Taste of Brews

Definitely a great time. Lines move quickly. Food trucks, beer, and an awesome location. Doesn’t get any better! Don’t forget your sunscreen or hat.

Taste of Brews was awesome! What a beautiful setting to spend an afternoon day-​drinking great beer. Plus, it was nice to get a more in-​depth look into the LB Craft Beer scene.
I write a bit more extensively about this on my blog:

For $ 30 I can’t complain but with breweries running out of beer with about 2 hours left was quite weak. It was pretty hot, so I am very happy they had water everywhere. Honestly not sure if I’ll ever go to one of these again but wouldn’t say never because anything is fun with good company!

Last year TOB was great, this year not so much. See Kelli W’s review, she nailed it in detail. Too many people, long lines, and not enough beers. TOB, you blew it this year. I think it’s unlikely my friends and I will attend next year.

This was a big disappointment. They had great breweries but sold way too many tickets. Lucky for us we had the 12pm entry because by 2pm multiple breweries were out of beer and the lines were over 30 minutes each to get a sample, and when you finally got close they told you that they were already out of beer. With that many breweries attending, it should not have been like that. This was our 4^th event of the summer and NONE of the others were remotely like this. The longest wait for anything was maybe 15 mins max. Then for them to run out after some people had just gotten there??? And no seating, tables or shade tents? Maybe next year you will be a little more organized, or at least stop selling tickets once its full.

Hell ya, love TOB. I went to the 1^st two Long Beach events and sadly missed last year. The first year was awesome, and came with a free ticket to the Laugh Factory, but lacked food. The 2^nd year had food trucks that were great, but the city made TOB hand out drink tickets only days before the day of the event. The ticket thing took some of the fun out of it, since it was basically billed as an all you can drink sampling event. If the ticket system is not around I’ll def be at the next TOB in Long Beach! If there is a ticket per sample system in place at this years its 50 – 50 if I’ll be there.

BEER OVERLOAD… they gave me something like 20 tickets, but I didn’t last past maybe 6 or so. I’m such a lightweight… guess that makes me a cheap date.
Of course, I had to drive home, so I needed to stop early and sober up anyway. But, my brother won tickets to this event and invited me and my girlfriend, so all in all, I got a nice chunk of free beer, some free food, and some great company.
The Unilocal booth was a blast with the oversized Jenga.

This was a fun event set in a nice location with a view of the water and grass at your feet. Even though I’m not a big beer drinker, I was still down for tasting all sorts of beer. My favorites were the ciders though.
Cute little beer mugs along with tickets were given after entering. Most vendors didn’t ask for the tickets but freely gave out the samples to be filled in those mini mugs. While waiting in line, we encountered some friendly people.
I suppose I missed any food samples except for one vendor that gave out pieces of cheese. They tried to pair it up with whatever you were drinking next. A few food trucks were there to purchase food from while a cool band provided live music. We stayed to watch them as the event was coming to an end.
This is an event that no lover of beer should miss. Make yourself a pretzel necklace in hopes that they’ll make a return to Lighthouse Park in years to come, or catch the event in Dana Point.

long lines, awesome beer, good food, good music, great CM Ryan C.
thanks Lilli H. for the invite and your an awesome wing girl– the best ever
lots of parking space a few block away but a nice view of the harbor and the city.
long lines but well worth it, So many beer to choose from, I felt like a kid in a candy store running around and can’t decide to witch one to choose from.
I did find some beer to taste. I was really shock that their is such beer call (cider beer) it taste very fresh and full of flavor. After a few drink i was shock to find my away back for more.
the food sample is great lot of Cheeses and shrimp also a sample plate of mack salad and cookie to enjoy. I saw a few people with pretzel necklace warding around. I wanted one so much, Latter i found out they bring there own to the event.
I stop by the Unilocal booth say hi to Ryan C. and everyone, To my surprise I got see to lot of new and old faces. That I haven’t seen in a long time. It was really nice to play some game at the booth like toss the been bags and over size jenga blocks.
over all this event is great I would come back again next year (hopefully with my wings Girl) the sad part about this event is not enough water to go around But hope that change next year.

I confess I used to hate beer. I’m still usually a wine drinker when given a choice, but my appreciation for beer has continued to grow. This festival provided numerous opportunities to learn about and taste a variety of the brown and tan colored rainbow that is beer. It was a beer lover’s dream! Lagers and ales, ciders and stouts, this festival had them all. A four ounce mini beer mug gave drinkers the chance to have a decent taste while leaving room for the many other varieties available.
They gave us tickets for the tastes upon arrival, but none of the breweries really collected them. Even if they had, there were still more tickets than I could have used in one afternoon. The breweries and brews present change from one year to the next, so I won’t bother listing them here (although they are available on the website). It was nice to taste a different brew from a trusted brand, and then try a brewery I had only heard of (or maybe never heard of)!
This year’s festival was held on a warm day, but the ocean breezes made the festival very pleasant. So pleasant that groups of people laid out in the grass all afternoon. Well, maybe it was the alcohol that did that; I can’t say for sure. :P But hey, the more people «relaxing», the shorter the lines (which were usually relatively short to begin with). The Unilocal booth had some games and prizes (that Unilocalstick came in handy on a sunny day!). I think there’s an opportunity here; it would be cool if there were more non-​drinking activities throughout the festival to give people a break from drinking.
All in all, it was a very pleasant festival full of friendly people. Considering the free flowing alcohol, I was pleasantly surprised that I did not witness anything really bad. I was lucky enough to win tickets to Taste of Brews (thanks, Ryan!), but if I hadn’t, the price is pretty decent for a real drinker, especially considering the variety available. They had lots of small bottles of water, which is a necessity when alcohol is unlimited. Security was very present, but I didn’t see anything unpleasant. They made people laying down on the grass get up and keep moving (toward the end of the festival), but everyone seemed nice. After drinking on an empty stomach, I learned two lessons– eat before coming, and take a tip from the pros– wear a pretzel necklace to absorb the booze. Pretty simple yet clever!
My little suggestions to make the festival better– a map of the breweries to help you find the ones you want to try most, better line organization (more room), and more seating areas for those buying food from the food trucks. Overall, there was a lot of time to enjoy a lot of craft brews, so I’m a fan.

Let’s say you want to put down the bottle of Bud or that Coor’s is just not cutting it anymore but the world of craft beer is daunting to you — It’s events like this that will be your best friend.
What is a best friend if not for someone that drags you out into the sun on a beautiful day and fills you up with alcohol?
These events are a bit of a double edged sword for me. I’m a craft beer nut. I generally can be found at most breweries that are local as a regular there. So a lot of these breweries to me are known a bit like the back of my hand. Which means that I’m not going to get the same expanded knowledge from this as your average person as I’ve almost tried everything already.
In saying that, these events are wonderful if you don’t go out and have much of a chance to try something that isn’t on the shelf of your local ralph’s — namely things like bud or coor’s. You won’t find any of that here.
For you folks who don’t chase limited release barrel aged beers like I do, this place will open your mind — and probably get you pretty far past buzzed that you’ll have to lay on the grass for a while after.
It was announced as unlimited pours and the night before they changed it to ticketed pours. This wasn’t much of a big deal as they gave you 18 tickets. At 4oz a pop, if you can chug 72 ounces of beer and still want more — You’re probably too drunk to realize you need to stop drinking.
So there was no reason to complain about the ticketed add-​on last minute. Especially since a lot of the booths didn’t even bother taking your ticket. I guess it was more of a legal reason behind that requirement than anything else.
I got in at the noon early time gate opening and I have to say, it was pretty chill for that hour. Crowds weren’t that bad and you could get around fairly easily. Once general admission came in, things got a little more packed. It seemed like everyone wanted to stand in the middle.
While it was a bit more of a bob and weave to navigate, i can’t say the lines to get beer was that much effected as pouring 4oz of beer is not time consuming.
The breweries present ranged from the new folks on the scene to some of the local legends like Firestone, Ballast Point and Bootleggers. While I can name a dozen or so more locals that didn’t show up, the offerings of what did were pretty good.
In the end I didn’t use all my tokens and while food wasn’t much more than a small sample of what the restaurant was promoting, it was enough to soak up the bit of booze I consumed. Add in the Lobsta truck/​other food trucks there and chilling with the new OC Unilocal CM, it was one hell of a good time.
Thanks again Ryan. This taste of brews was really enjoyable and I’ll be glad to come out and drag a bud/coor’s/pbr drinker so that they could taste what real beer taste like.

I am recurring participant of Taste of Brews, having been to last year’s event in Long Beach and subsequent ones in Dana Point and Riverside. So, I was very excited to hear that they would return to LB this summer. Knowing how crowded some of these events can get, I purchased an early admission ticket to avoid the early crowd. The event organizers however, seemed to have pushed this early admission; because the early admission resulted in crowds indicative of general admission.
Equally bad this year is that the event was advertised as an unlimited pours event. However, the night before the event, we received an e-​mail indicating that the event would be ticketed. This to me is a BREACH of purchase agreement.
Events like this are meant to expand one’s knowledge about beers and offerings by various breweries. The reason that we get a tasters glass is just that to taste — to sample something you normally would not and possibly find that one that becomes your favorite. So, to ticket the event in the last minute was quite discouraging in terms of attending any future event.
Also, not par to previous events by this organizer is the number of breweries participating. Compared to last year’s event, there seemed to be at least a third less breweries.
I don’t know about you, but my pocket book is not that wide and deep to buy craft beer on a regular basis. I attend these types of events because they help me expand my experience with craft beer with minimal financial and time input.

Wow!
This an awesome festival for beer lovers. We’re talking about craft beers from local, regional and international breweries.
It’s a tasting event, not an all out frat party. Then again, with all the different vendors all in one place, the small 4 oz beer mug can actually fill you up and give you a really nice buzz after you’ve made your rounds.
Food samples are also available, but only while it lasts. For the foodies out there, there are a handful of food trucks that offer tasty noms (not included in price of admission). This is a 4 hour event where 1 hour is dedicated for Early Admission and the other 3 hours for General Admission.
Taste of Brews also donates a portion of their proceeds to a charity of their choice. Awesome, drinking for a cause! Plus being located at Lighthouse Park on hot summer day doesn’t get any better.
What I’ve learned:
Eat before you attend the event or have a pretzel necklace to calm your stomach.
The small water bottles are your friend.
Clif Mojo Peanut Butter Trail Bars are a lifesaver.
I definitely am a Hefeweizen fan.
My favorites:
Pyramid Breweries
Maui Brewing Co
Blue Moon
Shock Top
Beachwood Brewing Co
Woodchuck Hard Cider
Crispin Cider
Thank You Taste of Brews, Unilocal OC and CM Ryan C for an awesome afternoon.
Aloha Radio rocked!
Wouldn’t it be awesome if they had a beer pong table? I totally would throw the game just for the different beers!

I had unlimited beer tastings from numerous and notable breweries. The crowd was nice and friendly and would definitely return to enjoy the great vibe here.
Food was for sale from food trucks so don’t expect free food here. Don’t think I drank $ 40 to $ 50 worth of beer but was an experience to remember.

One more time THANK YOU Unilocal OC!
On the last Unilocal OC event I won 2 tickets to attend The Taste of Beers, Long Beach.
My partner in crime?
My dear Cantonese bro John L.
We had a blast! and I must say that I’m the best wing-​girl ever (what do you think John?)
Wonderful event: Great beer from a wide variety of breweries, Great music and food samples. All of this under a blue sky with the perfect Californian weather.
I was in heaven! ** If you know me or have read my reviews, you know that I love beer and wine. **
We stopped by the Unilocal booth and said hi to Ryan and Jaime: D They were nice and friendly as usual!
From all the beers I tried these were my fav:
First the classics that never fail me:
— Blue moon (thanks for the glass, love it!),
— Tangerine lost coast
— Arrogant Bastard
— Shock Top
— NewCastle
— Fox Barrell Authentic Pear and Apple cider, great brand design, friendly and knowledgeable service and awesome products. Kudos!
Then the ones I never tried before:
— Redhead Firemans Brew — Really tasty red amber ale, kinda sweet (not too much)
— Maui Brewing Co — AWESOME pineapple and coconut beer. Great marketing materials!
There were some food samples around, but the real food was from the food trucks. Komodo, dogzilla, lobsta truck and rebel bite were there.
I had Dogzilla for the first time. Delish!
It was so much fun to see so many cool people: Erin and Andrea, Rain and Hubby, Kelly K, Chris T, Anne A and at the end we ran into Hazel and Mr Q, great to see them as well
Bottom line this event is really cool, if possible I’ll be back next year and I’m definitely making a pretzel necklace LOL — isn’t it a great idea?
This 2 gents agreed to pose for me
Cheers!

Wow, what an awesome event! Thanks to Unilocal OC & Ryan C I was able to enjoy a gorgeous Long Beach afternoon at Taste of Brews. Admission includes several beer tastings (done using a drink ticket system, but I somehow left with all my tickets intact and still having drunk a respectable amount of beer!), live music, and samples from other assorted vendors like Zico Coconut Water. The selection was pretty astonishing; there were big names but we stuck mostly with the smaller craft breweries.
Lighthouse Park was busy and lines were long, but moved fast. Most of the vendors had two samples to choose from, and we took our mini plastic steins around from tent to tent getting refills. I stuck mostly with pale ales, but was happy to find the Fox Barrel booth and get some pear cider too. Dogzilla was also there slinging their delicious dogs… one Dogzilla Dog and my afternoon was complete.
Thank you Unilocal for the tickets, and Taste of Brews for a lovely afternoon!

This place was busy today!
Entered at noon (thanks to OC CM Ryan C!) and the crowd wasn’t bad, but it got pretty packed around 1:30 or 2 after a lot of the general admission people came in. There were plenty of local craft breweries and a few of the big boys out. I had some crazy but delicious honey basil beer and amazing pear cider as well.
Entrance included a little taster cup and tickets for beers, although some vendors didn’t ask for them. There wasn’t a lot of free food available, I think only a couple tents including Hooters. About a half dozen food trucks were parked though, so that was nice.
I think the only improvement needed for the event would be a little more space in the walkway between the row of tents. Maybe the event organizers hadn’t expected so many people and the hills make it a bit difficult, but the amount of people near the end made it a little hard to determine who was in line and who was just chillin. Other than that, it was very relaxing and well maintained.
Good, clean, boozy fun. I would definitely recommend this event as well as an early admission ticket!

I had a really fun time at this event! Like many others I purchased a Voice Daily deal for this, so I paid $ 20 to get good & toasty.
PROS:
–Beautiful location (grassy knoll behind the Long Beach Aquarium overlooking the water)
–LOTS of selection of beers
–A couple of snack tents
–Contests to enter & giveaways
–Restrooms on site (porta potty)
CONS:
–Way too many people making it very crowded in the smaller area of the festival
–Very long lines at certain tents (minor issue as the lines usually went pretty fast)
All in all it was a very good, very fun event and we got to say hi to our friends from Unilocal!Thank goodness I got another Unilocalstick, it’s my favorite lip balm! :)

This was a great event! My first Taste of Brews thanks to an affordable ticket from Voice Daily Deals. Not only was it a beautiful day in Long Beach, this was a great location (Lighthouse Park)! They had an amazing assortment of beers, food booths and general vendors (including Unilocal).
The only bummer was how short it was for general admission people (1 – 4) but seeing as how many people were already wasted by 2 I could see how they wouldn’t want to extend it much longer. It was also extremely crowded which made it hard to get around at points but everyone was pretty friendly and willing to move to let you through.
Another successful daily deals-​found event though overall!

I was expecting long lines, a hot day and small portions of beer. What I got was virtually no lines, a cool breezy day (even more breezy with my Unilocal fan) and full 5oz tasters.
So 5 hours later, I’m pretty sure I’m still hammered, but my friends and I had so much fun. We hung out in the VIP area for a little while, and tried to add up in ounces how much beer we had drank and I think we were at a 40 and a tall boy… this is after 1 hour at the event. So it was time to slow down a tad and we did that at the Unilocal booth. We played Unilocal corn hole (best game ever) and chatted with some of our favorite Unilocalers.
All in all I think we will do this again should the Taste of Brews come back to the LBC.