Strand at Arclight

Good to see that Arclight is dipping their toe into craft beer to go with their movie experience….

…and even better to see that Strand Brewing is involved. I can imagine a range of beers with movie names like Blockbuster Bock or Above-the-Line Alt but those might be too niche-y of beers for a night watching Avengers avenge whatever needs avenging.

Strand to APL

I follow the intersection of food and beer a lot. Usually it is the beer dinner that is at the fore. But I believe that beer and food will have really made it when dive bars to fancy James Beard-y restaurants have three to four taps of local #independent beers on tap. As cities like Portland and Denver do to name just two.

But then I saw this…

The restaurant is an anticipated steak house in Hollywood, APL. The photos I saw of the interior are classy AF. So seeing that they have a single beer supplier and it is Strand Brewing from Torrance is super cool.

L.A. beer needs to continue to embed themselves in restaurants.

The Ocho for Strand


Strand will be celebrating 8 years of Torrance brewed beers on November 18th.

If you haven’t been to there now, not as new, digs, well you are in for a treat because it is a lovely space. Might I suggest a 24th Street Pale be the first beer to toast with.

Third Friday

The art of brewing meets just art as Strand Brewing uses their huge new space to showcase art.

First up, tonight (since it is the third Friday) will be the acrylic paintings of Sam Harang and the tattoo imagery of Max Becker. Both artists are local to the South Bay.

Isn’t art better when you have a glass of beer in your hand?

AKA Uno

The latest news from Strand Brewing was the introduction of cans but now they are joining the NE IPA brigade but with a bit of a twist.

They are starting with a DIPA named ONE, which one assumes will be followed by TWO. The beer is dry hopped with El Dorado, Jarrylo and Idaho 7 hops and will ONLY be available in bottles at the brewery this Saturday. No distribution-No draft.

Strand Canned

Earlier this month I posted the teaser about the Strand Brewing 7th Anniversary party.

Now I am returned from a media excursion with some photos and a bit more news….(with more info to follow later)

First, here are the new cans….
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The Strand team has had the machinery up and going for just over a week now and are busily canning as much as they can to hit the market in November. You will be able to purchase boxed six-packs of Beach House Amber, Atticus IPA and the 24th Street Pale Ale or if you are near a Costco, 18 can variety packs of all three.
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The canning line from Wild Goose doesn’t look like much when just sitting there but moves at a much higher velocity than the current Strand bottler.

On the Anniversary front, the party is now scheduled for three days November 11th-13th. The large space will be opened up a bit to allow for more guests to try whatever specials may appear to celebrate the 7th year of business.
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7trand

Time for Strand Brewing to have their first celebration in their new (and much larger) Dominguez street location.
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No tap list has been presented, at present, but expect a crowd of well-wishers because Rich and Joel have made a lot of friends with not only their beer but their hard work.

Beer Talk Amidst the Books

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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.”

Friday’s are Casual

I talk a fair share about beer and food pairings but beer also pairs with music, especially the orchestral stylings of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
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Casual Fridays brings the beer to the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Not just any beer but beer from the Los Angeles County Brewers Guild members.

For the price of a ticket you get a concert, “usually shorter and without intermission”, Then a Question and Answer phase called TalkBack with the artists or you can head out to BP Hall with the musicians and other concertgoers to sample local craft beers …”on the house!”

The full beer season has yet to be solidified but for the October 7th concert, Indie Brewing and Strand Brewing will be featured.

Here is the set list from the music side: “This year’s series includes music by Ravel, Stravinsky, Mozart, Brahms, and Haydn. Conductors include Gustavo Dudamel, Pablo Heras-Casado and Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla. Soloists include Emanuel Ax, Stephen Kovacevich and Augustin Hadelich.”

Review – Two 6th Anniversaries

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Happy Anniversary to Eagle Rock Brewery. It is hard to imagine that I have been to 6 parties to celebrate another year of beer from my closest brewer.
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ERB shares a birthday with Ladyface (who had their own party going on in Agoura Hills) and the pair both brewed up a Belgian Golden Strong Ale for the day and you could tell both were related but they each had different notes to them.
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By a slight margin, I would take the Zes from Eagle Rock over the version from Ladyface, which I thought was a touch too sour and a little heavier on the palate.

What the future holds will be fun to watch unspool. I never would of thought that ERB would have a restaurant even just 2 years ago but now they are a mutli-location spot and growing.