Open / Shut – King Harbor

King Harbor Returns?

Everyone follows a social media account which enjoys being cryptic instead of letting the info just rip.  Earlier this month the King Harbor Brewing account posted…..

…with no other hints or clues.  So, I waited to see if some real news would pop up and last week it became soft official that Trusted Gut Brewing from Long Beach had taken over the space, spruced it up a bit and were pouring beer and kombucha at the main brewing location on 182nd. I have not tasted their beers nor even seen them in my neck of the beer shopping woods and I have to assume from the name that kombucha would be their lead with beer and seltzer a lesser focus.

Profits and Losses

There has been moving and shaking in the Los Angeles beer world as the clock runs out on 2022.  

First was news that the original owners of Yorkshire Square Brewing in Torrance were leaving and that the brewery is in the hands of the Copley Family who are also involved with Project Barley

Then the day after Christmas brought the news that King Harbor Brewing was closing up shop in its three locations after eight years in business.

Will there be a dip on top of three years of pivoting?  The economic situation doesn’t look great for cost of goods plus a labor market that requires more pay with higher turnover.  It is enough to make one look long and hard at opening and operating a brewery.  And I do expect more new in Q1 of 2023.

Obviously, not a rosy picture but I was never under the impression that each and every Los Angeles brewery was going to last forever.  Change is the only constant and maybe turnkey breweries or brewing equipment for sale or rents coming down as landlords choose lower rent over pie in the sky valuations will create a new surge next year or in 2024.

Petri Dish

Science.  A large part of beer making.  Which is why the name and label of this new Long Beach Beer Lab beer is so great. King of the Petri Dish is a West Coast IPA collaboration with King Harbor Brewing using Citra incognito, cryo and mosaic Hops. 

Here is the beer description, “This experiment is super fresh with aromatics of grapefruit, wine must, and diesel dankness. On the palate flavors of white bread, grapefruit, orange, smooth bitterness, crisp carbonation and a clean dry finish.”

Kessel Run and Parsecs

King Harbor sends a West Coast hopped pilsner our way with Fly Casual.

Here is the brewery description – “It’s been feeling a lot like Jakku recently and this is just what you need to get you through a hot summer day scavenging around the South Bay. This one’s got the strength and hoppiness of a pale ale, but with the clean, crisp and refreshing qualities that comes with a nice Pilsner.”

I would suggest getting a four-pack and not a Solo can.

Coconut – Wheat – Horchata

King Harbor Brewing has a new spin on a Horchata inspired beer, Coco-Chata starts life as a wheat beer.  Here is the explainer from the brewery, “This cerveza was inspired by horchata, that heavenly and sweet rice drink you have with your tacos. It’s loaded with toasted rice, raw and toasted coconut, Madagascar vanilla beans, cinnamon blend and lactose. Each sip gives you balanced notes of cinnamon, sweet vanilla, rice, and coconut on the back end.”

King Postponed

Thanks to the stupid unvaccinated we are still not out of the woods, so it is no surprise that this happened…

But fear not because of these two bits of news from King Harbor Brewing

“First, while the anniversary party may be postponed, our special anniversary beers are not. We’re so stoked to share the brews we’ve been cooking up behind the scenes with some of our friends/collaborators. Keep an eye out for those special releases in the weeks to come!

And secondly, we’ll be offering some “Almost Anniversary” packages that’ll include KHBC merch and a 4-pack of exclusive beers. More details to come, but don’t sleep on these packages cos they’re sure to go quick!”

Sunk

It has been a bit since I have spoken about King Harbor Brewing but they have a new beer out for us all…Sink Beneath the Surface

“Built with headliners Mosaic and Cashmere plus a nice Citra support. Utilizes a splash OG golden naked oats for a golden orange tint.

Light vanilla and a nice grapefruit jab in the background… A 3lb per barrel dry hopped beer.”

Cookie Collab

King Harbor has started up a bakery collaboration with fellow Redondo Beach business, Isabella’s Cookie Company. They have created “4 beers based on their amazing cookie recipes” and starting tomorrow, September 7th, they will release the beers…

Maui Wowie – Imperial stout w/ macadamia nuts, white chocolate, pineapple, and coconut

The Muffy – Imperial stout w/ white chocolate, blueberry, cacao, and lactose

Red Velvet – Red stout w/ cacao and vanilla bean

Hot Chocolate – Imperial stout w/ cacao and chipotle peppers

Two Tiki’s

You may not think of tiki in regards to Claremont Craft Ales. or jacaranda when it comes to King Harbor. But they know each other and have collaborated on a dueling set of IPA’s.

King Harbor – “Tiki Jac IPA – is our Tiki Hut IPA recipe with a hint Claremont’s Jacaranda Rye IPA. Rye spice malt bill with a big juicy tropical hop layered on top.”

Claremont – “Tiki Hut Dry IPA – is their awesome Mosaic Dry IPA with a hint of our Tiki Hut IPA hop profile. Bone dry west coast style IPA with dank mosaic and tropically fantastic citra sending a roundhouse kick to your pallet.”

If you can find both, would be a good brewing comparison.