The Best Brewery Hops in Los Angeles: South Bay

“I’m somewhere between LAX and Long Beach, and I’m thirsty! Please help!”

Torrance, Hawthorne, El Segundo, Gardena, Carson– these may not on their own be vacation destinations for most Southern California tourists, but for those coming to Los Angeles and looking for delicious craft beer, it may behoove them to tilt their eyes south. The South Bay has some of the best, if not *the* best, breweries in the Greater Los Angeles area. Hop heads and sour sippers alike can find a bevy of top-notch options in this vicinity, and while getting there may take some planning– do not take the 405 on a weekday after 1:30 PM– it’s worth the effort.

One downside of this area: despite the high numbers of breweries popping up, the South Bay– much like most of greater Los Angeles– has very limited walkability. There are three quality brewery hops one can find in this area, but we’ll start with three solo ventures for those looking for a one-and-done brewery visit before dropping the hops.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

El Segundo Brewing Company: do you like IPAs? You’re on a beer website, so we’re assuming you do– if so, you’ll want to plan a trip to El Segundo. Hops are the name of the game at El Segundo Brewing Company, and most everything is good at this lively brewery. Our recommendations: the Mayberry is a standard, a terrific, hoppy, and balanced West Coast IPA– and we wouldn’t ignore the Bine Tar, a black IPA whose roasty flavor delivers a serious kick.

State Brewing: State’s taproom has been open in Gardena for a little under a year now, but they have already become a well-established name for serious beer drinkers in the SoCal area and a terrifically fun hangout for weekend drinkers. Two of their styles in particular are commended by all who drink them: their hazy New England IPAs and their monster imperial stouts. If either of these makes your mouth water, head to Gardena to give these a try. Our recommendations: Nice Chucks, their hazy IPA, is not merely some unfiltered juice bomb– it’s got considerable hop bite. For the stout drinkers, head for the Project Nicaragua, a Russian Imperial Stout with Nicaraguan coffee and a splash of vanilla on the finish. I’d have one for breakfast if we wanted to be drunk by lunch.

Phantom Carriage: we would recommend Phantom Carriage to anyone on the strength of their sours alone– yet their spacious taproom is also one of our favorites in the greater LA area. It’s horror-themed, riddled with skulls, coffins, and its own private movie theater, always showing some sort of old horror film. Their kitchen also has a number of tasty selections– Russell’s personal go-to is the pulled pork panini. Back to the beers, the sour options are what drew us to them in the first place, but they’ve also started making some top-notch hazy IPAs, catching up with and passing some of the bigger names in Southern California. Our recommendations: try any sour beer they have on tap– any of the options from their Broadacres line is going to deliver the mouth-puckering tartness you crave– and grab a couple of cans of whichever NE IPA they’re selling for the road. Our favorite has been the Enigma Machine, but their current can, Chills & Thrills, is also well worth the trip.

Assuming you’ve visited all three of these… here are the top three brewery hops of the South Bay region.

3. Common Space –> Los Angeles Ale Works

If you find yourself in Hawthorne, this is your hop of choice. Start at Common Space, a large open-air taproom with table areas and a couch-adorned alcove, giving you options for where to play games or watch sports. The bartenders were friendly, the atmosphere was fun, and the beer was decent. Our recommendations: their Double IPA is smooth and drinkable, and their Nitro Coffee Stout has good flavor– a little more spiced than your usual nitro stouts.

From there, cross El Segundo Blvd. to get to Los Angeles Ale Works, and waste away the rest of your afternoon perusing their wall of games and their 20+ long taplist. Their wide variety of IPAs rotates with regularity, and while they have varying degrees of success, the hits are more frequent than the misses, and even the misses intrigue. Our recommendations: the Midnight Frisbee is a hazy IPA with some potent dank flavor, and their Unity East Coast IPA is a crushable juicy treat. BONUS: during the hotter LA months, order one of their Slaawshys– yep, they’ve made juicy beer slushies. And they are *incredibly* tasty.

2. Strand Brewing –> Yorkshire Square Brewery

This hop stands out less because of the beer– though the beer is good– and more because of the quality of the brewery experience. The first stop, Strand Brewing, is a huge warehouse of a taproom, complete with games, shuffleboard, and food trucks Thursday through Saturday. There was a large birthday party going on when we visited, yet there was still ample space for other large groups. Our friend wasn’t sure what to order, and the bartenders were incredibly kind and patient with him, insisting on giving him continued samples because they “didn’t want him ordering something he wasn’t going to like.” This set the tone nicely for a fun and lively atmosphere and a great place to hang out. Our recommendations: their double dry-hopped 48th Street was a crisp and flavorful pale ale, and the Crooked Stick is a deep and creamy stout.

Still, you may want to hold off on stout orders until the next location. Stumble a little under half a mile to Yorkshire Square Brewery, a taste of Great Britain planted within Torrance, California. Their cask-conditioned ales are terrific– they hold the Cask Marque Certificate of Excellence, certifying that they pour an exceptional real ale pint. Their stouts and bitter ales are fantastic, as smooth and malty as you’d expect. Our recommendations: the Double Doors, a double-mashed, intensely full version of their bitter ale, the Early Doors (also good). Also, for those seeking stouty goodness, the Castle Dangerous, a big-bodied and blissfully dark stout, has what you crave.

A final word about Yorkshire Square from Russell: I visited on my birthday and I ordered a flight, just to sample some new selections and old favorites. The second the bartender heard it was my birthday, he didn’t hesitate– he replaced the sample pours with full pours, giving me a “flight” of pint glasses and tulips perched within a cricket bat. He then handed me some darts and recommended I play a few games as I worked through these ales. In an area with as many delicious breweries as Torrance, it’s not enough to have great beer– you also earn repeat customers through developing a sense of community, a sense that you’re welcome and they’re happy to host you. These bartenders were happy to chat all day, as were many of the patrons at the bar, and they were all intensely kind. Does that color my view on the brewery, making it about more than merely the quality of the beer? Of course– but it also seems to me to strike directly upon the communal experience that so many beer drinkers seek out. Their beers were very good, but I’ll be visiting Yorkshire Square Brewing again because I know I’ll have a good time there– even if it isn’t my birthday.

1. Smog City –> Monkish Brewery

The choice for first place wasn’t terribly difficult. This is the one that the majority of beer drinkers travel to Torrance to experience– they return time and again, they line up for bottle and can releases, they brag to their friends. It’s unquestionably the premier hop in the greater Los Angeles area. (It’s also a little under a mile from Strand, so those with strong enough knees and livers could start at Yorkshire Square, head up to Strand, and do this hop in conjunction with the previous one. God bless all intrepid souls who do so.)

Smog City has 24 beers on tap, many taps reserved for more experimental farmhouse and wild ale selections. Not to worry if you aren’t a sour fanatic: they run the gamut from pilsners to barrel-aged stouts, all of which are distinctly delicious. There’s a sizable patio for outdoor sipping, good since Smog City usually stays fairly busy (especially on weekends). Our recommendations: where to begin? Since you’re likely to drink world-class IPAs at the next stop, maybe focus on the porters and sours here. Any stout or porter here is likely to be fantastic– the Coffee Porter is a classic, found bottled around LA, over a 4 on Untapped with over 13,000 ratings submitted– so you don’t have to take our word for it. The Infinite Wishes is a hefty beast of a barrel-aged stout, and the Is Ticking Clock is a porter balancing coconut, vanilla, and coffee flavors without drifting into the overly sweet range. As for sours, the Cuddlebug is an absolute barn-burner, a sour bomb of apricot and peach flavor. If you don’t like sours, stay far away. Maybe a separate table away. If you do, dive in and watch your face contort with happiness.

Next, take the short walk down the block to Monkish. If you’ve never heard of Monkish, then by God, are you in for a treat. For a bit of perspective, they are in the Top 40 Breweries on Untappd. Not in California, not in America– in the WORLD. We’ll put it this way: we’ve been to Monkish a few times, as we have the luxury of living not too far away. We’ve tried a diverse range of their on-tap options, and we’ve never once had anything that we wouldn’t recommend to people, regardless of style, regardless of flavor. They take every beer seriously, and it absolutely shows. The attendance at Monkish tends to be, in our experience, a little more for the serious beer drinker and less for the person looking to grab a pint and be rowdy with buddies, so consider the aim of your evening and the company you’re keeping when you arrive. Furthermore, every time we’ve been, the food at whichever food truck or tent is on the premises has run out– so we’d eat at Smog City or before you start the hop (either that or get to Monkish early). On the plus side, the complementary pretzels are immensely appreciated.

Our recommendations: we know this sounds hyperbolic, but if you can afford it, try everything. Rare is the occasion you get to appreciate some of the best beer this world has to offer. If you have to narrow it down, be sure to get at least one of their absolutely jaw-dropping sours– our most recent glass was the Lyre and Rhyme, an oak-aged beauty mixed with Masumoto nectarines– and at least one of their world-famous IPAs. If you can find one of their Windows Double IPAs, the Foggy Window, the Foggier Window, or, appropriately, the Foggiest Window, they are all juicy, fresh, and immaculate. Foggier Window ranks on Untappd with some of the best DIPAs America has to offer, comparable with options from Tree House, Trillium, Other Half, Alchemist, and Hill Farmstead. For those not in the know, that’s like comparing a basketball player to Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Wilt Chamberlain, etc. If you see Monkish, buy it. It’s not really an option.

BEST PLACE FOR IPAS:
Monkish Brewing (Runners-up: El Segundo, State Brewing)

BEST PLACE FOR SOURS:
Monkish Brewing (Runners-up: Phantom Carriage, Smog City)

BEST PLACE FOR STOUTS:
Smog City (Runners-up: Yorkshire Square, State Brewing)

BEST PLACE TO PLAY GAMES:
Strand Brewing (Runners-up: Yorkshire Square, LA Ale Works)

BEST PLACE FOR A LARGE GROUP:
Strand Brewing (Runners-up: Phantom Carriage, Smog City)

BEST PLACE FOR A SMALL, QUIET DRINK:
Yorkshire Square (Runner-up: Monkish, though it’s more austere than quiet)

BEST PLACE TO EAT:
Phantom Carriage (Runners-up: any of the number of places with frequent food trucks)

Which is your favorite of these brewery hops? Are there any you love that we neglected to mention? Please shout them out in the comments below! Also, check out our other Los Angeles guides, including the best brewery hops on the Westside and in Downtown LA!