One month from now, get your cask on to honor one year of British-style beers in Torrance. Saturday, May 5th, Yorkshire Square Brewery will have a bottle release, new beer and cocktails.
The Mark
There is a mark on Torrance now because Yorkshire Square Brewery has become only the second brewery in all of California to have the Cask Marque affixed to their brewery.
Cask Marque’s Certificate of Excellence “recognizes the high standards necessary for a great cask ale program so that beer drinkers can know that a particular establishment is a likely site for the sublime experience for which proper cask ale is held in high regard.” The brewery is checked twice a year to make sure they stay up to snuff.
You can see the other locations at the Cask Marque’s Cask Finder listing
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?
Yorkshire in Torrance
In honor of today’s cask ale opening of Yorkshire Square right next to the big Honda HQ, here are some photos from the inside….
The Squares are almost Brewing
So this good news dropped onto Facebook…
Starting in under two weeks, you can get an early look at what Yorkshire Square Brewery will be like when fully open.
5 Sort-Of Monks
Saturday, March 11th. That is when Monkish Brewing will hit the big 5 milestone.
Follow the Monkish Facebook page to get all the updates. If they are pouring any of their IPA’s, it could get very crowded, very quick.
7trand
Time for Strand Brewing to have their first celebration in their new (and much larger) Dominguez street location.
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.
Obscured Milk
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.
Pour it Yourself
I made my first visit to Cosmic Brewery in Torrance. Within shouting distance of Smog City and Monkish. And I came away with mixed feelings about their self-pour system.
I can see both benefits and issues with it. My main issue is that many Americans are not cool. Which leads to many Americans who frequent breweries may not be cool. Which leads to, do I want an uncool person doing the pouring? I was the only visitor one Sunday and I sat myself near the owner and employees as they worked and I did overhear that the taps had to really be wiped down inferring that people are not cool (IE cleanly).
From a customer standpoint, it’s great. Pour an ounce, taste it. If it is not to your liking, then you are not out serious money and the brewery gets paid for the effort. Win-win.
I can list other technical issues such as forgetting your card, someone running up a tab on a lost card and how do you monitor consumption without a bartender. All valid questions but not what bugged me.
I think the system can be tweaked to allow for both human interaction and the speed and beer size wanted. Have a table side iPad that will enable ordering (much like the system that the wonderful 38 Degrees utilizes) so that the millenials can get their electronic on while also keeping the customer to employee conversation.
Why? I came away from Cosmic Ales (Brewery) thinking that the beers were OK, Hellhound Chocolate Brown is still their best offering, but that the two employees who helped me were really nice and navigated me correctly so that I didn’t make any rookie mistakes. I played dumb (yeah, I know, not a stretch) and they came through.
I guess the fact that Cosmic separates the pouring area from the seating area is what bothers me. I would love to see the pouring area be CENTRAL to the room. That way, the idiots would be monitored by not only employees but by the crowd as well. (See something, say something). But also on a more positive note, those having trouble could be helped by not only employees but by the crowd as well.
Early days still for the brewery, and maybe my humble suggestion will make for a different set-up.
Cosmic Brewing open in Torrance
Over the last weekend in July and the first in August, Cosmic Brewery finally opened its doors for a soft opening of their Torrance taproom.
And it comes with a serve yourself system too!
There will be a full review when I can find some spare time to drive to the South Bay and re-acquaint myself to the beers that haven’t been readily available for awhile now.