1st Visit – Ballast Point Long Beach

The northernmost outpost of the Constellation backed Ballast Point Brewing has been out on the pier in Long Beach for quite awhile now. I finally lyfted out to the ocean to check out the menu and location.

And it is impressive. BP has maximized the amount of water view seating around three different bars on two levels. The calming peaceful water views are prime territory. You probably have to grab them when the brewery/restaurant opens the doors. At 2pm on a Saturday with not much in sports going on, there was nary a seat to be found, especially outside.

Next tip, from a one time visitor, is to station yourself at or near the Main bar. You will notice on the menu letters in front of the beer names. They designate where the beer is pouring. Notice all the “M”s? and not as many of the “U”s and “P”s.

So, you are now there early and at the main bar. What to order? Well, readers of this blog know of my issues with “fruited” beers which BP seems to love hard. But there are a good many choices and more exotic beers to choose from. I went with a Nitro Biere de Garde, Azote.  The style worked well with the nitro and made for an interesting beer that never got boring.  Tangential Entry a Nut Brown with rum chips would have been my second choice.  There was a gose and sours to choose from as well as a cask of Sculpin with a single hop addition.

It is a potent mix of maritime views and beer.

ONS – Now in two Locations!

The famed One Night Stand from Beer Belly is now going on in two places?

The first ONS of the year (TODAY) now begins with a kick-off event featuring a taplist of the participating 2017 breweries.
Taplist:
• Smog City (special mystery beer)
• Noble Ale Works Crowler Phil IPA
• El Segundo BBA Standard Crude
• Beachwood Tovarish (Elida Coffee variant)
• Bottle Logic Darkstar November
• Monkish Mind of a Peach (ONS Collaboration Series #1)
• Phantom Carriage BA Broadacres w Peaches
• AleSmith Speedway Stout w/ Coconut & Vanilla
• Highland Park Brewery Good Green
• The Bruery Wineification III
• The Bruery White Chocolate
• Allagash TBD

Start scheduling according to K-Town or LBC….

The 2017 Lineup KTOWN:
• Kickoff (1/28)
• Noble Ale Works (2/15)
• El Segundo Brewing (3/15)
• Allagash (4/19)
• Beachwood (5/17)
• Bottle Logic (6/21)
• Monkish (7/19)
• Phantom Carriage (8/16)
• AleSmith (9/20)
• Highland Park Brewery (10/18)
• Smog City (11/15)
• The Bruery/Terreux (12/20)

The 2017 Lineup Long Beach:
• Modern Times (1/25)
• Eagle Rock (2/22)
• The Bruery/Terreux (3/22)
• Craftsman (4/26)
• Mumford (5/24)
• Three Weavers (6/28)
• Chapman Crafted (7/26)
• Good Beer (8/23)
• Dry River (9/27)
• State Brewing (10/25)
• Brouwerij West (11/22)
• Lost Abbey (12/27)

Anyone strong enough to hit all 24 events?

It’s Great (for cider and mead)

After walking a couple blocks away from the Beachwood/Beer Belly/Congregation triplex in Long Beach you find a couple blocks of quaint shopping area and on the corner, Great Society.
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Occupying a sunny and big space, GS is designed to separate out the outdoor seating area from the bar area, from a third seating option to the side out of sight.

The list of ciders and meads is quite impressive flavor wise (pears and peppers were spied) though it would be nice to see a wider range of cidermakers on the boards. Each producer seemed to have 4 or 5 ciders represented.
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The Smoked Pumpking cider from Tieton Ciderworks that I tasted was very autumnal though missing the promised smoke. More PSL than roasty.

This is a really nice change-up from craft beer.

Beer Belly LBC

There are many miles between the Koreatown and Long Beach locations of Beer Belly.

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Other than locations the three big differences start with the number of taps. 24 taps with plenty of choices. Including a rarely seen, by me, Bottle Logic wild ale and the Three Weavers / Rhinegeist Anniversary collaboration that was debuting cross town in Inglewood. There was a nice spectrum of styles too which you can only do when you have your requisite amount of IPA’s represented.

Number 2 is the cocktail menu. And wine. Now even the pickiest group will be happy.

Lastly, the space is nice and roomy. You can see that even the wait staff behind the bar can walk without watching where they are going. There is no outside seating which would be nice for the beach but they have somehow managed to be both open but also private with wooden slats demarcating each booth.
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Beer Belly – Now in Long Beach

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BB-LB is coming in less than a week! That’s right the Koreatown favorite is bringing their flair for beer + food to a very crowded beer block just off the Metro Blue Line.

Before we get to the beer, the menu at the second Beer Belly will be a twist on what you know with different versions of core dishes from K-Town plus Long Beach only items like the BLVD Burger with candied bacon slaw, sharp cheddar, arugula, hot smoke mayo and an optional sunny side egg.

This location will sport 24 taps! plus cocktails featuring a seasonal cocktail program highlighting farmer’s market driven libations. There will also be a second bar at the back of the restaurant that will be where you order experimental drinks.

To stay updated on happenings and events and to get a $1 draft beer at the Long Beach location sign up for their LBC email list right HERE.

Mead in the LBC

Not just mead but cider too. Great Society has opened in Long Beach to serve up apples and honey instead of malt and hops to thirsty patrons looking for a change-up from non-stop IPA’s that dominate most craft beer taprooms.
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The options in Long Beach for fans of craft beverages is growing wicked fast.

Chicago to Long Beach

If you have heard of the famed Daisy Cutter Hoppy Pale Ale, well then you will want to be in Long Beach at Beachwood tomorrow night.
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Yeah, DC will be on tap alongside Akira American Wheat Ale, get Right Kolsch and Navaja DIPA for the very first time here in Los Angeles.

Thanks to a second brewery location, the Chicago brewery location has been expanding their beer’s reach.

BP lands in LBC

Looks like Ballast Point is using their Constellation billions to make a push north into Long Beach. The San Diego brewer will be taking over a spot on the aptly named Marina Drive and opening in (probably) late summer of this year.
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They will follow Firestone Walker into the L.A. beer and food market with Modern Times coming as well.

There is also a possibility of small-batch brewing being done on site as well. Maybe leading to L.A. only beers from the maker of Sculpin and a host of crazy popular fruit beers. Most of which I am not a fan of but Sculpin is still, after all these years, one of the best IPA’s out there.

With Smog City also rolling into Long Beach, the city is swelling with great beer.

Hops in the SteelCraft

While we wait for Smog City to open their second taproom location in Long Beach, they brewery has kindly given us a bit of a preview with the new SteelCraft IPA. This Amarillo, Centennial, Citra and Simcoe hop bomb will debut in Torrance but will end up seeing only limited availability at the SteelCraft facility.
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(In case you have forgotten, Steelcraft will be a grouping of shipping containers with retail establishments inside. Possibly coffee, waffles, ramen and ice cream could be setting up shop alongside Smog City beers).

Tomorrow night is your first chance to try the beer before it moves to the LBC.

One Block

As I perused the new Beachwood Blendery on Sunday, I got to talking about the sign for a new DogHaus hot dogs and craft beer spot that will be in the same block that already houses Beachwood Brewery and Congregation Ale House. Then I learned that a second Beer Belly location might be in the works as well, again in that block. Add in the fresh press juice (how long will that fad last?) shop and the local coffeehouse and this block is literally a beverage paradise.
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If I had that many choices in one city block, I would be sooooo poor. And that isn’t counting the new-ish bar just a block away, The Brass Lamp.