Torrance

Absolution Brewing 8th Anniversary Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Absolution Brewing Company, in Torrance, where they held a party to celebrate their 8th anniversary. The celebration included an anniversary beer release, food, live music, and games.

In addition to their standard tap list, their anniversary beer, 1/8th Anniversary IPA was available on tap as well as cans. Food was available from SouthBay Comfortz (formerly known as Smokin’ Sandos) and Chiky Pancakes. Live music was provided by Nasty Bad Habit, and Taylor Killam Music. For the athletically inclined, cornhole and table shuffleboard were also available. Continue reading

Platinum Jubilee Celebration at Yorkshire Square

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon, June 4, at Yorkshire Square Brewery in Torrance, where they held their Platinum Jubilee Street Party celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years as the monarch of England.

The free event featured live music, beer and food specials, a special wine list, and fun activities happening throughout the day. The special food menu included Platinum Pudding, the dessert created by Fortnum and Mason especially for the Queen’s Jubilee. The festivities included beer specials, including eight cask ales and a Jubilee Ale in cans to go.

I have to admit, I was a little surprised how busy it was, but the beertenders made short work of the lines. Continue reading

Photos of Kristie’s Going Away Party at Smog City

These photos were taken Friday evening at the Smog City Brewing tasting room in Torrance, where friends and coworkers gathered to wish Kristie Bjorklund a fond farewell as she said goodbye to the South Bay to pursue new adventures in Central California.

I was trying to think just how long I have known Kristie; I think it has been about 10 years. She has worked at Sierra Nevada Brewing, King Harbor Brewing, and most recently, at Smog City, primarily at their Steelcraft location. With her move comes a new job, this time with Firestone Walker in Paso Robles; so if you are going to the Invitational, be sure to tell her hello as she will be working. Continue reading

Photos from the Smog City 11th Anniversary

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at Smog City Brewing Company’s brewery and tasting room in Torrance, where several hundred fans gathered to celebrate Smog City’s 11th anniversary. The event featured food trucks, live music, a dunk tank for charity, a mini market, games, and beer; lots of delicious Smog City beer.

While I was there, seafood was available from Anarchy Seafood, with burgers from Heavy Handed LA; after I left Baserriko Peppers came onboard with their sandwiches and churrasco.

There was live music provided by Fuzzy Logic, and a beer garden market village was set up featuring Macetas Plants LA, Gogoma Bakes Dog Treats, D’s Cookies, and local illustrator Evan Clark. Continue reading

HopSaint Commissions Street Art

These photos were taken at HopSaint Brewing Company in Torrance over the course of four visits, beginning January 20 and ending today, January 27. The artwork was done by Nicolas Thollot-Arsac, also known as bottl3man on Instagram.

Anyone that has gone to HopSaint in the afternoon and sat at one of the community tables, facing away from the bar, is well acquainted with Sports Harbour’s white wall and the blinding glare it can throw out when the sun is heading towards the Pacific. It is no secret, it has been an issue from the beginning; the question was what to do about it. On January 19 I was looking at HopSaint’s Instagram page and saw that they had commissioned an artist from France to paint said wall using only beer bottles. Of course, I had to go check it out. Continue reading

7th South Bay Tap Takeover to Feature 28 Breweries

The 7th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover is two days away, and as hard as it may be for me to believe, this may be the first time that I am not going to be rushing around trying to fill taps with less than 24 hours to go; knock on wood.

Just in case this is the first you have heard about my event, shame on me, but this is what you need to know.

The tap takeover is returning to Tortilla Cantina in Old Torrance, from noon until 10:00 PM. Tortilla Cantina is located at 1225 El Prado, in Torrance. Parking is always free in Torrance and there is a large parking structure just south of Tortilla Cantina. Continue reading

7th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover Coming September 2

commemorative-glassware

7th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover September 2

I have to admit, I do not think I ever anticipated saying this back when I put on the first South Bay Tap Takeover, but the 7th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover will be here September 2! And I am sure that even if there was someone that had that kind of optimism, they would not have foretold the event growing from 10 South Bay breweries to 25.

These tap takeovers have been a great success since the first one in 2015; over 400 people attended the inaugural event. Only due to a temporary change in management at the original venue, Flights Beer Bar, was I forced to find somewhere else in the South Bay that could accommodate the amount of beer I wanted to bring in; Tortilla Cantina fit the bill nicely as they actually had more taps than Flights. Icing on the cake was that owner Rick Gomez already had a positive relationship with all the local breweries.

The transition was smooth enough that we even survived the Great 2020 Pandemic, even if the second or third lockdown was scheduled to begin the day after the 6th Annual South Bay Tap Takeover. At least this year we do not have to worry about another lockdown disrupting the event as there is no way Newsom will do that right before the election, so we are a definite go. Continue reading

Absolution Brewing 7th Anniversary Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the Absolution Brewing Company brewery and tasting room in Torrance, where Absolution and a few hundred of their fans gathered to celebrate their seventh anniversary.

The event included the release of their anniversary beer, Our Magnificent Seven, a quadruple IPA available on tap or in cans. While I was there, live music was provided by Nasty Bad Habit and there was food available from the Deli Belly food truck. Continue reading

Smog City Brewing 10th Anniversary Photos

These photos were taken Saturday afternoon at the Smog City Brewing Company’s 10th Anniversary celebration held at the production brewery in Torrance. It was a nicely attended event that probably had about 100 people attending during the couple of hours I was there.

Yes, Los Angeles County is still abiding by COVID protocol, but we are in the least restrictive yellow tier which allowed Smog City to throw an actual in-person event for their 10 anniversary. Yes, things were toned down a little from previous anniversary celebrations, but Smog City’s fan base was not going to let that stop them.

To commemorate the occasion, Smog City had 26 brews on draft, including their 10th Anniversary IPA, eight special bottle pours, and an anniversary flight consisting of This Sour Future (2015), Benny and the Bretts volume 1, The Nothing (2017), Buzzworthy (2016), and BBA Coffee Porter (2017). Continue reading

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

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