Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
bottle shops, pubs and breweries
It is not often that a seemingly normal tap takeover becomes the launch party for a brewery taking over a bar. But Long Beach Beer Lab will be taking over the operation of Bar Envie which will become a new Long Beach Beer Lab tasting room and kitchen.
No timetable yet for the turnaround to LBB but good to see the growth for the brewery.
With 2023 openings for both The Boardroom and Five Point Five Brewing, El Segundo is back up to four breweries along the hilly streets of the bedroom and oil community.
The latter is the former Surfridge Brewing space now taken over by the lead brewer and re-branded. The former is in a quonset hut making it the western version of Paperback Brewing. It opened earlier this year.
Both are on the agenda for first visits look for those before year end.
I attempt to balance visiting breweries so that I do not go to far in between visits but I fell down on the job with Tortugo Brewing out in Inglewood.
But on a sultry fall Saturday, I went back to the the distinctive orange building to try a couple of their beers. The beertender on duty was particularly helpful and in good spirits which was a good sign.
I started with a Red Ale, Baltra. I have a weak spot for this beer probably due to Double Mountain’s Killer Red. This beer tasted more like a hoppy brown ale to me. Softer and chocolate tinged where I expected sharper and spicier. The second beer was the Galapagos Triple IPA which was really good. Bright fruit forward aroma. And the ABV of 11% was not out there boldly proclaiming itself.
Then another turn with a taster of their Mai Tai inspired IPA, which tasted more old and caramel then any of the three fruits referenced on the menu board.
Now, I just need to visit more frequently.
A craft beer institution (that I wrote about in the August Beer Paper), The Glendale Tap has an anniversary coming up fast….
….better alter your plans to have a Friday night pint in my ‘hood.
Inkwell Tavern is in a space that has turned over a few times now on San Fernando Boulevard blocks before downtown Burbank proper but I hope this one lasts a little longer especially if the cocktails themselves are as good as the literary names. And it is a good long list of cocktails too. Oh, and they do have a decent+ craft beer list too.
Three Weavers is hitting their 9th Anniversary on November 4th and they have laid out how they brewed Time is a Flat Circle which is a double dry-hopped Cold IPA.
“To even call it “double dry-hopped” seems a bit of an understatement because our brewers have added ridiculous amounts of hops during the following processes…
1. Mash
2. First runnings
3. Bittering
4. Flavor
5. Knock out
6. Whirlpool
7. Dry-hop 1
8. Dry-hop 2 (we’re at this step today)
…And you might ask yourself, “Gee, that sounds fun but *which* hops did they use?” Welllllll…
1. Simcoe Cryo
2. Strata
3. Citra
4. Idaho Gem
5. Mosaic Cryo
6. Citra
7. Chinook
8. Cryo Pop”
I am still scratching my head as to when it was first reported that Georgia based Creature Comforts Brewing was going to plant an outpost in Los Angeles, but it has been years.
I moseyed down to their San Julian and 12th address to see what the space and beers look like…
…and it is a really cool space. The Russo Brothers Motion Picture Universe is above them and they have two floors of space for brewing and canning.
The block also includes a coffee shop, a pizza place and the fancy Rossoblu restaurant as well plus it is super near the hustle and bustle of Santee Alley which is an L.A. institution.
I had four beers from different sections of the menu. A double dry hopped version of their flagship IPA, Tropicalia. Bibo pilsner as well as their sour Neon Cylinders, a rotating version, this time Rowdy Red which was 8% but tasted like 4%.
My favorite was the last. Just filled with cranberry and super tasty but within months, we will start to see Los Angeles brewed beer and that will require a second visit.
For 12 years, the Beachwood Brewing hub was in Long Beach on promenade. Now they are taking leave of that location and re-allocating, as it were over their other spots across South L.A. and Orange County.
From their recent social media posting, “This sale will allow us to move our specialty beer production to our Huntington Beach facility – so all the variety you’ve come to enjoy from Beachwood isn’t going away. With a growing footprint in Long Beach and Orange County, a newly launched distillery with artisanal spirits, and expanded beer production, we are committed to the same ethos we started with 12 years ago ”
Don’t fret though. Former Beachwood and Riip brewer – Ian McCall will bring his eponymous brewery (ISM) and his medals to the space which is quite exciting. A real win-win.
Beachwood – Long Beach’s last week will be October 23-October 29.
Hand-Brewed Beer is cruising towards their 9th anniversary and are throwing the traditional party along with special brew for the occasion, an Encino DIPA for the community.
The American Cider Association has settled on the location and dates for CiderCon®2024. It will take place in Portland, Oregon from January 16-19, 2024. It is the cider event of the year with “more than 1000 attendees to the city and surrounding areas for tours, tastings, educational workshops, networking opportunities, a trade show and more.”
As a bonus, the conference “coincides with Oregon Cider Week (January 13-21, 2024), a statewide celebration of cider, featuring events for both aficionados and the cider-curious, hosted by the Northwest Cider Association (NWCA).”