New Breweries to Visit in 2019, Dream of Barleywine + Plan 9 from Eagle Rock

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Breweries Southern California

Some new Southern California breweries are particularly notable. Will they meet expectations?

At the end of 2018, I finally visited Liberation Brewing. I highlighted six upcoming breweries in April of last year and with that last taster flight (OK, two taster flights), I had ticked all but one off the list and that last one, Tarantula Hill Brewing Co., is now slated for an early 2019 opening.

This year, in addition to that Thousand Oaks brewery, I have five more new to coming soon to coming ??? breweries that you should plan to visit.

We start at Telco Brewery in Santa Clarita. This new northern reaches brewery was opened by two AT&T co-workers with a passion for beer. Tony Santa Cruz started home brewing back in 2011 and Jaime Hernandez followed suit in 2015. By September of last year, they were open for business. I would suggest their Rotary Red Ale led by the not so often seen Columbus hop.

Next we head to Orange County and the production facility for TAPS Brewery & Barrel Room. The Tustin space also has the unique twist of the TAPS food truck being on-site as well. Now the multi-award winning brewery has been able to expand and create six-packs of their flag bearers Cream Ale, Pilsner, IPA and Double IPA as well as offering crowlers to go. I would suggest their Coffee on Cream Nitro Ale for that latte beer effect.

Back in Los Angeles, Wiretap Brewing has put some cans of their Luchador Belgian Strong ale out into the market and has poured at the 2018 L.A. Beer Week festival, but do to their limited taproom hours (Friday and Saturday only from 3 – 10 p.m.), I have not visited their brewery in the Lincoln Heights section of Los Angeles. I would suggest their KryptoKolsch primarily because of the name, but also that style can be a good indicator of how well the brewer can nail this simple beer.

Heading over on the 210, Wingwalker Brewing has recently opened up their taproom with opening hours from Friday to Sunday. This brand new Monrovia based brewery soft opened just last Friday. I would suggest trying their Dark Matter lager that won 2nd place at the All NASA Intramural Homebrew Competition.

Border X Brewing will be in the City of Bell and may or may not hit the 2019 calendar year, but is the brewery that I am most excited about visiting. The original brewery is in San Diego so this will be their second location for Mexican-inspired beers. I suggest their Horchata Golden Stout with notes of vanilla bean and whole cinnamon sticks.

And as a special double bonus, be on the lookout for Mumford Brewing opening up in the Jewel City of Glendale and for another brewery to plant a second flag in Los Angeles as Temecula’s Relentless Brewing is in the process of coming to Eagle Rock with both a brewery and distillery.

For 2019, I will highlight a beer each week that is NOT an IPA. Nothing against the style – I drink quite a few myself – but I think other styles are getting under seen. Let’s start with a special barleywine. On Sunday, January 20, Ladyface Ale Companie will release “Dreamer,” their 9th Anniversary Ale, a barrel-aged version of the intense and strong ale that is not wine centered, but certainly is a malt lover’s dream.

The event for your calendar is another “9”. Eagle Rock Brewery will be celebrating their 9th Anniversary on January 26. This year they will have a theme to tie into that number as Plan 9 from Outer Space will be the order of the day. They’re highlighting Plan 9, an imperial pilsner brewed with all German malts and a hop schedule that includes Hallertau Mittelfruh, Mandarina Bavaria, Saphir and Magnum. This will be a big beer clocking in at 10% ABV.

Purchase tickets HERE for the $25 pre-sale price or pay $30 at the door, day of, to get a commemorative anniversary glass and five pours of beer (additional drink tickets will be available for purchase).

Find more of Sean Inman’s writing on his blog, Beer Search Party.

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Sean Inman

Find more of Sean Inman's writing on his blog, Beer Search Party.

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