Bravery Brewing had its grand opening in Lancaster on Independence Day. After working the taproom at Enegren, we all headed over to check it out.
I was able to see the space a few months ago before they’d even begun brewing. It’s come quite a long way.
They’re a 3bbl system with two 3bbl fermentors and two 7bbls.
Instead of being hardpiped, the entire system is run with removable hoses for transferring and easy cleanup.
In the middle of the paint job back in April…
And during the grand opening. It’s too bad the turnout was so small…
The line for beer wrapped around the room, outside and around to the end of the building. Every single table was packed, as was the bar.
Luckily there were some cool hop plants to look at as we waited outside at the very end of the line.
And luckily since Enegren helped out with a lot of consulting with Bravery while they prepped to open, the owners brought some brews to tide us over during the long wait in line. Brighton ESB – a nice malty ESB, dry finish with just a hint of chocolate and toffee.
Randall: Citrus Bitter – their flagship bitter is run through a type of filter that contains freshly grated orange zest. This one was light and sweet with a heavy perfume of orange and a nice touch of sour rounding out the end.
Once we finally made it indoors, we got to enjoy the view of Gunnery SGT. R. Lee Ermey’s chopper. R. Lee Ermey is a co-owner of Bravery Brewing.
I also found a Chiver in the midst of the chaos! Bill Effin Murray! (Whoever can score me one of these would be the love of my life. Just sayin’)…
Once we finally made it to the bar (conveniently we had also just finished our “waiting in line” beers), Brewmaster Brian Avery served us up an array of tasters.
Ginger Witbier – thick wheat beer with a soft ginger aroma but a spicy kick of it at the end. Korova Sweet Stout – chocolatey stout that’s rich, but very light in ABV (5.6%). Honey Saison – a dry, crisp Saison brewed with honey, and Pineapple Boo (not pictured) – a wheat beer brewed with pineapple that has a surprisingly pleasant tropical aroma and flavor that ends with a noticeable pineapple zing.
No one was enjoying themselves at all. Especially while being encompassed by the soft leather couches with a perfect view of the brewery and tasting room in the “Brave Cave”. Try to sit on one of these couches and then try to get up. It’s nearly impossible except for the necessity of needing to refill your beer.
With 5,000 square feet, this place is spacious and airy, even with the masses of people that showed up for the opening.
The lights came on over the beer lists that were slowly dwindling as each beer was gulped into oblivion by the thirsty patrons.
And then R. Lee Ermey showed up. I was just trying to get a picture of the chalkboards but he kept getting in the way. Oh well. Creeper photo it is!
It was a perfect day for the opening and we had a delicious time! We grabbed a growler to go and headed back to Moorpark to enjoy the festivities.
I hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day! God bless America and craft beer!
Tag Archives: Lancaster
Bravery Brewing
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A Day Off
It’s been another crazy week! I have a feeling this will end up being the main theme of all my weeks at work. After brew day on Tuesday, I woke up to a surprise day off from work. What’s a girl to do with all that time on her hands? Visit more breweries – were you expecting something else?
First up was a trip to Bravery Brewing in Lancaster. This place hasn’t officially opened yet, but brewmaster Brian Avery let us get a sneak peak at his 3 bbl system and check out the space.
Just a quick teaser of the brewery – I’ll do a full write up once he’s up and brewing. This place is going to be amazing!
Afterwards, we headed over to Kinetic Brewing, also in Lancaster, and got a quick tour of their 10 bbl system.
Kinetic has been open for about three and a half months and already has a strong following. We got to try all of their beers on tap as well as taste their cheesecake with a crust made of graham crackers and spent grain. Drool.
From left to right – Potential Blonde, White Thai, Rusted Gear, Fusion Porter and McLernon’s Irish Stout. My favorite was the Rusted Gear – a little more roast than your typical amber with a hint of nuttiness and a malty ending. The White Thai is a Belgian witbier spiked with lemongrass and keffir lime – nicely balanced and not overwhelmed with spices, but I definitely couldn’t have more than a taster size of this. It’s always refreshing to find a new brewery that has consistently good beer across the board.
We grabbed a growler of the Rusted Gear and took off for Valencia.
The next day was back to work – filling kegs and setting up for a microbrewfest.
It was about 94 degrees out at the Westfield mall off of Topanga Canyon. Thank God the sponsors had provided us with tents!
We found a way to keep hydrated though. Quality control/hydration: very important.
LAB Brewing was also a featured brewery! We all agreed on how important keeping hydrated was, and spent the evening swapping taster for taster. Quite a few people came by and stated how they wanted to taste our beer versus our “competitor’s” beer. We are not competitors! Microbreweries should never truly be in competition, but always supporting each other in the fight to bring down the big guys who cram their beers full of crappy adjuncts and use flashy ad campaigns to try and entice consumers into drinking their fizzy yellow water. We should work together to help expand the palates of those who truly appreciate beer that is full of flavor, as well as introduce former fizzy yellow water drinkers to delicious craft brew! Rant over. Thank you for your time.
The fest was a success! We met tons of people who loved our beer, adored our food and wanted more. I personally left incredibly stuffed – of the 20+ restaurants that were there, I tried food from at least 15. Pain. Wonderful, delicious pain.
I headed to Enegren Brewing yesterday to get some more brewery fix. Three breweries in one week just wasn’t enough.
I got to meet Ryan and Laura! Ryan won my growler giveaway and drove up from the Riverside area to pick up his winnings. He also walked away with an Enegren growler full of Moorpark deliciousness.
Ryan and Johnson are the first to pick up their growlers! That means that Brent, Jacob, Christian K. are still lacking in the free growler department.
Okey, I’m back to work! Lots of thirsty patrons to serve!
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