Ambitious Ales started when five friends decided to leave their careers behind and take their homebrewing hobby to the professional level. I sat down with Garrett to learn about their journey from winning a couple of brewing awards to opening their doors on Atlantic Avenue in a local landmark. We chatted about their goal of being a community hub, their plans for the future, and their latest lineup of craft beers.
Darren Nicholson joins me from iPourit, headquartered in Santa Ana, CA.
As breweries, restaurants, and now bars reopen in Long Beach and LA County, I wonder what permanent changes we’ll see to the food and beverage scene.
They started off as the garage project of founder Brett Jones in 2012 and were growing steadily through 2019. The pandemic created an opportunity for them to take the self-serve model even further and introduce a touchless tap system.
Beer educator Proper Josh joins us from San Diego, CA. Proper Josh is a self-educated beer and wine aficionado. He posts craft beer reviews daily, highlighting the craftsmanship required to make a truly great brew. We sat down to talk about how he got into craft beer, how he judges what he drinks, staying healthy while imbibing, and his holiday beer recommendations.
Peter Kim joins us on behalf of Kizakura USA. Peter shares the unique beer and sake offerings from Kizakura Brewery in Kyoto with retailers across the United States. He joined us to share the history of this unusual dual brewery, along with their line of flavored sake, and the Kyoto and Lucky craft beer series.
Joel Elliott joins us from Strand Brewing in Torrance, CA. Joel did not have what you might call a typical childhood. Born on the island of Oahu, Joel moved with his family to Hollywood at the tender age of 4. Surfer, filmmaker, world traveler, and eventually business owner and craft brewer – Joel shares the many sides of his life.
Frank chats with two LA beer celebrities. Daniel Drennon is the publisher, editor, and head writer of Beer Paper, the local monthly you’ll find at just about any brewery or bottle shop in SoCal. Tomm Carroll is a beer educator, judge, traveler, and writer, and has witnessed the explosion of craft beer in Los Angeles. Tomm is also the senior contributor for Beer Paper.
On today’s show, Jesse Sundstrom joins us from Ten Mile Brewing in Signal Hill, CA. Jesse and his family have always done things together. Since he was a little kid, they’d always head up to the family cabin to relax and have fun. Jesse shares how the family that camped together became the family that brews craft beer together.
Brendan Megowan, Founder of Whale Face Beer in Long Beach, California, joins Frank on the podcast to talk about all things craft beer. Brendan shares his stories of personal and entrepreneurial struggle in Palo Verdes, Sacramento, and Long Beach, and gives insight into what it takes to run a successful craft brewery.
