While Wingwalker Brewing is no more, nearby Over Town Brewing Co. has reached the five year mark and will be bringing the music and beer to Monrovia across three days!
Five Over Three
L.A. Ale Works 7th Anniversary
Get tropical in Hawthorne as Los Angeles Ale Works will celebrate their 7th anniversary or thereabouts with all sorts of Tiki treats and a new IPA for the occasion.
And Then the Next
Benny Boy will be celebrating their 2nd year at the tank farm with their anniversary celebrations on March 30th.
Check out the info HERE or just carefully scrutinize the artwork for clues.
For One Weekend
Ambitious Ales is coming up on anniversary # 5. They have a lovely taproom in the Bixby beer corridor that you should really visit, especially if you are an IPA fan or a fan of fives.
Brewjeria 2
Brewjeria in Pico Rivera has news. As in a new location. And it is a bit of a drive from their comfy original location. B2 will be in Chula Vista, which I have to admit, I have never been to in all my SoCal years.
Good to see the Brewjeria folks are expanding.
Portland 2024 Beer Report – Part 2
Each time I come to Portland, I buy a four pack + as well as visit a few brewery taprooms. Each time, I try to plan the right amount so I am not leaving beers in my mom’s ‘fridge or having too many un-visited breweries.
And this year, I did good. And I really enjoyed the two new places that I visited.
First was Duality Brewing off Sandy Boulevard. Tucked away and sharing space with a food pop-up and coffee shop was a revelation. Based on two beers at least. Soft Side was a wheat beer with Bergamot and Satsuma. I posted on Instagram that I could drink buckets of it and it is true and I do not say that often, at all. Alpine Timeshare was a bourbon barrel-aged Saison filtered on pine needles and blended with cider! Crazy and it worked.
Second was Foreland Brewing’s Beer Study on Belmont. When I visited, there was a tap share with Kings & Daughters Brewing. The tap list was eclectic and fun. Zwickel, smoke and bitter. Super helpful service and half pours in literally a homey environment. Plus all sorts of outdoor seating. Atmosphere to spare and the two collaboration beers I had were spot on.
Portland 2024 Beer Photos
Portland 2024 Beer Report – Part 1
First day in the PDX and the focus was Von Ebert Brewing.
I did not go to the main brewery, nor the newly acquired Ecliptic space but instead wandered over to their golf course brewery and restaurant instead. The Glendoveer location has a fireplace and some seating looks out onto a tee (though it was too gloomy and rainy to see any golfing).
The brewing smell of steeping grains was pleasantly everywhere. My taster tray was a bit of a mixed bag though. My favorite was a Baltic Porter with second best being a Modern Citrus Pilsner.
Apparently VE has two Italian pilsners, one has just kicked but later that day, I had their Lombardy Italian Pils which paired excellently with my salad and pizza.
I also made a stop at my happy place Belmont Station to pick up a mixed four pack that included Wayfinder, Great Notion, Gold Dot and Bale Breaker. But just so many good beer choices there, I could have blindly picked and gotten winners.
Pintlife
If saving money is on your 2024 agenda, then the Pintlife Passport might help out. $25 gets you super discounted / nearly free beers. If you get 4 stamps, that would pay back that initial cost and any beers past that are essentially free.
The participating breweries are not bad, there are a few non-brewing participants and it is primarily South Bay centric but even with only 10+ months left, it is pretty doable.
Bamberg and Beyond
There are a plethora of both good and bad beer guides out there for when craft beer fans go a’ travelin’. But I thought this post had a really good extension past just the city center out into the surrounding areas.
It so happens this city is Bamberg in Germany, famed for its rauchbiers but the point stands for any good beer city. We should be looking a little outside the bubble for brewery gems.
Check out the recommendations HERE !