank, raffles, games and an anniversary beer to accompany the other 26 brews that were on the menu.

It is no secret that Smog City Brewing knows how to throw an anniversary party, and Saturday was no exception. Food was available from Pasta Selvatica with their handmade pasta created before your eyes, Proudly Serving was back with their delicious smash burgers, and All About the Cinnamon with their hip-hop influenced cinnamon rolls. Buddha Boy Tacos was setting up as I was leaving, so I am not exactly sure what else was available during the evening portion of the event. Continue reading

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