This week Brew & You covers two new additions to L.A.’s craft beer drinking scene. Both spots are entering parts of town that have recently exploded with choices.

First up is Cosmic Brewery which “soft opened” in Torrance becoming the latest addition to the Del Amo brewing corridor that will probably need its own brewing guild pretty soon, seeing how many breweries are now there.

Some may recall and have tasted Cosmic ales a few years back when they were contract brewed and lightly distributed in the L.A. area. Owner Christopher Briles and his beers are back and with a bit of a twist from the usual taproom. Cosmic employs a digital self-pouring draft system that allows patrons to pay by the ounce. Seen more in wine bars, this allows the Cosmic staff to talk with the people drinking the beer instead of pouring it.

Second up is Great Society Cider & Mead. They have craft beer, but this new Long Beach establishment caters to fans of apples and honey over malt and hops. Yup, there is now a cider and mead bar where you can indulge in a beverage other than beer.

Check their website which recently showed options like an Oaked Dry Cider and a Gin barrel cider plus all manner of fruit accented options with strawberry, plums and pear available. There is a food menu as well.

Long Beach already has great depth, but now they have some breadth as well.

The Beer of the Week can be found only at one location. Befitting their name, the BBQ focused Barrel & Ashes has collaborated with Wolf Creek Brewing on a barrel-aged beer. The restaurant bought their own barrel of Buffalo Trace whiskey unique to them alone. When empty, they get to keep the barrel. They roped in Santa Clarita’s Wolf Creek Restaurant & Brewing Co. to fill that barrel with red ale and then aged it for six months. It premiered last week and in very limited supply.

This week’s Homework is to drink beer with BBQ. Barrel & Ashes may not have much of their barrel-aged beer but they do have a curated list of local like Strand Brewing and out of state taps (plus a Sixpoint beer event in early September). Also on Ventura Boulevard (but many freeway exits away) you can check out Boneyard Bistro which has a very strong craft beer tap list alongside their excellent ‘cue. Planning ahead, later this month Boneyard will host an Allagash beer dinner on August 27.

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