Business & Tech
Local Beer Tasting Savors California Style
The Union Cattle Company celebrates beer, food and community at the restaurant's monthly beer tastings.
When South Bay dwellers want beer, their options along the Hermosa Beach Strand are endless — sip a corona at Sangria, grab a Guinness at Patrick Molloys or, heck, pick up a six-pack at Vons.
But for those that are looking for a quintessential beer tasting experience, they head to the Union Cattle Company on Manhattan Avenue, which has been serving steaks and brewing its own beer in town for eight years.
In efforts to bring the community together, the restaurant, owned by a group of South Bay natives, has begun hosting beer-tasting events on Tuesdays, featuring 11 types of beer and dinner selections.
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"It all started with a love for good beer and a disdain for commercially mass-produced beer," said night brewer Bart Bullington, whose knack for brewing earned him awards at the California and Los Angeles County fair for six consecutive years.
At the beer tasting, participants are served dinner, drinks and given a complimentary cattle company glass for $25. Each tasting also crowns a new "Mayor of Beersville" through a raffle. The winner receives $1 beers for that entire month in addition to keeping the rambunctious title.
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Redondo Beach residents Sarah Prior and Frank "Brian" Gibbons ventured to this week's beer tasting. The brewery's seasonal beer, Union Steam, was a favorite. The half ale, half lager beer "had a clean, smooth finish," Gibbons said.
The cattle company's beer follows the California custom of combining hops, yeast and barley, which developed during the rise of the gold rush in the 1800s. Two centuries later, we celebrate brews from all over the state such as Eureka, Fort Bragg, and the cattle company.
The light, wheat taste of Lost Coast Brewing Company's Great White Ale was another California favorite of Prior's, she said.
The minutes flew by and so did the empty shot glasses that were previously filled to brim with 10 different types of beers. With only an 8-ounce glass of specialty beer to rinse in-between tastes, by the end of the night, Bullington had done his job well.
The next beer tasting will be held on Tuesday, July 20.
