Strand Brewing – A Sneak Peak of Their New Bottle Lineup

Our longtime reader and friend Steve went to a small gathering at Strand Brewing of Torrance, CA to check out their upcoming bottling lineup.  Strand has been around for a few years now, and are at a point in their growth where they can now sell bottles to go. Here is Steve’s recap along with pictures of the new sexy bottles. Cheers

I had the pleasure to make the trek to Torrance this week to finally get the chance to visit Strand Brewing Co.  Speaking with Joel Elliot (Owner/Brewmaster) and Richard Marcello (Vice President/everything else), these two guys have worked literally from the bottom up. Speaking privately with Rich at one point, I can tell how much passion these two gentlemen have for their creation and brewery. At one point, I can see Rich getting choked up when asked about the struggle it is to start a brewery. A quote that I can recall from the conversation was, “Is the tightrope walker really talented? Or is it just because there is no option to fail?” Which was an analogy he used for their mentality to work hard everyday.

Strand started with borrowed money from family and friends. So they had no choice but to succeed. He also stated, “We had one shot to do it, and it had to be our very best shot to capture it, or else we’re bankrupt and there is no going back from that.” By the end of the conversation with Rich, I knew these guys were determined to succeed. Rich says that when times seem to get tough, there always seems to be an Email, Tweet, Facebook post, or even a customer at the brewery that will give that one compliment, and that one compliment will be the driving force to keep pushing. Joel is exactly what you’d expect from a brewer mentality. All work. He is very “behind the scenes” and modest. A very soft spoken, blue collar, down to business brewer. Which is what you definitely want from a brewmaster. Focused on brewing.

The occasion for the visit? Strand Brewing Co. invited a small group of people to come out and preview their up and coming release of bottled beer. Yes, afer 3 years of determined work, Strand Brewing Co. will be putting out 9 different beers into bottles throughout the year.

Saturday, March 16th will be the first release of 4 different bottles to go at the brewery. From 12-8pm Saturday they will release:
-24th Street Pale Ale
-Atticus IPA
-Beach House Amber
-Second Sleep Russian Imperial Stout

Also, Saturday they will be pouring on tap and growler fills to go of their Imperial IPA, White Sand. At noon, a special cask of Oak Second Sleep Russian Imperial Stout will be tapped as well.

Throughout the year they will also release a few more of their beers which will include:
-Bagheera East India Pale Ale
-Black Sand Imperial IPA
-White Sand Imperial IPA
-Musahi Black IPA
-Ito Weiss Berliner Weiss

Strand Brewing Co.
23520 Telo ave #1
Torrance, CA 90505

Tap Room hours:
Thursday & Friday 4-9pm
Saturday 12-8pm
Sunday 12-6pm