It has featured breweries / local favorites that are not the usual suspects such as Norwalk Brew House, La Bodega Brewing Co. from Whittier, Brewjeria Company from Pico Rivera, Cerveza Xteca from San Diego, and Cerveza Cito hailing from Santa Ana.
And 100% of the proceeds from Brew Walk will directly benefit St. Linus School, that money goes to supporting educational programs and resources for the students. Maybe one of whom will become a brewer in the future.
A food hall in SoCal without a brewery presence is probably not really a food hall. But what if your food hall has two breweries?
Haven City in West Covina, wedged into an already busy big strip mall has recently opened and when I visited had a big crowd (even before a Dodger playoff game had started). Lots of food vendors right next to a big grocery store and there were still spots like Amboy not ready yet.
On one end is Ogopogo Brewing which had a full slate of their beers including two Fest-ish beers in Drude Marzen and Nachtkrapp Schwarzbier as well as a collab Nectaron Pils with Arrow Lodge. They are in a quiet corner that could probably use more seating but Drude was quite excellent.
Over on the other side is Burning Bridge Brewing which also does a small menu of tacos. They had quite a line-up on tap including a Belgian Dubbel, a PSL beer and, what I was told is a quite popular rice lager. I went with a hefty Hazy DIPA, Swing of the Axe, another beertender recommendation.
This City was full of people watching and also has a nice outdoor seating area as well. I would say pick a spot for a beer, then wander and choose some food and then have a second beer.
I posted about Slice & Pint from El Segundo Brewing expanding to a second location down the road in Redondo Beach, well in no time flat, they already have a special beer for it.
Naturally, it is an IPA. Now to find the right pizza for it.
Yes, the above does look like a Star Trek cocktail replicator down to the interior mood lighting. It also looks like a Dyson bladeless fan which could lead to trouble.
But it is the BarSys system. Kind of a boring name for basically a cocktail database plus pouring system plus light show. You pour your alcohol in the top as well as mixers on the other side, set your glass in the center and voila, time for a cocktail.
And yeah, it is cool that you can program your recipes plus others and it does look all future-y but part of the pouring a drink process for me is how it is calming and anticipatory to craft a drink. This robs you of that simple pleasure while also making you have to remember when you last cleaned the bourbon section of the device or if there is enough tonic.
Not Needed – make your simple favorites yourself and go to a fancy bar to have fancier cocktails made, that is so much simpler and fun.
Being the opinionated fellow that I am, I do like to express my opinions and now Chowhound readers know that too as I put in my two cents on good beer cities around the U.S. Read it HERE.
Everyone has a different set of opinions as to what makes a beer city a Beer City but I believe that certain criteria need to be met: A wide variety of beer styles, a good amount of breweries, beer bars and bottle shops, some GABF medals would be nice, a scene in the suburbs of the city is good too.
Thanks to Fiona Chandra for reaching out and listening.
I had the great pleasure and fun to be a judge in the Beer Travel Writing category of the North American Guild of Beer Writers annual awards, so I am going to start this post there and then widen the scope to the other winners.
This was the 10th year of the awards. There were 269 entries from 96 writers covering 15 categories. The big winners were David Nilsen, Dave Infante, Courtney Iseman and Brian Yeager who bagged multiple medals.
Here is the full list of winners: (and I suggest you search these writers out)
Best Beer and Food Writing
First Place: David Nilsen. “How to Pair IPAs with Craft Chocolate.” Bean to Barstool Second Place: Grace Weitz. “Stumbling Into the Hot Pink Restaurant With the Most Pleasurable Food in France.” Hop Culture
Best Blog/Newsletter
First Place: Jeff Alworth, Beervana. Second Place: Dave Infante, Fingers. Third Place: Douglas Veliky, Beer Crunchers.
Honorable Mention: Shana Solarte, Top Crop.
Emerging Voice: Cat Wiest, Hopwire Blog.
Best Book
First Place: Matthew Curtis. Manchester’s Best Beer Pubs and Bars. 2023. Second Place: Beth Demmon. The Beer Lover’s Guide to Cider: American Ciders for Craft Beer Fans to Explore. 2023. Third Place: David Nilsen. Pairing Beer and Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together. 2024.
Best Brewery Profile
First Place: Lucy Corne. “Women-Led, Women-Brewed — Kweza Craft Brewery in Kigali, Rwanda.” Good Beer Hunting. Second Place: Holly Regan. “Things Are Not What They Seem — Hildegard Ferments & Botanicals in Seattle, Washington.” Good Beer Hunting.Third Place: Claire Bullen. “10,000 Human Decisions — On Mariage Parfait Oude Geuze, Frank Boon, and Belgian Lambic Culture.” Belgian Smaak.
Honorable Mention: Maloy Luakian. “Supernatural Creatures And Blended Cultures — Dokkaebier’s Story Of Shapeshifting.” Good Beer Hunting.
Emerging Voice: Jacqueline Kehoe. “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger — How Iowa’s Big Grove Brewery Defies the Odds and Categorization.” Good Beer Hunting.
Best Business Writing
First Place: Michael Stein. “When Beer Goes Flat.” Slate Second Place: Courtney Iseman. “Building the On-Ramp: Vocational Programs for Brewers.” Brewing Industry Guide.
Third Place: Ken Pishna. “Non-alcoholic beer is growing; Should your brewery grow with it?” Malteurop Malting Co. Honorable Mention: Pete Brown. “Thornbridge to prove Britain’s brewing heritage can be profitable.” The Drinks Business
Emerging Voice: Jacqueline Kehoe. “Wisconsin Intuition — How New Glarus Brewed a State Identity with Spotted Cow.” Good Beer Hunting
Best Commentary or Criticism
First Place: Dave Infante. “The Bud Light Fiasco: How AB InBev Fell for the Gamergate Playbook.” VinePair. Second Place: Courtney Iseman. “Is Craft Beer Cringe Right Now?” InsideHook. Third Place: David Nilsen. “On Curiosity, Empathy, and the Flavor of Beer.” Belt Magazine.
Best General Beer Podcast
First Place: Dave Infante. VinePair Taplines Second Place: Breandán Kearney. The Belgian Smaak Podcast
Third Place: Emma Inch. Same Again?
Honorable Mention: Emily Hutto. RadCraft Industry Relief
Best Historical Writing
First Place: Mark Dredge. “From One to All — The Past, Present, and Future of Lager Yeast.” Good Beer Hunting. Second Place: Tony Rehagen. “The Utterly Fascinating History and Mystery of Oklahoma’s Choctaw “Choc” Beer.” Garden & Gun. Third Place: Anaïs Lecoq. “Garçon, un Picon! — The Past and Future Success of Amer Bière in French Drinking Culture.” Good Beer Hunting
Honorable Mention: Noelle Phillips. “Angry Hen Brewing and the Legacy of Shirley Warne.” The BC Ale Trail
Best Local Reporting
First Place: Courtney Iseman. “Secondary Fermentation — New York City’s Strong Rope Brewery and the East Coast Cask Revival.” Pellicle Magazine. Second Place: Eli Radtke. “THC Takes Over the Twin Cities.” Heavy Table. Third Place: Brian Yaeger. “Oral History Of Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale.” Bend Source Weekly. Honorable Mention: Alexander Gates. “An Ode to Lahaina’s Beer Scene.” Frolic Hawaii. Emerging Voice: Shamim de Brún. “The Quest For A Perfect Smithwick’s in Dublin.” Totally Dublin.
Best National or International Reporting
First Place: Alyssa Pereira. “The Man, Now Myth — Searching for Tony Magee.” Good Beer Hunting. Second Place: Lucy Corne. “Get to Know Umqombothi, a South African Tradition.” Craft Beer & Brewing. Third Place: Joshua Bernstein. “The Real Mystery of Bud Light.” The Atlantic. Honorable Mention: Dave Infante. “How Sapporo USA Sank Anchor Brewing Co.” VinePair.
Best Beer Review
First Place: David Nilsen. “Precious and Grace — Brouwerij Van Steenberge’s Tripel Van De Garre.” Pellicle Magazine. Second Place: Melinda Guerra. “Stardust and Loss: Friendship, Grief, and a Shared Saison.” Final Gravity. Third Place: Brian Yaeger. “One Of The World’s Most Obscure Beers Comes To Bend.” Bend Source Weekly. Honorable Mention: Loren Green. “A breath of fresh air.” Heavy Table.
Best Short Form Writing
First Place: Cliff Lucas. “Café de Hanekeef.” Belgian Smaak Second Place: Bryan Roth. “b-Roll no. 701.” Good Beer Hunting. Third Place: Andy Crouch. “Oh Brother: Newly Sober Hulk Hogan Releases “Real American Beer.” All About Beer.
Best Technical or Brewing Podcast
First Place: Jonny Garrett. The Craft Beer Channel.
Second Place: Jen Blair. False Bottomed Girls.
Third Place: John Holl. All About Beer Brewer to Brewer.
Best Technical Writing
First Place: Joe Stange. “Czech Lager: The Art of the Addictive.” Craft Beer & Brewing. Second Place: Don Tse. “It’s the Malt’s Fault (How Malt Choices Affect Beer’s Shelf Life).” Brewing Industry Guide. Third Place: Shana Solarte. “How Yeast Affects Flavor.” Top Crop. Honorable Mention: Matthew Curtis. “Old Gold, Heritage Malts Return to British Beer.” Craft Beer & Brewing.
Since it was the last category of the event, we will finish with the travel category:
1st place: My Father, Lion Lager, & Home by Ruvani de Silva (Final Gravity)
2nd place: A Happy Valley of Beer — Investigating the Pubs and Breweries of Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, England by Michael Clarke (Good Beer Hunting)
3rd place: Anarchists, Surrealists, & Spanish Brewers by John McMahon (Final Gravity)
Honorable mention: No Blitz — How Arkansas Tech University Fans Tailgate in a Dry County by Brian Sorensen (Good Beer Hunting)
Emerging Voice: Rebirth and Reinvention — As Chattanooga Grows and Changes, Local Beer Follows Along by Drew Pitt (Good Beer Hunting)
Just after wrapping up judging some beer writing, more on that later this month, I received Issue # 06 of Final Gravity, the October edition.
An in that judgmental state of mind, I dove in and was pleasantly surprised overall. There were a few that seemed more like good starts but could use more detail. Which is better than the other way around.
My standouts were both female tilted with Ruvani de Silva, a writer I like the more I read, had a smart piece on perimenopause and Cat Wiest had me wanting more stories about her fishing days and brewing days.
Behind that, as honorable mentions, were ‘zine co-founder Melinda Guerra’s piece on the beers she has picked as malty eulogies for friends which was pitched just right for spooky season. And Lucy Corne’s evocative writing on Charlie’s Garage in South Africa which made me want to try the beers and hang with the locals even though I am an introvert.
Time to dig into some ancient beer history with Tate Paulette and his new book, In the Land of Ninkasi.
First off, Paulette seems to be a big beer fan so this book already is a step ahead of most academic inclined books where the author doesn’t seem excited about the topic or is tamping down excitement to remain scholarly.
Second, he is very clear about what can and cannot be guessed at when it comes to archaeology. Claims are made but they are backed up by evidence and when that evidence is too slight or flimsy, Paulette will say so.
With that housekeeping out of the way, In the Land of Ninkasi covers beer and brewing in Mesopotamia in ancient times. From where it was brewed and by whom. What is was brewed with. How it was brewed, all the way to who drank it and why. Each step is backed up with evidence and if there is an alternative thesis, he brings that up as well.
Paulette also isn’t afraid to be challenging to our normal thought process. An example being the Minimalist Trap. From our perch in 2024, we cannot assume that we are at the pinnacle of how to brew. We may be but that does not mean that Ancient Mesopotamian brewing wasn’t complex too. There were purpose built brewing areas and specialized equipment back then too.
Another interesting aspect is that the records we have from that time are basically inventories and sales slips. It can be hard to say what a day in the life of a brewer was when it is all just so much zeroes and ones.
Before you think this book is about literal dust and dry facts, the Epic of Gilgamesh is also wove into this tale and one part that I did not remember is about Shiduri, the tavern keeper at the end of the world. How cool that an epic warrior seeks help from a bar owner.
This book is academic in parts as well and those do make the reading drag a bit. There are instances of explaining the different languages and what the words translate to for our times and there is some inside baseball as well that glazed my eyes a bit but overall, this history opened my eyes as to how this time in beer will be remembered hundreds and thousands of years from now.
With the news of Portland getting a WNBA franchise, time to turn attention to re-creating another PNW grudge match. Blazers vs Sonics. Ever since the Thunder came into being because of duplicitous Oklahoma ownership, basketball fans have lost a rivalry game. With the Ducks running for the money train, the UofO – OSU game has lost its luster and we could use an old fashioned derby game.
The other near lock for a new franchise (with LeBron’s backing) is Las Vegas. That tracks too because that city has been real vocal and supportive even with the bastard step-children franchises from their relationship with Oakland.
But I would like to see a franchise added to the Eastern Conference and it might raise some eyebrows but Puerto Rico would be someplace to look at. There would be expat fans and it would balance out the lone Canadian franchise. More importantly it could use a boost that the NBA could bring and there is no reason why the NBA or the NFL can’t use their power to build up instead of always choosing cities with that already have a lot of sway.
For beer, get yourself a couple beers each of Oregon beers and Washington beers. Pick one style, like pilsner of West Coast IPA or stout and get a friend to help you blind taste test and see what the rankings are.
During GABF month, I like to feature breweries that you may not have heard about but that recently won medals at the festival. In that spirit, let’s head to Bellingham in Washington State to Structures Brewing and take a look at their beer menu.
Junior – “A beautiful small pale ale brewed with Amarillo and Simcoe. By far one of our favorite pale ales around the brewery!!!”
Strata Citra Fuzz – “Our Flagship IPA brewed with our favorite blend of malts and oats, double dry hopped with Citra, Strata and Simcoe! Showcasing aromas of tropical fruits, bursting with notes of guava and pink grapefruit with a healthy dose of pine, a soft body, creamy mouthfeel and subdued bitterness on the finish. “
Motueka Fuzz – “Our Flagship IPA brewed with our favorite blend of malts and oats, double dry hopped with Citra, Amarillo and Motueka! Showcasing aromas of tropical fruits, bursting with notes of lime zest, clementines and orange creamsicle, a soft body, creamy mouthfeel and subdued bitterness on the finish.”
