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There are 60+ breweries in the L.A. County Brewers Guild, which means that there could conceivably be an anniversary each and every weekend of the year with more to spare.
So, here is a quick Anniversary rundown for the next month+…(including some Orange County friends too!)
March 3rd – Noble Ale Works – 7
March 3rd – Brouwerij West – 2
March 3rd – Pacific Plate (Glendale) 1
March 10th – Monkish – 6
March 17th – Phantom Carriage – 3
March 24th – Sanctum – 4
April 25th – Smog City – 5
Well, happy birthday to me. I learned last week that Smog City is in the mix for a new food hall in Glendora. Granted it will require a healthy drive well past the end of the Gold Line and it is the 210 which has grown in crappy drive times.
Wait what was I talking about? Oh yes, the Glendora Public Market….
Food halls with brewery tenants are growing since the (shudder) GRB at the Grand Central Market.
I would love to see the next “big” food hall have a rotating L.A. County Brewers Guild brewery at a designated stall. And make it closer to Glendale.
It took me far too long to finally make my first visit to the 2nd location of Smog City Brewing, SteelCraft.
My first thought as I entered the space was that my credit card was probably glad that I didn’t have a space like this too close to me.
Having the four food groups of coffee, bacon, pizza and beer made choosing food and then matching Smog City beer to it hard.
In the end, the pizza was a no brainer with Death by Hops Triple IPA and then followed that up with a lemon and raspberry waffle with a German pils.
The layout and shade and choice of food vendors was perfect. Now what to pair with ramen when I pay my next visit.
July 1st of this year marked the official start date of Smog City Brewing partnering with 1% for the Planet.
This is a non-profit founded by Patagonia’s founder Yvon Chaunard, which uses business to help save the environment, which is kinda important to beer what with water and agriculture being essential to brewing.
Smog City will be the first 1% in Los Angeles county to join up and will commit 1% of their gross wholesale and Torrance taproom revenue to non-profits that protect the planet.
This is the next step for the brewery who has already been working with Food Forward already (exhibit A – Kumquat Saison) to harvest fruit that would otherwise go to waste.
Maybe this will be the start of more L.A. County breweries joining the crusade.
On May 6th, Smog City brewing will be releasing not just 1. Not just 2 but 3 bottles in Torrance.
Beta Blend – 8.1% ABV – Our white wine barrel-aged sour blonde, first released at last year’s anniversary party on draft only- it’s finally ready for its first bottle release after a year of innovation and experimentation.
Ch’nooks and Crannies – 4.1% ABV – This beer was previously release as an extremely small batch, those lucky enough to snag a bottle got to enjoy the unique combination of cranberries and chinook hops in this delicious dry hopped sour blonde with cranberries.
Bourbon O.E. – 13.1% ABV – Our bourbon barrel-aged barleywine debuts its new label.
The sale starts at 12pm at the brewery taproom. There will be separate lines for bottles and for tap pours.
Time to head to the library and learn about craft beer in Los Angeles. And you won’t even need to crack open a book. The Culinary Historians of Southern California (no, I had not heard of them either) have scheduled a panel on the evolution of brewing in Los Angeles inside the Central Library in their Mark Taper Auditorium.
Joining moderator John Verive of the Los Angeles Times will be representatives from Smog City Brewing, Strand Brewing Co., Dry River Brewing and Lucky Luke Brewing Co on Saturday, October 8th at 10:30am to hear us talk Craft Beer: past, present and future!
Here’s the full description from the CHSC, “Welcome to a thirst-quenching panel discussion! Once a barren desert for local beer, in the last seven years Los Angeles County has grown into a craft beer hub for Southern California, finally catching up to more established brewing scenes in San Diego, Santa Barbara and Northern California. Dedicated to fostering a sense of community and local pride, our brewers are bringing high-quality artisanal products into a hyper-local market.”
If you are in the market for a less popular style, then the newest offering from Smog City might be up your alley.
Leche Oscura is a milk stout which the brewery newsletter describes as the “perfect transitional beer for the seasons.” I concur with that. It will fill you up but not warm you up. That touch of sweetness blends right into fall.
For those of you near Torrance and with time this week might want to check out the latest new beer from…..
Celiac Attack is a 5.1% English Bock Bier which is a rarely to never seen style in these parts plus it gives those with a sensitivity to those who are overly sensitive a chance for a little laugh as well as a tasty liquid bread beer.
Is gluten enhanced beer a thing? Because I think we just invented it. Smog City is using “day-old bread a from a local baker that couldn’t be sold, [they then] toasted up close to 6 pounds of whole-wheat sourdough and rye, added it to the mash, then fermented with an English ale strain.”
This is a great opportunity to break the IPA rut.
Here is the early announcement for the Smog City anniversary….
“Smog City is about to get another year older…and a tiny bit wiser? 🙂 We look forward to this party every year and the Smog City team puts on one heck of a show; pulling special releases, cellared beers and of course, our special Anniversary beer at 3 separate bars…it’s a day of celebrating Smog City and the rise of local craft beer in the L.A. Area.
More details to come!
Tickets for the VIP Session will go on sale in a few weeks, this session is limited to 150 people- mark your calendars…as May will be here in no time.”
I hope that you survived Black Friday and Cyber Monday and any other days of the week in this holiday season and are ready to sample all the Christmas beers out there. Here is what is on tap for December on the blog.
~ e-visits to three breweries that brew beers with figs
~ special reviews of holiday beers plus a special Anchor Holiday Ale review
~ Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark
~ Holiday Beer Daily started last month and continues up to Christmas.
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world
~ … and Session # 106 is all about the holiday ales
Here are two events to get your December started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) December 5th – Smog City + Vagabond Cheese pairing
2) December 17th – Beachwood 9th Anniversary