Los Angeles has a burgeoning group of beer bloggers that are helping educate the craft beer community of LA.  One individual has made it his passion and dedicated his life to growing this scene in hopes that it will someday reach the size of neighboring San Diego’s.  John Verive started his website and blog, Beer of Tomorrow, with the philosophy that “The Future of Beer is Craft.”  I always pictured beer of the future to look like Dippin’ Dots and have dry ice vapors emulsifying from the rim, but John’s idea is much better.  With John’s great vision of the future of beer, he is a great advocate for bolstering the craft beer scene of LA, and I set out to see how he plans to accomplish his ambitions.

John originally grew up in Orange County, but found his passion for craft beer and brewing in college while attending UC Santa Cruz (go Banana Slugs).  Like the many before him, John moved to LA in 2003 to start a film career, but quickly gave up because it sucked.  John went on to a project management job, but the corporate grind was killing him.  Instead of wanting to smash his head in the door day after day, he decided to focus full-time on writing by starting an internship with Gawker Media and lifehacker.com.  Lifehacker was a good boot camp for John to write for the internet professionally.  After toying with writing blogsites about men’s lifestyle and then about Los Angeles, John joined his love for craft beer and LA to create Beer of Tomorrow.

David vs. Goliath or craft beer vs. the Big Beer fat cats is what inspires BOT.  John’s site is focused on producing craft beer related news, quick posts, events, and where to go to find locally produced brews.  There are so many great spots in LA for craft beer that not many people know about.  In fact, there is such a new scene in Los Angeles that even people in LA who enjoy craft beer may not know about it.

John considers himself a beer nerd or beer geek and he intends to share what makes craft beer special.  His challenge is finding a craft for people that say they don’t like beer.  John’s wife, Julie, didn’t start drinking the golden bubbly until she had Eagle Rock’s Ginger Saison and now she has turned to the craft side of the force.  And we all know that couples who drink beer together, stay together.  John’s a firm believer that beer is something special, not just a drink to get you drunk.

Beer of Tomorrow’s fan base has greatly increased over the last year and even Wil Wheaton is a fan who shared BOT on Google+.  Hmmm, Wesley Crusher liking and sharing beer of the future?  I think this is more than just a coincidence because I suspect that the crew of the Enterprise may have forgotten the lieutenant when they came back in time looking for Data.  We’re on to you Wheaton.

John’s number one goal is to be the best beer blogger in Los Angeles, but he doesn’t necessarily know what that means.  His goal for Beer of Tomorrow is to make LA a better place by growing the craft beer scene.  People generally have negative stereotypes of LA, but the majority of those people haven’t lived in it or experienced it.  If they did live here, then they would find that Los Angeles has a neighborhood feel that’s in a big city.  John loves the energy and creativeness of the people that do live in this sprawling metropolis.  LA has a huge market for craft beer that is untapped (I get one bad pun an article).  Reaching this market takes education, outreach, and teaching people to care about what’s in their glass, to drink local, and to drink fresh.  If Beer of Tomorrow can help do this, then there is no doubt that LA can join the list of big craft beer cities that are in California as well as the nation.  BOT will also help create beer that is satisfying to our future robot overlords that will enslave us all.

Mailings

Last night marked the release of the very first edition of Beer Paper LA, the paper and ink answer to Los Angeles’s growing craft beer scene.  In it you’ll find articles, news, beer flavored ads, and regional information pertaining to everything that LA, Greater LA, and it’s surrounding areas have to offer.  Beer bloggers like Beer of Tomorrow and Food GPS / Beer Search Party are joined by beer columnists like Sarah Bennett and Daniel Drennon.  There will even be an ongoing section Ask A Cicerone, answered by Library Ale House’s Alex P. Davis.  There is local information spanning from the OC to Augora Hills to the Inland Empire and all of it is worth a read.

The event last night, at Beachwood BBQ & Brewing in Long Beach, was packed.  Aaron, Rob, Sarah, and the rest of the Beer Paper LA team, bravo.  It was a great sight to see so many industry and craft beer fans coming out to support Beer Paper LA.   Attendees even took up volunteer paper routes delivering the first edition to their neighborhood beer hot spots – I happily delivered the paper to City Tavern and Public School 310 last night, and Culver City Home Brewing Supply will be later today.  As Tenacious D would say, “That’s Fuckin’ Team Work!”

All of this got me thinking.  This is the LA I want to live in.

Craft Altruism

Today in LA it’s easy to find craft beer, but it wasn’t always that way.  As most everyone knows by now, LA is a developing craft beer town, far behind the matured cities of San Diego and San Francisco, but this is changing, or perhaps I should say, this has changed.  Today is an incredible time to be a craft beer drinker – brewer – writer – blogger – media – fanatic – geek because, ultimately, the decisions we all make will shape the the LA of tomorrow.  Beer bloggers and writers from around town have taken up the charge of widely covering every beer event, release, and noteworthy happening which is an excitedly daunting task.   And what’s more, most are not financially compensated for their coverage, which means this is all willingly done for free.  Why is that? Why would people take large chunks of time out of their schedule to cover these events, interview industry people, and write about beer?  Craft Altruism.

We are a collective that is interested in furthering craft beer in Los Angeles and everyone that drinks and writes is just as pivotal as those who are making the product.  Demand shapes the future.  Competition is certainly there, but it seems to be more of a low priority issue as long as everyone is supported in some way.  Support and community are held to a higher standard.  That being said, it’s easy to pick out in every facet be it writing, brewing, or bar owning, who is in it to further the community and who is in it purely for personal and monetary gain.  Still, I think these few can easily be converted to team players.

We are all creating the LA craft beer town that we want to live in and that is an amazing thing to be a part of…it’s a great responsibility.

Craft Karma

Everyone that gets into craft beer has a goal.  Be it to find and drink good beer, enjoy fun events, join a community, or in my case, to ultimately make a living.  I feel very strongly about craft beer and I feel very strongly about Los Angeles.  The hobby that I took up after my first craft beer experience in Sequoia National Park has blossomed into a career changer.  From the get go, John and I have looked for ways to not only add value to our brand, Los Angeles Ale Works, but also to the brands and people around us.  We don’t want to simply open up and take the drinker’s hard earned money.  Like Eagle Rock Brewery, we want to be cultural contributors.  I often spend time helping at events and most of the time the only benefit to myself is that I’m helping a friend, and that’s okay.  I would love to see more people treat not just craft beer, but life this way.  There doesn’t need to be a direct point of personal gain for everything you do.  In the instance of LA Craft Beer, you can look at it as Karma.  Everything positive you do, people you help, friends you turn on to craft beer, events you volunteer at, will all help to shape the LA Craft Beer of tomorrow.

I look forward to seeing how LA craft culture shapes itself by the people that truly care about it.  This is the LA I want to live in.

*Follow Beer Paper LA and find out where you can pick up their first issue at www.beerpaperla.com – facebook.com/beerpaperla – @beerpaperla – #bpla

On that Friday, I headed north not just to enjoy the spring in that area, but also to attend a beer event. As I passed Santa Barbra the gloom gave up the grip that it had been holding on all the way from LA. The clouds slowly started to burn away and were just barely hugging the hilltops as the sun started warming up the day. I had Van Morrison on the radio and a spectacular view leading up to Firestone Walker’s From the Barrel, which was the event I was going to attend.

I started early from LA so I would have some time to check out the beer scene in San Luis Obispo (SLO). A visit to Tap It and Creekside Brewery is always on my agenda when I’m in SLO. Having a Tap It IPA at Tap It is of course something I didn’t miss. You have to drink a Great American Beer Festival Gold Medalist on its home field.

Beer, Porter and Bourbon

From the Barrel is an event that presents three different beverages; beer, port and bourbon, that are connected by one thing; the barrel. The barrel was used to just about anything, store, mature, produce, or transport. Not just beer, bourbon, and port but also other wines, cheese, meat, fish, salt, and much more. While wine and bourbon makers have kept the barrel alive in their production, modern breweries have taken to stainless steel. But the barrel has been reintroduced in beer making adding deep, complex flavors and aromas.

The host of the event, Firestone Walker Brewing Company, had a spectacular line-up of beers at the event. Parabola is just getting better and better each year and DDBA is one of my favorites from Firestone Walker. Firestone Walker Barrelworks brought Lil Opal, which is a wheat based Saison aged in French oak barrels. My favorite from Barrelworks is Bretta Weisse. This is a traditional Berliner Weisse brewed with Brettanomyces yeast giving it a funky aroma with floral, fruity, and tart notes. Bretta Weisse is a great session beer with only 3.4% alcohol and still great flavors despite its low alcohol content. Many session beers loose their body and flavors and are often watery, but not this one. Firestone Walker was not the only local brewery at the event. The very newly opened Barrel House Brewing Company in Paso Robles had a whiskey barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout.

Ninkasi Brewing Company from Eugene, Oregon is starting to make its way down the California coast. So far they distribute as far south as Ventura County and will soon reach LA. They had a Porter aged for 6 months in a Heaven Hills Bourbon barrel. Pizza Port Brewing in Carlsbad, CA also used Heaven Hill Bourbon barrels for their Night Rider Russian Imperial Stout. Russian River Brewing Company brought their Temptation, a Sour Blond Ale aged for 12 months in Chardonnay barrels. Lost Abbey brought their Deliverance, which is a blend between the Serpent’s Stout, their bourbon barrel-aged stout and the Angel’s Share, their brandy barrel-aged barley wine.

Breweries from out of state

There were also two non west-coast breweries present: Boulevard Brewing Company from Kansas City, MO with a rye beer aged in a rye whiskey oak cask; and for me a new and very interesting brewery called Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project from Denver, CO. This is a one-man project mastered by Chad Yakobson. He has taken his knowledge from his Brettanomyes Dissertation and put it to practical use with Crooked Stave. They had a Burgundy Sour aged for 12 months in natural red wine barrels and a Golden Sour brewed with Vignole grapes in white wine barrels.

There were, of course, plenty of bourbon and port choices too. I skipped the Bourbon and went easy on the Ports out of self-preservation. These are libations with high alcohol so it’s easy to over-indulge. I have to mention two local wineries that I think stood out. Wine is still a field were I’m a novice so I don’t really know the flavors that well but I know if I like something. EOS Winery and Cass Winery both from Paso Robles had some really delicious Ports. Port is definitely something I’m going to look closer into. Cass was also one of the many great food vendors there, so a visit to their winery seems likely the next time I’m in the area.

A great atmosphere

So what makes this event stand out from so many other beer events apart from the spectacular beer, port and bourbon line-up? To many events just have a good selection of beers (and sometimes not even that), a bunch of food trucks and that’s about it. To create some kind of atmosphere some events choose a “cool” venue, a mediocre cover band, and a hip radio-station, which is about all of the effort they can come up with to make it little more than just a drunk fest. To me, an event is just as much about the beers as the atmosphere of the event, which also are important elements to build a great beer culture. From the Barrel is held at Historic Santa Margarita Ranch just north of San Luis Obispo. The site was first recorded in 1769 as an assistant mission to the mission in San Luis Obispo. An old barn that is built over the original mission is the main venue for events at Santa Margarita Ranch. A running steam train and cars from the 1920-1930’s creates a fantastic environment and atmosphere for any event. Firestone Walker also encourages attendees to dress up in 1920-1930’s clothes. All this together with detailing, like signs, light, music, and event program all in harmony with each other makes, this so much more than other events I have been to lately. This is what an event is like when it’s done right.

We tried a three beer flight with a mix of old favorites and new beer. The Berliner Weisse and French Sip were as good as we remembered. I’m not sure how often the French Sip is going to be on tap in the tasting room, so get out there quickly to try some – it’s one of the most unique beers being brewed in Los Angeles right now. Head brewer Dieter Foerstner concocted this divinely original brown ale, featuring rosemary, pink salt and seaweed. And it works! I’ve tried it several times now and, as the novelty wears off, I’m finding myself enjoying it just because it’s a flat out good beer.

It was a warm sunny day in downtown Los Angeles and as a result lots of people were crowding into the indoor bar/hangout area. The biggest change since our last visit was the new use of middle mezzanine. Directly across from the bar, this tucked away space has been split into a gift shop and a long table/live music relaxation area. The space is appropriately divided using three rows of Angel City kegs, keeping the industrial feel alive and well. The gift shop has all kinds of new ACB swag that you shouldn’t leave home without.

We wandered outside back into the heat and cooled down with a Pilsner and Eurka Wit!, arguably two of the most refreshing beers ACB produces. There was a lot of action outside as people listened to live music on the main stage, enjoyed the half dozen food trucks that were out for the day, and checked out local artist exhibits. Angel City had a live screen printing tent where they were pressing one of a kind, Heritage Festival t-shirts (picture in the gallery below) – very cool!

We wrapped up the day by heading inside and checking out some of the new beers: Oktoberfest and Social IPA. The Oktoberfest is a straight ahead oktoberfest/marzen style beer that will satisfy any malt-head. It was really well done. The Social IPA was one of the more unique beers ACB was offering that day. Labeled an IPA, but coming in at 4.4%, the beer eschews traditional style categorization. Half XPA, half IPA, half dry-hopped Kolsch this beer was a palate tingling refresher, a beer that I think would have done equally well at Eagle Rock Brewery’s session fest. If it stays on tap long enough, I highly recommend checking it out and judging it for yourself.

Looking back on the day, it’s safe to say there is much that Angel City Brewing is doing right. Experimental beers? Check. Traditional beers? Check. Integrating itself into the Arts community? Big Check. We had a great time and look forward to more events like this at Angel City Brewing. Housed in one of the greatest buildings for a brewery in all of Southern California, the sky is the limit for the ACB team. Get over there now so you can say you’ve been going since before it was cool, because a year from now everyone will know just how good the currently under-rated Angel City Brewing really is.

Cheers!

featured photo curtousy of Angel City Brewing

They take this seriously.

Real Ale: The Real Deal?

I feel it best to begin with a discussion of real ale.  Just how prevalent is real ale in Scotland?  I’ve read plenty about real ale (or cask ale) in books, but I was curious to see how big it was.  I think during my entire visit in Scotland, every pub I went in had at least one cask ale on tap (the exception being BrewDog).  Some had as many as 5 or 6.  Unbeknowest to me before the trip, there is a non profit organization called Cask Marque (Right), who twice a year make unannounced visits to pubs, to ensure the cask pint they are served has the proper taste, temprature, aroma, and apperance.  Kind of like a cask Secret Shopper.  I think the system must be effective, because all of the cask ale I had on the trip was of high quality.

The cask ale on the left features Elderflower, a plant that is native to Scotland, and used in a lot of beers as a flavoring agent. Subtle, and tasty.

I’ve often heard Americans refer to cask ale, served at “cellar temperature,” as warm.  I don’t really think that’s accurate.  Granted, I was there when the temperature was around freezing everyday, but I would say the beer is served at a fairly ideal temperature.  Cold enough to be refreshing, but warm enough so you don’t have your palate dulled by the first few sips.  You can actually taste the more nuanced flavors right off the bat.

One question I wondered about before having real ale in person was how the ale was dispensed.  Obviously, a traditional faucet is out of the question.  You can see in the picture to the left, a beer engine is used, which essentially is a suction handpump going down to the cellar where the casks are stored.  It takes longer to pour, and often takes quite a few pumps to get a full pint of ale for the customer, but customers appreciate the experience.

An Imperial Pint(nearly 20 oz., about 20% larger than a US pint) of cask ale.

My verdict on cask ale is this:  I can see why Scots are really into it.  It’s a unique beer experience:  a smooth, silky mouthfeel, similar to a nitrogenated beer.  No two casks are going to be exactly the same.  And although some of the breweries making cask ale have since been taken over my larger macro brewery parent companies, the casks still maintain a certain level of quality that is fairly amazing.  Edinburgh’s Caledonia Brewery, has been active since 1869, but in 2008, was fully taken over by Heineken, yet the majority of the beer they make is still cask ale.  I would guess some readers of this blog will have had cask ale in America at craft bars that are lucky enough to have a cask, but I don’t really think it’s the same as experiencing it in the UK.

This tradition has a great purpose, but what about craft beer in Scotland?  How active is the craft beer market in comparison to the United States?

BrewDog’s guest bottle list was heavily dominated by California breweries. If you ever had any doubt California is the beer capital of the universe, seeing something like this internationally will put it to rest.

BrewDog:  Scottish Rebels 

On the other side of the discussion is BrewDog.  BrewDog does not make cask ale, they keg or bottle all of their beers. I think one of the biggest lessons I learned while in Scotland, is that as Americans, we take an awful lot for granted with regards to the wealth of amazing craft beer we are able to find.  Outside of cask ale in Scotland, the mainstream beer scene is very dominated by similar macro lagers that your typical American beer drinker consumes.  I’ll put it simply:  a cheap product sells, no matter what country you are in.  But for some drinkers, the first time you have that craft beer that costs a dollar or pound more, you fall in love.  This is where BrewDog comes in.  Though they have only been around for 5 1/2 years, they have a fairly dedicated fan base  that has allowed them to experience amazing growth.

A “schooner pint”.

BrewDog is kind of like Stone Brewing Company’s international twin, a company with an in your face personality, on a mission to spread the gospel of craft beer.  BrewDog has helped change the landscape of craft beer in Scotland.  Although there are some other enjoyable craft breweries I sampled while in Scotland (William Brothers was actually pretty great), BrewDog is definitely the biggest and the loudest.

Founded by James Watt and Martin Dickie in 2007, the brewery has aggressively expanded to the point of now having 13 brew pubs.  They have been named as Scotland’s largest independent brewery, have increased their production 35 times over, and went from 2 employees to 135 employees in the course of 5 years.  Pretty impressive growth during a recession.  The company has done tons of marketing campaigns seen as gimmicks by many, such as The End of History, a beer that clocked in at 55% alcohol and was dubbed the most expensive beer of all time.  Also of interesting note is that BrewDog helped change the law in Scotland, to allow “schooner,” or 2/3rds pints to be  available.  It plays perfectly into BrewDog’s mission of crafting higher alcohol beer than Scotland is used to, mostly modeled after the American craft brewing movement.  It’s also kind of a foil to the cask ale movement. Hardly any of BrewDog’s beers are served as imperial pints, because the high alcohol content facilitates smaller serving sizes.

BrewDog explaining their brewing process.

In the end, I think both cask ale and craft beer have their place in Scotland and deserve respect.  It’s interesting to see new entrepreneurs and beer lovers changing the landscape of the scene, but I don’t see the historical love for cask ales dying anytime soon.  As a beer lover, I was happy to experience both!

The list of beers on tap at White Labs.

As someone who is interested enough in beer, or more specifically the craft beer community, to venture to a website dedicated to celebrating the craft of beer you have probably been to your fair share of tasting rooms or events.  When you go to a brewery’s tasting room you are often greeted by a bar with several beers on tap that you are familiar with.  Also on the menu you will typically find beers only available in the tap room, or maybe even limited release beers that are difficult to find around town but flow freely from the taps in the tasting room.  You almost always have the opportunity to order a flight of tasters (should your curiosity take over, screaming that you need to try EVERYTHING!) or you can order a pint.  One thing you might not expect is to walk into the tasting room and find the same beer on tap 4 times.  If you are like me you want to try anything on tap at the brewery that you have never had before and maybe grab a growler on the way out the door to share with some friends who couldn’t make the trek.  The last thing I want to see when I walk into a brewery is the same beer on the tap list over and over and over and over again.

Believe it or not that is the exact reason to go to White Labs, because they have reinvented the tasting room specifically designed around the product that they sell.  White Labs is not a company that sells beer, although in this case they are serving beer at their tasting room.  White Labs is a company that sells Yeast.  In fact, they are one of the two main suppliers of brewers yeast to the professional and home brewing community.  There are four traditional ingredients found in beer (generally speaking): Malted Barley, Hops, Water and Yeast.  The first two ingredients, Barley and Hops, are the two ingredients that consumers of beer are most likely acquainted with, but Water and Yeast are the two forgotten about ingredients.  Im not sure about you, but I have definitely heard of someone being described as a Hop-Head – but I have also definitely not heard of someone being described as a Yeast-Head.  But really, Yeast is probably the one single ingredient that can cause the most dynamic shift in a beer.  I think a lot of people would be surprised to learn that a brewer could brew up a single batch of wort and split it into two different fermenters with a different yeast in each and end up with two dramatically different beers.  But they probably wouldn’t be any good would they?  Well, you would be surprised.  The traditional ingredients in a Premium American Lager are nearly identical to the ingredients traditionally used in a Cream Ale.  The main ingredient that differs?  Yeast.  Pitch a lager strain in one fermenter and an ale strain in the other and you have yourself to stylistically accurate batches of beer.  Cool huh?

Well, if you think learning about the difference yeast can make in a beer, you will be in heaven when you visit White Labs.  The tasting room has been open for some time now, but I finally made it down to San Diego a few weeks ago and I made it a priority to stop by and see what the tasting room had to offer.  When you walk into the facility you immediately see a wall with 30-40 taps on it.  Its an awe inspiring and daunting image at the same time.  When you sit down at the bar you are handed a list of all of the beers on tap.  The different thing about this list of taps is that the beer list reads more like a science experiment list rather than a list of delicious beers to choose from.  White Labs brews up batches of beer and then splits the wort into multiple fermenters with different yeast strains in each.  My list included a Brown Ale, 3 Amber Ales, 2 Belgian Blondes, 5 Belgian IPAs, 3 Belgian Dubbels, 4 California Commons and 4 Scottish Wee Heavys.  Next to each beer listed is a Batch # along with the Yeast Strain.  I decided I would order all four of the Scottish Wee Heavy ales.  For this beer White Labs had fermented 3 of the taps with English style yeast strains, and one with an American style yeast strain.  Getting the opportunity to drink all four of these beers side by side from the same wort using different yeast strains was a fantastic experience.  Splitting batches is something that I have done in my own brewing, but never to this scale or with this much variety.  For my tastes, I found that the Burton Ale strain (WLP023) was a fantastic strain of yeast that really stood out from the other strains used for the Wee Heavy.  I actually wrote down that it would be a great yeast to use in a future batch of an American or Russian Imperial Stout.

Wall o’ Yeast Tube Taps!

At the bottom of every hour one of the White Labs staff members takes customers into the lab area on a guided tour through the facility.  Unfortunately camera equipment is not allowed back here, so you will have to make the trip yourself to see the huge refrigerator full of thousands of vials of yeast, or the propagation room littered with Erlenmeyer flasks.  During our tour our guide let us know that you can buy your yeast directly from White Labs via their website Yeastman.com, along with other White Labs gear.

White Labs also offers an alcohol test kit where you can send in your own home brew and have it professionally tested by White Labs to provide you with measurements for alcohol by volume and weight, IBU’s (International Bitterness Units), Bacteria and Wild Yeast, Diacetyl (a compound produced by yeast that can contribute a buttery popcorn like flavor in beer), color analysis (what color your beer is – typically follows the SRM (Standard Reference Method) for determining the color differences in different beers), along with many other results.

I managed to make my way through a round of Amber Ales before calling it a day, but I plan on making White Labs a standard stop for future visits to San Diego.  If you are ever in San Diego and are looking for something different and potentially educational I highly suggest stopping by White Labs to see how different two beers can be when different strains of yeast are used.

The “Yeast List”

My tasting notes.

The fact is, everyone gets into their chosen industry differently. Be it rigorous education, moving up the corporate ladder, being in the right place at the right time, knowing someone, getting an inheritance, having access to wealthy investors, these are all viable options – none of them being better than the other. John and I have chosen to–and it was a subject that required much deliberation–build our brand and experience via gypsy brewing while raising money. Our aim is to build our brand while simultaneously scaling up our recipes, gaining commercial brewing experience, and working hand in hand with our partner brewery. Transparency is something we are very passionate about, which is why we have our partner brewery, Ohana Brewing Co, at all of our events. We are proud and happy for their success and we look forward to not only working with them, but collaborating with and empowering them as much as we can.  Their focus is on quality and small batches which goes hand in hand with ours.

Skin in the game?

Well, we aren’t sitting on mountains of money, but what we do have are our cars, the titles of which have been graciously handed over to the bank as collateral so that we could buy our 200 kegs. We also have our day jobs.  John and I save up every month and make an equity contribution into the LAAW account like you would a savings account. This allows us to pay for pilot batches, equipment, meetings, etc.  It’s slow, but steady, and also smart.

We’ve been working on our brewery concept for nearly 4 years now, and we have a plan.  This plan tells us what our brewery may look like in 2, 3, 4, 5+ years, but the reality is that we can only speculate.  Looking at breweries like Orange County’s The Bruery, you’ll see that even in a expertly executed business plan, your business may take on a mind of its own.  This was a bad shift, but they recently closed the provisions store so that they could refocus.  The people, your clients, and demand are the focus.

Kickstarter

Oh ya, and there was that Kickstarter thing. First of all, John and I would love to have the opportunity to thank each and every backer in person.  I look forward to meeting all of you that I haven’t met, and hugging all of you that I have.

393 backers banded together to bring in over $38,000, which enables to buy commercial equipment that will be housed at Ohana. Thank you again to everyone who backed and/or supported us along the way. Buying this equipment allows us to have more equity in our company and also lessens the burden on Ohana. Our keg washer will be used by both breweries at will. John and I are interested in giving back and collaborating.

So why not wait for investment and just open a brewery?

Well that’s the plan, but why turn away commercial experience, recipe upscalling, and the chance to work closely with our brewery, bars, and drinkers/clients? We’ll hit the ground running when we start and have solid relationships to back us up.  We are moving forward with private equity investment to acquire funds that will lead us to our own manufacturing facility, hopefully in West LA.  The amount we are raising, $750K, seems like a lot of money, but in terms of starting a business like this where manufacturing, equipment, leasing, and buildout costs are a premium – it’ll go fast.  The money we raised via kickstarter is already well on its way to be spent on our fermentor(s) and keg washer.

Diluting and Industry

How can a small brewer like us, focused on small 7BBL batches (eventually 15BBL when we have our facility) dilute the industry?  The answer is that we can’t and we won’t.  John and I are very focused on the artisan-boutique approach to brewing.  We want to grow organically and are not, currently, focused on saturating the market with our beer.  15BBLs goes fast.  Look at an LA based brewery like Eagle Rock Brewery, who keeps up with demand in a constrained space.  They do a good job making a quality product and have been rewarded.  They will most likely expand and that’s great news.

Starting large has many caveats, and the risk of diluting the marketplace by producing too much beer is greater than the threat from too many small brewers.  As a beer drinker, I would rather have hundreds of tiny breweries making unique small craft product than a large regional one dictating what we drink.  I’m always blown away when I see a brewery take the start large approach over organic growth.  Isn’t craft beer all about size reduction, refocusing and shifting away from quantity?  That being said, starting too small can cause a financial and time burden.  Take our current approach to gypsy brewing.  We work during the day and find time to do the brewing, marketing, etc. by taking off work or doing it after hours.  We aren’t making enough to financially sustain ourselves, but we are making enough to break even.  There are several nano-breweries existing/starting in the area, and every time I read about their success it excites me beyond belief because I can only imagine how hard it is to sustain.  Still, I love the idea of small batch, so although we aren’t taking the nano route, it’s something we respect.  Diversity is a good thing.

The Gypsy

Let’s look again at a brewery we’ve all heard of, Brouwerij West.  Brian and the team over at Brouwerij West have been tirelessly brewing and building their brand.  They’ve been to several breweries trying to make it work and have found a happy spot now where they are able to make product, distribute, build their brand, and plan ahead.  He’s planning on opening a tasting room at some point in the near future as well, and I’m sure a brewery is also on the horizon.  What is wrong with his approach? It’s unique, it’s tasty, it’s Brouwerij West.  The labels, love them or hate, (I love them) stick out on the shelf and offer an artistically loud approach to the standard beer label.  Brian is building his brand through the way of the gypsy and is finding success.  It’s true he doesn’t have a facility, but at the same time, his head is in the right place when crafting his product.  Isn’t that something we as beer drinkers want to support?

How are we different than a mom and pop business baking goods out of a neighborhood partner bakery?  So I ask you, how are we, Los Angeles Ale Works, diluting the industry?  The answer is we’re not.  The answer is we can’t.  The answer is we wont. We’re on OUR path to a brewery and everyone’s path is different.

*For more on Gypsy brewing check out the related article Follow the LAAW: The Gypsy

*Title Photo by Geoff Kowalchuck.

Imagine my giddy delight when I met Devon Randall, newest head brewer of Pizza Port Solana Beach, at Eagle Rock Brewery’s Women’s Forum held March 20th.  I had amassed a six-woman crew to join me for the extra special two-year anniversary of the forum.  And the place was packed.  It was on fire in there.  We were all sweaty and laughy and pink.

Devon brought with her a flight of five Solana Beach brews (and I learned that yes, the different Pizza Port locations have some different brews because, also I learned, duh, they each have a different head brewer).  They were, in no particular order: Kashi Kronik (special and likely not to be seen for long), Ponto Pale Ale (a mysterious beer lacking a consistent recipe. Through trial and error, Devon figured ‘er out), Whale’s Tale Pale Ale (a fav among my lady-crew), Swami’s IPA (yes, please), and Silky Heads, a total surprise – Thai food-inspired wheat beer.

Ting Su, Devon Randall, and me

The pinnacle of the evening consisted of the telling of Devon’s triumphant rise in the world of craft brewing.  Her initial exposure to home brewing was through an old boyfriend.  She helped out here and there but it didn’t take at the time.  Fast forward a bit: she’d been hating her job in real estate and just decided she’d like a change.  Donned in her fancy blouse and skirt, she walked right in to a brewery and asked to “just watch for a day.”  Soon enough, it caught on.  She began learning the intricacies of warehouse work, building muscle and determination, passion and knowhow, and from there she moved up to packing and distributing, working in the cellar, and then assisting the head brewer.  Now, she herself is a head brewer, and she did it all in three years(!). She also proudly stands as the only female head brewer in all of the San Diego area.  Fist pump!  She urged all female home brewers to keep working, and urges newbies like me to get more involved.  

Fist pump!

Ting Su, co-founder of ERB/Women’s Forum (and bierkast contributor), also generously honored the festivities (two years!) by gifting us each a REALLY AWESOME commemorative goblet!  A warm congratulations goes out to Ting for all her efforts!