Tag: new brewery

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1st Visit – Shadow Grove

The continued pandemic has not stopped breweries from opening up and now I travel to San Fernando to the still in softly opened phase, Shadow Grove Brewing.

Now, this is a curated space.  From the outside, you cannot tell what you are walking into.  Which is a woodland, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.  The outside windows let in plenty of light but the inside is moody with distinct seating areas.  British punk on the playlist added another note to the experience.

Five beers on tap for this second soft weekend. An old school classic style set.  So old school that there was a Nut Brown on offer.  No IPA either.  You read that right.  And the taster comes with what looks like a tarot card. Nice Wonderland touch. I also liked that they had a little chalkboard with which beer is low.  Nice sales touch that.

Pale Ale was my least favorite.  It was fine.  More earthy than hoppy which actually fits the motif but I am looking for a divergent note when you have this type of list. The lager was fine as well, had a bit of wine character to me.  The Hefeweizen hit the banana clove combo well and had a nice spritz to it.  Three beers in, I an thinking that they are off fo a solid start.  That this isn’t just atmosphere.  The Nut Brown is on mark.  Perfect for watching the new season of the Premier League. Everything is so low ABV too which is great. The sweet stout hit the markers as well.

I do not say this lightly or often but do not sleep on Shadow Grove.  

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How Far?

There is another brewery opening that escaped my radar until now, Far Field Beer Company has been selling to-go since April in Lawndale.

Wife and husband duo of Regan and James Bardeen plan to open their taproom in June. Initial cans started with an IPA, a hoppy lager, and a Berliner Weisse, black IPA and a cream ale.

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A New Brew in Malibu

Looks like another brewery is opening in SoCal just as restrictions ease up….

…there is not much concrete info such as opening date or beers as of yet for the new Malibu Brewing Company but those details will probably start pouring shortly so watch their social media to see when a visit can be made

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The Fields are Wild

Traveling to the SLO / Paso Robles region just got a little more exciting with…

Wild Fields has Ryan (wait for it) Fields Brewing In Atascadero. If that name is familiar, he was at Beachwood as well as Pizza Port so that bodes well for the beer.

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A New Shadow

San Fernando has a new brewery. The Gaiman-esque logo’d Shadow Grove Brewing. Currently they have only growler-to-go as well as pre-order special releases. The main beers are a pale ale, nut brown ale and a Czech pils which is nicely off-kilter style wise.

Look forward to a 1st visit in the weeks to come.

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1st Visit – Lawless Brewing in North Hollywood

The end of April saw the opening of Lawless Brewing and I quickly hopped over to check it out for a first visit.

The warehouse space outside doesn’t hint at the silver, metallic two floor space inside. There is the usual bar and indoor seating but because of the height it doesn’t seem constrained. Personally, I hope the mezzanine seating is opened because you can get a nice view of the brewing area and have some people watching.

The beer list was split in thirds by pilsner/lager, hoppy and stout. Between myself and beer buddy Richard, we tasted at least one from each category and found the light beers the best of the group. I voted the Mexican Lager winner with the Bohemian pilsner second over the West Coast IPA.

The time we visited issues arose for both their QR code menu and ordering system as well as their credit card system but the staff was friendly and gave updates and were flexible which made all the difference. That is key to return visits which is also helped by a new Single Hop Strata pils that is in the pipeline.

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Mc is Back

From the ashes of the Green Flash / Alpine Brewing deal of a few years back comes…

Son and Father Brewing duo of Shawn and Pat McIlhenney will be Brewing again in Alpine, CA!

You can read the full story from the excellent Brandon Hernandez HERE.

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Meet Benny in the Fall

Ground has been broken for Benny Boy Brewing…

…and the fingers crossed / everything goes to plan opening date is September. Knowing the City of LA and the then (hopefully) after effects of pandemic times, I would say October or November might be closer.

Either way this freeway adjacent, five lanes of traffic away from the Brewery Blocks brewery and Cidery should be an excellent outdoor spot to re-acclimate oneself to drinking at a new brewery instead of the four-pack and flee method currently in place.

Updates to follow.

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1st Visit – All Seasons Brewing

Crazy to think that breweries have been opening in this post inaugural less crazy time. But they have been and I made a quick first can release visit under cloudy L.A. skies to All Seasons Brewing.

The corner lot is just south of Wilshire in the middle of a flurry of subway and condo activity. It has a big outdoor but covered patio and some colorful murals (not to my taste) on one side near medium sized silo. Obviously indoors was shut but there was a line forming at the stroke of noon when they opened to sell their first three beers. Pilsner, lager and West Coast IPA. I would like to have seen something a little more left field for the third beer. A Belgian Tripel or hoppy red ale and I am not a fan of the branding design. I would lean more into the old-time race car aesthetic. All Season has a tire tie-in but I would have gone with some racing term instead.

But what about the beer, you say? The Pilsner defeated the Bullitt IPA but both could use a bit of tweaking to make them really sing. The Pilsner water profile was a little off key to me and the IPA was fine but is currently middle of the pack in a competitive style.