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Before 2016 is finalized in the books, we need to talk about another new brewery that opened up in December over in Arcadia. Mt. Lowe Brewing Company started welcoming visitors to their tap room.
Their website lists six beers currently. Blonde, Hef, “ale” IPA, red and porter.
The incline railroad and old-timey touched up photos lend a nice community feel and I hope to ride the Gold Line out to their spot in 2017.
I posted recently about a new brewery that I knew close to zero about except for three things. That its name would be Verdugo West, that Chris Walowski, formerly of Smog City, would be the brewer and that it would be in Burbank.
Now we have more information to pass along with the biggest news being that they open next month. The brewery is part of the MCC Hospitality Group helmed by partners, Chipper Pastron and Sal Casola Jr.
Verdugo West Brewing Co. is located at 156 W. Verdugo Ave. in Burbank in the usual for breweries industrial park with a 4,500-square-foot production brewery.
The 15 barrel brewhouse will be steam-powered which is the first time I have typed that on this blog.
MCC Hospitality Group’s has a large group of properties which, include Market City Caffe in Burbank, Morels French Steakhouse & Bistro at The Grove, JuiceFarm in Pasadena, Vanishing Point Winery in Napa, as well as several restaurants and juice bars in Las Vegas. That doesn’t scream confidence builder except for the winery asset. I generally prefer my breweries to not just be another notch in a corporate belt. But I will check the beer out first.
The Verdugo West taproom (once open) will be open Wednesday and Thursday 4-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 12-10 p.m. and Sunday 12-8 p.m.
A cryptic Facebook post from Chris Walowski, formerly of a bumblebee costume at Smog City hinted at a late 2016 opening for a brewery in Burbank.
Verdugo West doesn’t pop-up in Google searches yet but as the opening draws closer, that will probably change and we will learn more about this latest addition to the brewing scene.
I have driven over the Ross Island Bridge many a time in my day and now there is a brewery at the end. Ross Island Brewing on SE Powell is the home of former Alameda Brewing brewmaster Carston Haney and his Ross Island Brewing.
Delays have pushed the opening back to late 2016 for the small on-site taproom. The beer line-up is not specified yet. But it will start off small and tap only.
Those in South Minneapolis will get to look through a wall-sized window and either watch the paint dry or look at the foudres where mixed-fermentation magic will be going on inside the wood. Wild Mind Artisan Ales beers will be aged for anywhere from six to 12 months.
Brewer/Founder Matt Waddell has plans to dedicate most of his 16 draft lines to the wild and farmhouse-style ales. Amping up the sour and brett as time passes and customers acclimate to the beer.
Since they literally opened a day or so ago, those fancy beers like barrel-fermented saisons won’t be at the tap room now but you will be able to try their Table Beer, Hoppy French Saison, Hoppy Rye Wild Ale among others.
All thanks to the foudres and Waddell’s “Carefully chaotic” style.
Looks like Santa Barbara has added a new brewery to the mix with the cool name of Third Window Brewing and if a recent taproom list is any indication…..
l’Eveaire #1.0 Berliner Weisse co-fermented with Winter Raspberries.
Batch 002 #1.0 Light Lager
III #1.0 Belgian Blond
Saison #1.0 Farmhouse Ale
Walkabout #1.0 Stout with Foraged Oranges, 24 Blackbirds Cocoa Nibs and Madagascar Vanilla Bean
…they aren’t afraid to try multiple styles. Plus, if the website photos are to be believed, it has a rustic sort of wine tasting room charm that is much different from the usual industrial chic of many brewery taprooms.
When/if, I visit, I will duly report back on the quality of the beer itself.
The speed of craft beer growth leaves me behind the curve many a time. At first, I thought I was not paying enough attention but now I know that is not the case. I could spend hours combing the interwebs instead of watching Flash and Arrow and still miss events, beer releases or even the opening of a new brewery.
Which is where we come to the point of this post, catching up with a new brewery in the mecca that is Torrance. Scholb’s Premium Ales. I have sent interview questions out to the wife-husband x two group that will appear in Food GPS later this month.
So this is more of an announcement that their taproom is open with beers such as….
Columbia Street Pale – Honey Rye Pale Ale
Not Lyin’ Rye – Rye IPA
Bat Ray Red – Red IPA (RIPA)
Dark Void – Imperial Stout
Endless Kisses – Rye Saison
…on tap.
If you have visited their brewery and/or tasted their beers, let me know what you think. I have put them on the “visit” list and will report back what I find.
In what seems like eons ago, I along with other members of the media, toured the empty warehouse space that would be the home of Brouwerij West in San Pedro.
It is a really huge spot with endless possibilities but news out of the brewery was scarce. But now it appears that it will arrive this month on the 27th! With a tentative beer list: “new versions of our classic beers like Saison, Tripel, Mør Mør (quad), My First Rodeo (100% Brettanomyces saison) and Dog Ate My Homework (blackberry saison), we’ll be introducing a handful of new beers, like a hoppy bitter blond; a traditional Wit with sour oranges.”
Check out what Farley Elliot has to say about the upcoming opening right HERE.
So Tweet Master Tony dropped this on the social media…..
If I had been told that Lagunitas was coming to L.A., I would not have been shocked at all. Chicago is up and going and that means that sights could be turned to another location for the fast growing Petaluma based brewer.
But Azusa was a shock. If they were going valley, I would have liked them to come to Glendale instead of the umpteenth bleeping condo project.
Questions abound. What will this mean to the L.A. Beer scene? Do they join the L.A. County Brewer’s Guild? What kind of taproom are they envisioning? How will they co-exist with the Congregation’s, Alosta’s and Sanctum’s that have already set up shop?
Answers to come in 2017, I guess.
I did a profile of three on-the-way L.A. breweries for the latest Beer Paper LA that didn’t reference Hand Brewed, Arts District Brewing or Iron Triangle which are also in stages of development. At least, I knew about the existence of them though.
It was in a Brewyard Brewing newsletter that I learned of yet another brewery in progress, Indie Brewing.
So, head to their website and sign-up for their newsletter so you can be reminded automatically when these 4 entrepreneurs have their casual taproom spot ready for us LA craft beer fans.