Beer Goggles

Craft Brewing Co. turns three, invites other SoCal breweries to the party

John Plessel — Wed, 22 May 2013 05:55:47 +0000

Lake Elsinore’s Craft Brewing Co. is celebrating turning three next month and has invited a baker’s dozen of other Inland Empire brewers to the party (and one from a little further south).

The shebang kicks off at 1 p.m. (noon for V.I.P.s — more on that later) and lasts until 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 1.

In addition to unlimited tastings from 15 breweries, there will be food and music.

Head over the jump for the details, and a special offer if you act fast.

Breweries

Ballast Point Brewing Company (San Diego)
Black Market Brewing Co. (Temecula)
Chino Valley Brewery (Ontario)
Dale Bros. Brewery (Upland)
Donkey Punch Brewing Co. (Redlands)
Hangar 24 Craft Brewery (Redlands)
I & I Brewing (Chino)
Inland Empire Brewing Company (Riverside)
Kat Daddy Brewery (Moreno Valley)
Oak Hills Brewing Company (Hesperia)
Packinghouse Brewing Company (Riverside)
Ritual Brewing Co. (Redlands)
Sons of Liberty Aleworks (Norco)
Wicks Brewing Co. (Riverside)

Food

Bands

Blue Distortion
Friend of the Devil
Sorry for the Inconvenients
The Tomcats

The brewery will also be rolling out its third anniversary beer, a barrel-aged barleywine.

Officially, tickets are $45 for general admission and $55 for V.I.P., and just mention this poster and the tickets drop by $10 each. In addition to early entrance, V.I.P. ticket holders will get first chance at limited brews. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the brewery or via credit card by calling 951-226-0149.

However, if you act before midnight Wednesday (May 22), Groupon has a deal that’ll save you over half on general admission tickets.

Click here to get general admission tickets for $22.

Proceeds from this year’s event will again go to Cops for Kids.

Craft Brewing Co. is at 530 Crane St., Suite C, Lake Elsinore.

Taste of Brews returns to downtown Riverside next Saturday

John Plessel — Sat, 18 May 2013 04:20:25 +0000

Beer lovers, we’ve found the perfect way to kick off your Memorial Day weekend.

The Taste of Brews returns to Riverside’s White Park (3901 Market St.) on Saturday, May 25.

Not only can attendees sample from dozens of breweries, including many from Southern California, but there will be several food trucks and local restaurants providing comestibles, and three bands to enjoy.

Here’s how things stack up:

Breweries

Angry Orchard
Area 51 Craft Brewery (Riverside)
Big Sky Brewing Co.
Black Market Brewing (Temecula)
Bootlegger’s Brewery (Fullerton)
Brew-Ligion (Murrieta)
Brew Rebellion (Yucaipa)
Craft Brewing Co. (Lake Elsinore)
Donkey Punch Brewing Co. (Redlands)
Fireman’s Brew
Firestone Walker Brewing Company
Goose Island Beer Company
Grand Teton Brewing Co.
Greathead Brew
Hangar 24 Craft Brewery (Redlands)
I & I Brewing (Chino)
Inland Empire Brewing Company (Riverside)
J.T. Schmid’s (Anaheim/Tustin)
Karl Strauss Brewing Company (San Diego)
Kat Daddy Brewery (Moreno Valley)
Kona Brewing Co.
Lagunitas Brewing Company
Legends Premium Craft Beer
Main Street Brewery (Corona)
Mendocino Brewing Co.
More Beer! (Riverside)
Newport Beach Brewing Company (Newport Beach)
Ninkasi Brewing
North Coast Brewing Co.
Packinghouse Brewing Company (Riverside)
Samuel Adams
Shock Top
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Sons of Liberty Aleworks (Norco)
Stone Brewing Co. (Escondido)
Widmer Brothers Brewing Company
Wiens Brewing Co. (Temecula)
Woodchuck Hard Cider

Food trucks

Local eateries

Bands

Drive (The Cars tribute)
Cougrzz Rock! (All-female tribute)
Britain’s Finest (The Beatles tribute)

Tickets are for either a three-hour session (1 to 4 p.m., $35 plus $2.92 service fee, $29.75 plus $2.63 for groups of six or more) or a four-hour session (noon to 4 p.m., $45 plus $3.47 service fee, $38.25 plus $3.09 service fee for groups of six or more), and include craft beer samples, free water, live music and access to food. The promo code FBPROMO knocks $6 off the non-group ticket prices above. Tickets are available here.

A limited number of general admission tickets, which include live music and access to food are $20 plus $2.09 service fee. Beer will be available to purchase. General admission tickets are available here.

Attendees must be 21 or older.

Taste of Brews is also seeking volunteers. Click here to begin the process.

Proceeds will benefit the California Riverside Ballet.

For more information, click here or “Like” Taste of Brews on Facebook for updates.

Total Wine and More celebrates American Craft Beer Week with tastings

John Plessel — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:49:40 +0000

Total Wine and More has been hosting a series of beer tastings this week (May 13 to 19) to celebrate American Craft Beer Week.

Each store is offering different breweries’ beers (including several Southern California breweries) to sample for a nominal fee.

Head over the jump for the schedule.

Today (May 16)

Brea: Ritual, Tap It and Aztec, 6 to 8 p.m.
Huntington Beach: Hangar 24 and Firestone Walker, 6 to 8 p.m.
Laguna Hills: Lagunitas, Left Coast, and Karl Strauss, 6 to 8 p.m.
Northridge: Firestone Walker, New Belgium, Stone and Mission, 6 to 8 p.m.
Rancho Cucamonga: New Belgium, 3 to 6 p.m., Stone, 6 to 8 p.m.
Tustin: Anchor, 6 to 8 p.m.
Thousand Oaks: Figueroa Mountain, 6 to 8 p.m.

Friday (May 17)

Brea: Sierra Nevada, Gramercy and Left Coast, 4 to 7 p.m.
Huntington Beach: Widmer Brothers and Left Coast, 4 to 7 p.m.
Laguna Hills: Bootlegger’s and Ballast Point, 4 to 7 p.m.
Northridge: New Belgium, Drake’s, Hangar 24 and Figueroa Mountain, 4 to 7 p.m.
Rancho Cucamonga: Bootlegger’s from 1 to 4 p.m.; Sam Adams, 4 to 7 p.m.
Redondo Beach: Gramercy and Left Coast, 4 to 7 p.m.
Tustin: Avery and Left Coast, 4 to 7 p.m.
Thousand Oaks: Alesmith and Ommegang, 4 to 7 p.m.

Saturday (May 18)

Huntington Beach: So Cal Beverage, noon to 2 p.m.; Gramercy from 3 to 5 p.m.
Laguna Hills: Karl Strauss, noon to 3 p.m.; Stone, 3 to 6 p.m.
Northridge: Fireman’s, noon to 3 p.m.; Hangar 24, 3 to 6 p.m.
Rancho Cucamonga: Hangar 24, noon to 3 p.m.; Karl Strauss, 3 to 6 p.m.
Redondo Beach: Ballast Point, 2 to 5 p.m.
Tustin: Stone, noon to 3 p.m.; Deschutes and Ritual, 3 to 6 p.m.
Thousand Oaks: Fox Barrel and Crispin, noon to 3 p.m.; Widmer Brothers and Figueroa Mountain, 3 to 6 p.m.

Sunday (May 19)

Northridge: So Cal Beverage, 1 to 5 p.m.
Rancho Cucamonga: Gramercy, noon to 3 p.m.; Tap It, 3 to 6 p.m.
Thousand Oaks: Batch 19 and Leinenkugel’s, 1 to 5 p.m.

To find your closest location, click here. Click here for this month’s tasting schedule.

Select-A-Brew fundraiser coming to Ontario’s Citizens Business Bank Arena Sunday

John Plessel — Wed, 15 May 2013 01:48:25 +0000

Here’s a fundraiser we’ll eagerly raise a glass to: Select-A-Brew at Citizens Business Bank Arena.

The folks at the Ontario Reign have transformed the annual Select-A-Seat season seat holder selection event into a fundraiser for the team’s charitable arm, the Hope Reigns Foundation.

From 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday (May 19), season seat holders will get a chance to claim their seats for the 2013-14 season.

Then from 2 to 5 p.m., the fundraiser will open to the public!

Here’s how it works: Show up and sample beer for $2 per taster. Parking and admission are free.

Six Inland Empire breweries and one Orange County brewery are scheduled to participate, along with one that’s not so local:

For more information, click here for the Facebook event page.

Citizens Business Bank Arena is at 4000 E. Ontario Center Parkway, Ontario.

Hangar 24′s fifth anniversary and airshow — what you need to know

John Plessel — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:50:58 +0000

Tickets are available now for Hangar 24 Craft Brewery’s AirFest and fifth anniversary set for Saturday, May 18.

Tickets are $5 at the brewery’s tasting room, 1710 Sessums Drive, Redlands, or online (plus $1.17 service fee) and will be $8 at the door. Kids 12 and younger will be admitted free.

A limited number of VIP ticket packages, which include all-you-can-drink Hangar 24 beer, all-you-can-eat Cuca’s, the closest parking possible, a shady tent and the best seats and views of the air show, are available for $150 (plus $6.24 service fee), or $500 (plus $18.49 service fee) for a four-pack.

Click here to purchase tickets online.

Hangar 24 will be opening the vault and serving 35 different beers at the event, including three new ones. There will be a special release tent with a different brew every 20 minutes. Hang out there if you want to relive some of the Barrel Roll series or revisit the previous (two through five, anyway) anniversary ales.

Here’s the schedule:

10 a.m. Baseball Beer 2013
10 a.m. Experimental IPA 2013
10:20 a.m. Pro-Am 2011
10:40 a.m. Hullabaloo Winter Beer 2012
11 a.m. Hammerhead 2012
11:20 a.m. Rye India Black Ale 2011
11:40 a.m. Amber Saison 2011
Noon Chandelle 2012
12:20 p.m. Chocolate Porter 2010
12:40 p.m. 2nd Anniversary Ale 2010
1 p.m. Vinaceous 2012
1:20 p.m. Palmero 2012
1:40 p.m. Essence 2012
2 p.m. Polycot 2012
2:20 p.m. Gordgeous 2012
2:40 p.m. Warmer 2012
3 p.m. Pugachev’s Cobra 2012
3:20 p.m. 3rd Anniversary Ale 2011
3:40 p.m. Pro-Am 2012
4 p.m. Pugachev’s Cobra 2011
4:20 p.m. 4th Anniversary Ale 2012
4:40 p.m. Humpty Bump 2011
5 p.m. Russian Imperial Stout 2012
5:20 p.m. Pugachev’s Cobra Rye 2012
5:40 p.m. 4th Anniversary Rye 2012

There will be six bands, including the Journey Unauthorized tribute. For a full schedule and list of bands, click here.

In addition to some of the brewery’s favorite food vendors (à la minute, Hillbilly Tacos, HundeHaus, Romano’s and Swieners), there will be several food trucks:

Parking will be available at various locations, including downtown Redlands, with shuttle service to the event.

The event concludes with a nighttime airshow, with fireworks shot from one of the planes.

The brewery is currently seeking volunteers for the event. Volunteers will receive a T-shirt and be fêted at a party on June 1. Click here to sign up to volunteer.

The event is also a fundraiser for the newly-created Hangar 24 Charities. The Redlands Conservancy will be the beneficiary.

The event takes place at Redlands Municipal Airport, just across from the brewery. Doors open at 9 a.m., and the first performances take place at 10 a.m. The event runs until 10 p.m.

For updates, click here, and follow the links on the left. Click here for the Facebook event page.

Torrance Rock & Brews Opens Thursday

Nick Green — Fri, 03 May 2013 20:33:13 +0000

(Photo by Staff Photographer Robert Casillas)

Rock & Brews investors and co-owners Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, two of the founding members of Kiss, will rock it for the Torrance Education Foundation Wednesday, the day before their newest restaurant location opens in Torrance.

“We’re coming into the neighborhood, but we’re also supporting the neighborhood,” Stanley said. “One of the things we’ve found out as we’ve become successful is that giving back isn’t an option, it really is an obligation.”

We’ll have more on Rock & Brews in the Daily Breeze Sunday. Read the story here.

Former Alpine Village brewery marks grand opening in downtown LA Saturday

Nick Green — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:49:03 +0000

Angel City Brewing, which called Alpine Village near Torrance home for more than two decades, will mark its grand opening this weekend with a music and arts festival.

Angel City was evicted from Alpine Village in 2010 and reopened downtown the following year, but is now under new ownership and offers nine reformulated beers after “a year of building and brewing.”

“We’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time now,” said brewery director Alan Newman. “This event is a celebration not only of the brewery’s journey but of the culture and spirit of the Downtown Los Angeles Arts District.

The day-long festival starts with a mass toast to celebrate the brewery’s rebirth and is followed by seven bands.

There’s also food trucks, brewery tours and an art exhibit titled “In Your Face: How Artists Transformed LA’s Urban Landscape.”

Angel City is just two blocks from Union Station, so festival goers can leave the car (and designated driver) at home.

More information on the brewery is here.

Upcoming South Bay Beer Tastings

Nick Green — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:10:16 +0000

Will San Diego-based Ballast Point’s Sculpin IPA taste as good in a can as it does on draft? One way to find out is to hit Redondo Beach’s Select Beer Store from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. tonight, which is hosting a can release party.
Alternatively, Culver City’s City Tavern is hosting an El Segundo Brewing Company pint night tonight, too.
We’ve told you previously that Torrance’s newest brewery, Smog City, opens next month. Well, if you want a sneak peek, the brewery will host a soft opening with limited beers available from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Torrance’s Strand Brewing hosts a bottle release party from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday at Select Beer Store., 1613 S. PCH, Redondo Beach. Strand now has seven of its beers available in bottles with Black Sand Imperial IPA, White Sand Imperial IPA and Musashi Black IPA joining the four other varieties previously bottled.
The newest Rock & Brews location in Torrance opens May 8 with a grand opening party. Tickets are on sale now. There are ambitious plans to open 100 outlets over the next five years.

Total Wine’s new class is a good kick in the can

John Plessel — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 22:50:22 +0000

Total Wine & More’s new class is a good kick in the can.

No, really. It’s “A Good Kick in the Can!” and the focus is on craft beer…in cans.

Guests will enjoy a sampling of Total Wine’s canned craft beers and challenge the notion that bottled beer tastes better.

The class, which costs $15, will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday (April 25) at Total Wine locations throughout Southern California.

Seating is limited, so call the your nearest store to reserve a spot.

Click here for more information. Head over the jump for a list of participating locations.

Brea: 714-672-0323
Huntington Beach: 714-861-4047
Laguna Hills: 949-206-1539
Northridge: 818-700-0130
Rancho Cucamonga: 909-463-5670
Redondo Beach: 310-542-1460
Thousand Oaks: 805-494-0108
Tustin: 714-665-4257

Brew at the Zoo returns to the Living Desert May 4

John Plessel — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 22:01:41 +0000

Once again, participants will be “saving wildlife one beer at a time” at this year’s Brew at the Zoo fundraiser for the Living Desert.

Tickets are available now for the annual event, which will be from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. May 4 at the zoo, 47900 Portola Ave., Palm Desert.

Advance tickets are $40 for zoo members and $55 for non-members. VIP lounge tickets are $125. At the door, prices will be $45 for members, $60 for non-members and $35 for designated drivers.

Tickets include beverage and food samples, as well as live entertainment on three stages.

Participating vendors include:

Proceeds benefit the zoo’s education programs and efforts to save endangered species.

For tickets, click here.

Click here for more information.