1st Visit – Orange County – Part 1


I tooled down the 5 on a recent Sunday to check out the new Everywhere Beer Co. To get there, I passed by Angel Stadium as well as the Orange County location of Golden Road and a Karl Strauss.

Everywhere is the project of a breakaway group from The Bruery much in the way that Radiant Beer Co. is.  And both are happy and colorful places for a beer.  Lot’s of colorful painted figures on the wall.  A happy little wobbly circle mascot.  Actual booths to nestle into inside, outdoor seating as well.  Spanish tile creating a warming counterpoint. Views of the brewhouse from most angles.

First beer was Delicious Moments an Italian Pilsner. My half pour came in a cool cylindrical glass that emphasized the dark yellow color. Sharp malty and mineral taste. Not bubbly but not viscous either.

Next up was Gladness, a West Coast IPA is nice a bright.  A burst of hoppiness here that is different from the crowded IPA field.  I get melon and grape notes.  As it warmed the fruit pulled back a bit and the West Coast-iness came out.

The finishing beer was Magnificent Everything a DDH DIPA. Super pillowy soft and fruity.  Getting a strawberry note here. Tastes way less big than the Gladness.  Getting a wheat note here as well.  

The selection on offer was five beers, two sours and two seltzers.  A little more style variety will probably come as the production grows. They also have beer to-go as well to round out your choices.

New Brewery Alert # 2 – Los Barbones

L.A. has another cerveceria to look for on bottle shop shelves.  Los Barbones has highlighted three cans from brown to lager to hazy that you can check out the specs on HERE.

I checked their beer finder and The Heights Deli is on their distribution list, so I hope to find their stuff there and review on a future post.

Smog City – Part 1 – Cherry Nerd

Cool TV show callback from Smog City Brewing with Krieks & Geeks.

Here is the description of this Cellar Series beer, “This oak-aged saison is all about fruit! Deliciously crisp, dry, and tart is the name of the game in this 5.6% beauty. Our little nod to fruity lambic beers from Belgium, we incorporated heaps of Balaton and Montmorency cherries to sweeten up and balance out the saison funk.”

A New Altar

Built in 1903, the Masonic Temple on Pine Avenue in Long Beach will (fingers crossed) become Altar Society Brewing later this year.  Brewery in the basement.  Coffee shop and restaurant at street level and then more space in the floors above.  More news when opening is closer.  This project has been in the works since 2020 and was obviously slowed down even more than the usual for a brewery.

Birds in Pasadena

This summer will bring a new little brewery to Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, Wild Parrot Brewing.

You can hear more about the brewery over at the Experimental Brewing podcast with Drew Beechum and Denny Conn. Quick points are that the brewery has been a long time in the making and will aim for late July and looks to do more on the lighter side of the beer style spectrum.

New LA Brewery – La Jara

La Jara Brewing opened yesterday, marking the first brewery in Norwalk. La Jara is headed by partners and co-owners Jason Sullivan, co-head brewer Derek Johnstone, as well as Derek’s dad, Randy Johnstone.

Despite recent losses, LA is a large metropolitan area that still has pockets where local beer is still absent.

I will plan a visit and report back on the beer and tasting room.

It’s a Living

For those who wondered what would happen when Modern Times shuttered locations, well, one space will see new life.  Actually a third regeneration, when Modern Times PDX (formerly The Commons Brewery) will become Living Haüs Beer Co.

Founded by former brewers at Modern Times Beer and the highly regarded pFriem Family Brewers.  Now wait to see if the other locations can find new brewing life as well.  Most notably for my purposes, the narrow DTLA space that could serve a brewery with some rent money nicely.