Last Thursday Business & Beer had our tenth get-together, this time with a return visit to Strand Brewing Company in Torrance. Strand Brewing is a local brewer in Torrance and specializes in ales, with their Atticus and Black IPA being two of my favorite locally brewed IPA’s. We had a fair turnout of eight, but as several of our regular attendees were out of the state, I can not complain. We had a couple second timers and one new attendee so it looks like we are going to continue to grow.
From Strand Brewing, with love
Tomorrow night, September 20, we will return to The Brewery at Abigaile in Hermosa Beach. If you did not join us here in July, you do not want to miss it tomorrow. The Brewery at Abigaile is a brewpub apart from most brewpubs in that not only do they offer some truly amazing beers, but their food is second to none. All brewpubs should be so good. Since they do serve food, this is a great event to bring your significant other. Between the food, beer and wine selections, you can be sure there will be something there for you. As an extra added bonus, since tomorrow is Day One of LA Beer Week, there will be specials offered with discounts on pints and growler fills. I do not think we could have planned a better way to start off LA Beer Week.
Theresa wins a free beer at her first visit to Business & Beer
Since this is the beginning of LA Beer Week, we will be having an additional get-together on Friday, September 21 at Alpine Village in Torrance for their 45th Annual Oktoberfest. Members of Business & Beer, their family and friends will get free admission to Oktoberfest. You must be on the guest list and be over 21 to attend. We will meet at 7:00 PM at the patio area in front of the Alpine Market; please visit our Facebook page for more details and to get your name on the guest list.
You can see all the photos from our visit to Strand Brewing on GotBaddog.com
All the Monkish brews
For those that did not make it, we have been invited by Alpine Village to attend their Oktoberfest as a group, for no charge. Your name will need to be on our list so if you are not following us on Facebook, this would be a good time to do it so you can sign up and learn more details. Currently we are deciding between September 21 or the 22nd. Go cast your vote.
Mike wins a free beer
Our next Business & Beer will be held this Thursday, September 13 at Strand Brewing Co in Torrance. This is a return visit to one of the fastest growing micro breweries in the South Bay. This is a brewery that has something for everyone, whether it be an amber or an IPA. As it is a micro brewery there is no food, so you are welcome to bring food if you wish. There is plenty of free street parking available and you are encouraged to use that. As usual, all the photos from our visit to Monkish Brewing can be found on GotBaddog.com.
We had our eighth Business & Beer last Thursday at Sophie’s Place in the Riviera Village in Redondo Beach. Sophie’s Place is one of, if not the best gastropub in Redondo Beach. We went there for the first time in July but feel like we have been coming for years because of how welcomed we always feel. They have a nice menu and eight rotating taps that always keeps the beer selection interesting.
We had another nice group of close to 15 people, with one or two couples attending and we had at least one newcomer from Keeping it Local. I am pretty sure we will see him back as supporting local business is what we are all about. As I looked around the room Thursday and through the photos this morning I was pleased to notice that everyone seems to be enjoying the conversation; whether it be about business, beer or just being social.
Our hosts, Keon, Jessica and Bobby
Next week, Business & Beer will return to Monkish Brewing in Torrance. So far, Monkish Brewing holds the record for the largest Business & Beer event we have had yet.They do not serve food, so that is really saying something. If you want to bring food in, you are welcome to. For the first timers, Monkish is located in an industrial park on Western, just south of Del Amo. You can only enter from the southbound lanes, and it is the second driveway, right after the hamburger joint. Just turn in and head towards the back, you can not miss us. We will be in the back by the brewing equipment.
Business & Beer welcomed to Sophie’s Place
We thank everyone for their support thus far and hope that you will Like our Facebook page and sign up for our mailing list so you can keep aware of our schedule. If you know of any gastropubs in the South Bay that we should consider, please visit our Add Your Location page. You can find all the photos from Thursday’s event at Sophie’s Place on GotBaddog.com.
Week seven of Business N Beer was held at the Alpine Inn at Alpine Village, located in Torrance, CA. While the Alpine Inn does not exactly fall under the description of micro brewery, brewpub or gastropub, the Alpine Inn is a specialty restaurant, serving German food, and they have about 15 beers on tap so we decided to give them a try for the Business N Beer circuit. As our attendance was about double of the previous week, I think the addition of specialty restaurants that provide a wide variety of beers on tap is probably a good move.
Jon, Otto and Todd, our hosts
Attendees included several regulars, one or two occasional attendees and a couple new visitors. As it turned out, Alpine Inn was providing musical entertainment in the form of not one but three different rock/reggae/punk bands. We had arrived early and I saw the band setting up so I asked one of the members what time they started playing. He told me they started between 8-8:30 so I figured this would not be an issue. What I did not realize is that he was in the third of the three bands. While the music was entertaining and I could see several of our group were getting into it, it did make it a little difficult with each other. As a result, I was unable to really talk to the new people; I hope they had a good time and will return.
As I noted above, our attendance is back up after low numbers at El Segundo Brewing Company, and this has caused me to come to a few conclusions. The first is that we have definitely found our boundaries as far as geographical locations are concerned. El Segundo is as far north as we will want to go; and Alpine Village is as far south as we will venture. Freeway close is not that close at 6:00 PM on a weekday. Continue reading
Please join us for Business & Beer a small business networking event which will be held at Strand Brewing Co. on September 13, 2012 at 6 PM. Strand Brewing Co. is located at 23520 Telo Ave # 2, Torrance, California. Please RSVP by commenting below that you will be there.
Join us at Strand Brewing Co at 6 PM on September 13, 2012
