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Long Beach (specifically Bixby Knolls) is an L.A. beer hub and one of its members is turning 2. Now, there will not be a big ol’ party but there will be special can releases so check out the Ambitious Ales social media to stay in the loop.
Bundesliga is all but done, the Premier League is winding down with some important spots still in play, and MLS is back and you will need to drink something when watching from your couch. And Ambitious Ales has DDH Hazy for you. AND a cheeky Spanish football referenced beer….
Tiki Taka – Tiki Sour with Pineapple, Peach, Toasted Coconut and Vanilla
I am staying local for the July edition of fun beer labels, starting with Professional Human Being a Hazy IPA Double Dry Hopped with Nelson, Citra and Wai iti from Ambitious Ales in Long Beach.
I like the simple color stripes and the brainiac / scientist and the name is fun and ironic considering how inhuman some people are acting like.
Nearby-ish, Burnin Daylight has a beer from somewhere else…
…which is appropriately hopped with Galaxy (and Simcoe). What I like is the Cosmos colors and mirrored names. It works really well and as a Sci-Fi nerd, anything about parallel universes is fun.
Here are your lucky numbers for February….
1st Anniversary – Wingwalker in Monrovia on 2/8
3rd Anniversary – Los Angeles Ale Works in Hawthorne on 2/15
2nd Anniversary – State Brewing in Gardena on 2/22
1st Anniversary – Ambitious Ales in Long Beach on 2/29
Feel like I am close to knocking out all the new Long Beach breweries as I visited Ambitious Ales recently.
Ambitious Ales is located in the former home of Tuttle Cameras. The concrete floor is offset by the wood striped chairs and bar and the beams high above in the ceiling. Good use of a cool splash of primary colors opposite the taps. There are quirky signage touches and the requisite barrel display.
The beer menu signs are classy and simple if a skosh too small. Would have been good to have some paper menus around to use. I like the bright white backdrop for the unadorned taps and the wordless logo on the glassware as well.
Fleurs
Heavy on the chamomile but real nice. The lavender pokes through but not so much the strawberry. Mocktail adjacent
I Like Tuttles
Simple Saison with California grown wheat. Has the Belgian character right. Clove and tiny banana note.
Hopped on Phonics
Big grapefruit notes. Real nice aroma. Quite hoppy for a session IPA
I have 1st visited a few new breweries this year but this is the first one that has really impressed me. All three beers were excellent, the staff were helpful and they had cold brew coffee and a soda option as well.
A start date has been published for another Long Beach brewery, Ambitious Ales will start on the 16th of February. Plan accordingly.
Is Bixby Knolls the new Torrance? Another brewery is opening in this Long Beach neighborhood, Ambitious Ales.
Look for it to open later this year or 2019.