818 Brewing

What type of brewery are you aiming to be; or what kind of beers do you think you excel at brewing?
Boutique barrel aged stuff
Sour stuff
Hoppy Beers
Classic beers brewed to style
Rauchbiers
Kvass only brewery

You will be the nearest brewery to my house (Simi) so I'll definitely stop by

 

I would happily give you a try, but hardly ever get out that way. If I ever see it I will let you know what I thought about it.

Would also follow up on that if you plan on opening in August (really only 3 months away now) you need to start doing more than just a blog. People need to know about you and be getting excited for your launch so they seek out the project. Get some bottle shops to come try your product so when you open and have (hopefully) distribution they will carry the product and vouch for it on the shelf when people don't know what it is. I would change the blog style of your website so that the blog is the secondary part, and make it look like an open business. 3 months is far less than you can imagine. And I know you know, because you are living it.

 

This is our base to start:
Blonde
IPA
Belgian
And from these recipes use the flexibility of the nano size to make variations off of each available for local seasonal releases.
Our Porter and Red are being developed now. It's a diverse offering but we see it fitting in well with the diversity of the valley. Great to hear you're so close, looking forward to cheers'n you and hearing your feedback. If you're ever in the area swing by and check out the construction. 8951 De Soto Ave

 

What area are you close to?
Yes it's crazy to think we're that close! Well 3 months is also still in the hands of the City and the TBB which is still about a 120 days processing to complete. From the end of March we've gone from 0 to 200 miles an hour. The list of priorities is long and I agree with you and we will make some changes soon on the site. Thanks for the input!

 

Hollywood/Los Feliz, but I only drive south or west really. Don't really do business in the valley, so I don't go.

 

I really think a new brewery without a taproom doesn't stand much of a chance unless the beer is unbelievable. I can't think of any of the 100+ breweries I've been to that don't have a taproom. I grew up in the SFV and live in Valencia now so you're not far from me at all but without a taproom I see no point stopping by since I won't be able to try your product. Even though $40 isn't much, neither is a t-shirt and a bomber of an unknown beer. I have Wolf Creek walking distance to me but I gave up going there since they only seem to brew things like blondes, IPAs, & belgian beers. Well, that and waiting 3+ years for a mug, still nada.

 

I couldn't agree more. This safe route new brewery's are going with the standard "blonde, belgian, IPA's" are becoming redundant. I'm waiting for the next Cascade, Almanac, Bullfrog to pop up in the LA area!

 

I had to read all the way through your post hoping that you weren't hyping WC. Phewwww

 

I'm located at 21927 saticoy and would prolly have your beer on tap

 

Got my shirt...23 of 818..my boy and his wife are 20 and 21....looking forward to our beer.

 

Sorry for the late reply. Micro brewery production is in the infant stages here in the San Fernando Valley. With us there will be 5 total. I will save you the boredom of why a tasting room was not an option at this point. I'm open to have the conversation if anyone is curious. We have a total of 818 memberships available and around 100 are claimed at this point. I hope you will get to try our beer and grab a membership to rep your roots! Just curious ... what would you like to see more of from the new brewery's? Barrel aged? ( wine or whisky ) Sours? Cask? Infusion Experiments?

 

I've heard the original WC Restaurant and Brewery are for sale if any one is interested

 

We will def be by to give you some samples once we have production up and running. We've been going to IR since you guys took over. Great local spot!

 

Thanks for the support!

 

We agree! We're small 3bbl system which limits production size but creates an opportunity for flexibility and experiments. Just curious ... what would you like to see more of from the new brewery's? Barrel aged? ( wine or whisky ) Sours? Cask? Infusion Experiments?

 

I would like to see any/all of the above. I live 3 blocks from you guys and would LOVE a little R&D brewery pushing the limits so close.

 

The one on McBean? I know they closed down the one they opened in Calabasas. That location was always a failure IMO. They opened a brewery a few miles away from their restaurant a couple years ago and brew everything there now. I highly doubt they would sell their McBean location. Even though I don't go anymore, it's usually pretty busy on weekends and Friday night you can't even get a seat at the bar because all the regulars take over.

I wouldn't find the reasons behind not choosing to open a taproom boring. This is a beer forum after all. I would like to get to try your beer too. I assume once you have some you'll try to get into some of the festivals that pour beer so people can try it. As far as what kind of beer I would recommend going to Highland Park Brewery, Smogcity, Beachwood, Phantom Carriage, or if you end up a little more south Council & Modern Times are doing amazing things.

 

I personally would like to see you brew what you are good at. There is no reason for you to brew sours if you suck at it. Same with any other beer. Can't make a decent IPA to save your life? Don't do it.

Just pick a handful of styles you know you can hit out of the park. Brew them and get them to be your staples, then dabble a bit. This is where the tap room would come in handy. You could try to make a sour and get direct feedback from customers who are drinking it immediately at that time. If it isn't good enough, then you can figure out what you have to fix fast. If you are putting it in bottles and it needs work, the person taking it home may never come back to tell you what you need to do to make it better.

 

It was a general question of what the people on here would like to see more of.... since the comment before said there are too many blondes and IPA's in the market. We're working on getting a tasting room.. Paperwork, red tape, time frame, cost all lead to opening as a brewery only to start ( at least at this size and in the City of LA ). Again, we're a small Nano in a big market and this is a Founders Club for those in the community that wish to support and expand the craft beer culture in the valley and also support local business and entrepreneurship.

 

We're working on getting a tasting room.. Paperwork, red tape, time frame, cost all lead to opening as a brewery only to start ( at least at our size and in the City of LA ).

Here’s the listing for WC ( look at RRC# 2090 )

http://www.restaurantrealty.com/california-restaurants-for-sale