Sideline

Ambitious Ales has a new feature in their taproom that you may not have noticed, a Lukr side pull faucet.

Like so…

Here are the details from the Bixby Knolls brewery: “What is it and what does it do you may ask? This is a faucet designed specially to pour Czech style beers to give the beer tender full control over the flow rate and foam to promote next level texture and aromatics of the lager being poured.”

First up was the 12° Czech Style Pilsner, 6FT Nachos in the “Hladinka style, meaning smooth pour.”  Next will be the Bohemian Spaceman Czech Dark Lager with more to come.

1st Visit – Beachwood Distilling

We are starting to see the shoots of the Beachwood Distilling with a new cocktail menu at the Bixby Knolls location starting with rum, gin and (unfortunately) vodka too.

With many reviews of breweries, I give allowances for youth.  Finding your footing is a process.  And I will have to reserve some judgement until  I can taste their spirits near but on first blush, the cocktails are pretty darn good.

I went with a classic Gin and Tonic but using the orange gin vs the botanical.  I found it to be well in balance with citrus and gin and a light quinine touch to it.  My beer and cocktail buddy Rich had two other gin cocktails, despite the allure of the special tiki glasses, and liked the Saturn and its constellation of ingredients over the lime tinged Gimlet.  

I am excited to see how this spirits program develop.

Distilled in Bixby Knolls

Distilling at the Beachwood Brewing location in Bixby Knolls is coming soon.  As I have posted about earlier, the former Liberation Brewing space is to be the  distilling HQ for Beachwood and a recent social media post had this to say…

“Get ready for specialty cocktails with Beachwood’s house-distilled gin, vodka, and rum, plus new delicious bites! And yes, we’re still pouring our award-winning craft beer.”

Anniversary at the Beach

Beachwood Brewing is now up to their 12th year of brewing beer and will be celebrating not just at the Long Beach Location but in Bixby Knolls as well on Saturday, July 15.

Whats happening, you ask? “beer releases, food pop-ups, giveaways, live music, and more at our Downtown Long Beach and Bixby Knolls Taprooms. Plus, a free shuttle to bring everyone between both locations! We can’t wait to celebrate with everyone then.”

Find more details on the Beachwood Facebook events page.

1st Visit – Beachwood Brewing in Bixby Knolls

The space formerly known as Liberation Brewing has been given a Beachwood make-over and will house, in the future, distilling operations.

I made a weekend visit to get a Beachwood beer fix and here are my thoughts…

Obviously the beer is great, a dry hopped Knucklehead Red was hoppy with a great spice malt background. Two barrel-aged tasters were cool to compare as well so this visit was more an interior decoration review.

The trophy tap handles are great, the space can be loud but there is outdoor seating out back and enough space to have a quiet conversation or a party as needed. The bar stools are comfortable despite no back to them and the artwork on the wall was bright and colorful and unique.

Other than that though, the space is not super different from the previous brewery. Maybe that will change when distilling fires up operations but as of now, it looks Beachwood for sure and is as of now, I nice counterpoint to Ambitious Ales up the street.