Homage Brewing (2019)

Now I feel ashamed lol

 

Have any of you guys ever actually been to Homage? The place is tiny.

I'm all for coming up with better, more efficient processes, but I could actually see why having an in-person bottle release might be the best solution for them, for now. For one, it allows them to dedicate their limited resources to handling the sales within a finite timeframe-- they know that "all hands" need to be there on the day of the release for at least a few hours, to get through the line crunch. If they did online sales, they would need to figure out a way to store all of those bottles on-site for the duration of the pick-up window, and also to integrate some kind of pick-up tracking/sign-off system into their bartenders' work so that people don't somehow lose out on bottles that they purchased online. I know it's not rocket science, and I'm not saying it's totally impossible, but I could see why they might not want to do that. The place is tiny.

And if you've ever been there on a busy concert night or Pomona Art Walk night-- when there are a ton of people coming through who have probably never purchased a bottle of beer online in their entire lives-- you could probably understand why they might not want to have random beer nerds (not exactly known for their humility, empathy, compassion, and patience) dropping by for bottle pick-ups during that time. The place is tiny.

Maybe one workaround would be conducting online sales, say, a week or so in advance of the in-person pickup date, and requiring that people who pre-purchased online would go in-person on one specific date to pick up their bottles, at risk of forfeiture. I'd be in favor of that, as it would mostly mitigate the strain of a line crunch for all. But I can also see how it doesn't support locals as much as the "pure" in-person sales system does, so maybe that's part of the reason Homage does things their current way. And I could also certainly see beer nerds complaining about a ridiculously short pick-up window. Plus, online sales systems all require some kind of fee, usually a few bucks or so per item, which might make people complain again (like those who were unhappy with the jump from $22 to $25 per bottle for this vintage of Chat Flou).

Every system has its drawbacks.

And just in case you guys didn't know, Homage often holds back some bottles of most of their beers, and will put them out in their small fridge there for on-site consumption only-- weeks or even months after the initial release. So there are certainly going to be other opportunities to have a taste of this or most any other bottle release of theirs, even if you missed out because you couldn't make the in-person sale (or just because you are morally opposed to the concept of the in-person sales system). I would highly, highly encourage you all to drop in and check out their beers, and cross your fingers and hope there are some nice bottles in the fridge to enjoy (or check out their social media, where they sometimes post glimpses of what's in the fridge).

I was really impressed this weekend with how far along their hoppy beers have come, and I believe they are going to continue to get better and better. And if you haven't tried many of their funky saisons and barrel-aged sour stuff, you are truly missing out on some of the best mixed-fermentation beers around. I'd say this batch of Chat Flou is one of the best Masumoto peach beers in recent memory, maybe ever. In short... Homage is tiny. But awesome.

 

Been there twice, most recent time was summer? last year and only thing on tap was hazy ipas and the to go fridge was just cold brew.

I get it's tiny, but other places that are/were just as small, e.g. HPB pre-Chinatown & Monkish, have all had online sales and pickups too. Went to school at Cal Poly Pomona, and downtown is not a comfortable place to stand outside when the temps creep up. Perhaps once they expand to LA they may have better storage?

 

Monkish has always been way bigger than Homage.

HPB in its earliest days is fairly comparable, but I'd say they were bigger too. They've always had a 7-bbl system, for one thing, and Homage is a 5-bbl system. And in terms of square footage, you could say that HPB had a smaller footprint for the brewing space, but they also had certain things they could lean on to "swell" that Homage does not and cannot-- the parking lot, the Hermosillo, the refrigerated shipping container in the back, the fenced-in area right in front of their roll-up doors, the hallway near the Hermosillo's kitchen for bottle-conditioning/storage. I know some of those things were built out gradually over time, but the point is that Homage has very limited options for flexing in quite that same way, or like most breweries that you could compare them to.

This could be part of the reason it makes sense for them to have in-person sales-- they can bring all of the cases of beer from their off-site storage (where the bottles were conditioning), and they can hope that the bottles will sell out in one day and there will be no need to make room for extended on-site storage throughout the duration of the pick-up window.

 

Ha maybe it's because every time I've been to Monkish it's been stupidly packed.

They make good stuff, just like you mentioned earlier, in person pickup is kinda a loaded situation that is just ripe for heartbreak. I look forward to the new taproom, and hope that with the new acreage they adjust the model.

 

I was there Saturday. Not for the release. For a couple of pints or 3 before a concert around the corner from Homage. But I figured I'd give their Chat Flou a try. It was already sold out on draft and bottles. No big deal. I had their hazy IPA's and a stout. But I thought "damn" how many were there in line for the Chat Flou? They open at 1pm on weekends and I got there at 4. So in 2-2 1/2 they sold out? And this place is small. Homage is definitely on the map. Maybe when they open up in Chinatown they will be on the bigger map?

 

omg. i got there at 4:45. so ur tellin me i coulda met gunz live in the flesh and shot the shit over some monks nostalgia....

 

I was there till 520ish and walked over to the Rookery for some grub and another pint before the gig.

 

I'm team online release but you do bring up valid points regarding the scale of their current operation. Got there at 2:30 on Saturday and they were sold out. Was aware that it was high possibility I wouldn't get any bottles going into it since I wasn't willing get there early and wait in line so I'm not mad. Still got to try their Blue in Green which I found delicious.

It's only a 5 minute walk to HPB Chinatown from my place so they'll be a welcomed addition to the neighborhood.

 

Does anyone know when the Chinatown location is bound to open?

 

I'm getting nostalgic about the online arguments in old Monkish threads

 

/r/lostredditors

 

Cold storage.

 

Finally made it to Homage. Cool spot. Great beers. Didn’t realize it was going to be right by Glass House. saw some shows there back in the day. Old punk shows. I’m old

Also saw a Pixies “secret show” there right when they reformed

 

Can you go there just to buy cans/bottles to go? Or is this place so hyped up that everything sells out instantly and the only option is their stuff on tap?

I’m in La Verne and am looking for options aside from bottleshops.

 

Cans and non-fruited sours usually last 1-2 days after release. Besides that there's only crowler/growlers to-go. And sours are almost never available for fills.

 

@jamshard2mash

 

Thanks!

What's the expectations for this weekends festivities? What time should one arrive on saturday to get bottles? Limits?

 

THAT'S where homage is? Nice. I remember seeing the White Stripes there and only paying $20 for it, and there was less than 100 people there.