Torrance
Absolution Brewing Shelby Beer Release Photos
Those of you that have been paying close attention may recall that back in May I mentioned that Absolution Brewing had entered into an agreement with Shelby Craft Beer & Beverages to begin brewing beers under the Shelby Craft Beer label. A couple months ago Shelby started showing off the first two brews, Shelby Snake Bite Lager and Big Block IPA at a few car events; this past Saturday at the Shelby Beer Bash 01 they officially released them at the Absolution Brewing tasting room, and it became available on draft.
To help celebrate the release, a contingent of Carroll Shelby vehicles were on display at Absolution’s parking lot with a couple Cobras and several Mustangs showing up. I showed up rather early and the tasting room was already packed with what had to have been primarily gear-heads as I recognized exactly one person that did not work there.
While I have had an opportunity to try the bottled version of the Snake Bite lager and Big Block IPA previously, this was my first opportunity to try it on tap and it was delicious. Big Block was appropriately named as it is definitely a big hop bomb. If you did not have an opportunity to get over to Absolution Brewing over the weekend, you can still try the two new releases on tap at the tasting room; and they may still have some bottles available to take home. Cheers! Continue reading
Media Night at Strand Brewing Company
Monday evening, Strand Brewing Company hosted members of the LA Beer Bloggers and other local media outlets with an intimate evening of craft beer, snacks and networking. Strand Brewing Company co-founder/co-owner Rich Marcello took time to speak with attendees individually; then took everyone on a tour of their [relatively] new 36,000 square foot facility on Dominguez Street. Marcello also showed off their shiny, new canning line which will be put into use shortly. He also made sure to let us all know that Strand Brewing will be celebrating their 7th Anniversary on the weekend of November 11 through the 13th.
In addition to the tour and plentiful beer, Marcello personally made up several snack trays that one would have thought were professionally done. Attendees also had a chance to chat with the reigning, and six times Tetris World Champion, Jonas Neubauer who also happens to run the tasting room. For those into Tetris, the World Championships have been going on for seven years, with Neubauer taking first place every year, except a couple years ago when he ranked second. We are all pretty proud of him.
Strand Brewing Company is located at 2201 Dominguez Street in Torrance. Their 7th Anniversary celebration will feature special beers, casks, music and general fun for the entire family. Visit the Strand Brewing website or their Facebook page for more information. Cheers! Continue reading
Photos from the Zymurgy Brew Works Ribbon Cutting
These photos were taken Friday afternoon at the Zymurgy Brew Works & Tasting Room Grand Opening and ribbon cutting. The event was attended by friends and family, as well as Torrance Mayor Pat Furey and council members Mike Griffith and Heidi Ashcraft, several representatives of the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce and several craft beer aficionados.
Attendees were able to sample beers that have already been brewed at Zymurgy and those that got there early enough were treated to some tasty, gourmet, bacon wrapped hotdogs. If you can get there before 10:00 PM Friday you can take advantage of the $1.00 off pints and flights; and you can book your future brew session for 15% off the regular price.
Zymurgy Brew Works & Tasting Room is located at 22755 Hawthorne Boulevard in Torrance. If you have ever been interested in homebrewing but did not have the space or equipment to do it, this is a great way to try it out. Visit ZymurgyBrewWorks.com to get more information and reserve your kettle. Cheers! Continue reading
Cold War Brewing at Zymurgy Brew Works & Tasting Room
On Wednesday evening, Tanya and I headed over to Zymurgy Brew Works & Tasting Room where we met up with co-founder Bill Baker to try out their new Do-It-Yourself craft brewery which is slated to begin their soft-open on September 10, 2016. My brew would not only add some beer to my collection, but it would give Zymurgy an opportunity to dial in their system and it would provide samples for future brewers to enjoy during subsequent brews. I opted to brew a recipe my son has for his Sochi to Stanley Stout; a delicious Russian Imperial Stout. The reason for this was primarily because I did not want to power drink five gallons of an IPA; I would much rather open one bomber every few months and this beer would be just perfect for that.
I had sent the recipe to Baker ahead of time in order to ensure that all the ingredients or applicable substitutes were available. One substitute was replacing the pound of Special B malt with a pound a Crystal 120 which was presented to me as C-120; I thought that sounded like an explosive so I changed the name of the beer to Cold War Russian Imperial Stout. Homebrewers will acknowledge that a Russian Imperial Stout is a pretty ambitious beer for the average homebrewer; Zymurgy was excited to do it as it was a pretty safe bet that this would be one of the biggest beers they will brew there. Continue reading
DoorDash Now Offering Beer Delivery in LA/OC/SD
DoorDash Now Delivers Beer!
At the end of June I received an email telling me about a relatively new startup called DoorDash. DoorDash is a service that started as an on-demand food delivery service ala Pink Dot or UberEATS; and the reason they were contacting me is that they were getting ready to include alcohol delivery in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties and they wanted all of you to know that you can have cold, fresh, craft beer delivered to you. What was ironic (to me, anyway) was that not more than an hour earlier one of my friends was on Facebook asking someone to deliver him a beer at work; DoorDash will do just that! Continue reading
Cosmic Brewery Enters Soft Open Phase
The long awaited opening of Torrance’s newest production brewery, Cosmic Brewery, home of Cosmic Ales, is now a reality as they opened their tasting room to the public this past weekend. I only had a short window of opportunity to visit on Saturday evening but for making a last minute announcement on Friday that they would be open Saturday, the place was packed.
As you can see by my photos, as I watched the build-out of the brewery I never got any photos of the future tasting room. Owner Christopher Briles always kept that close to the vest and he did not want anyone to see it until it was ready. When it was revealed Saturday one had to admit, the cosmic theme is pretty cool.
The tap system is different than any tasting room I have visited in that you pour your own beer and are charged according to how much you pour. If you recall my article about zpizza a couple months ago, it is the same concept. You purchase a card that you insert on the tap, and you pour your beer. I did not play with it Saturday, but I will probably check it out this weekend. 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
Photos from the 3rd Annual Euro Bierfest at Alpine Village
On Saturday afternoon, the Steinhaus at Alpine Village in Torrance hosted their 3rd Annual Euro Bierfest; unlike their other numerous beer festivals all the beer for this event will came from various parts of Europe. For an event that was not guaranteed an appearance in 2016, the Euro Bierfest was very well attended with people still coming in when we were heading out.
A few of the 30+ beers being poured included Lava Smoked Imperial Stout by Ölvisholt Brugghús, Old Engine Oil by Harviestoun Brewery, Timmermans Lambicus Blanche by Brewery John Martin & Brewery Timmermans and Petrus 50/50 by Brouwerij De Brabandere (Bavik). They also had Hobgoblin, Chimay Rouge (Première) and Chimay Bleue (Grande Réserve), Super, 3 Monts Classic Golden Ale, Duchesse de Bourgogne and Rodenbach Grand Cru. As a special treat, BraufactuM who had their Progusta American IPA on the schedule also brought some BraufactuM Arrique barleywine that was left over from the Firestone Walker Invitational last weekend. 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
3rd Annual Euro Bierfest at Alpine Village June 11 – Promo Code
Beers from all over Europe
A few of the 25+ brews that have been confirmed to be there include: Continue reading
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