Beachwood Brewing, a highly decorated brewery, has earned recognition including the 2016 World Beer Cup Champion Large Brewpub title, and silver and bronze medals at the 2023 Great American Beer Festival.
The brewery has now ventured into the spirits market, producing its own lines of gin, rum, and vodka at Beachwood Brewing & Distilling located in Long Beach.
“Our goal was to diversify—not just to continue with beer but to delve into another domain of alcoholic beverages. Leveraging our expertise in brewing, we felt well-prepared to either take on spirits or wine. Ultimately, we opted for spirits,” explained Julian Shrago, the founder, co-owner, and brewmaster at Beachwood Brewing.
As of this week, Beachwood Brewing & Distilling has initiated their distillery cocktail program in Long Beach, launching on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. From Aug. 14, they began offering cocktails crafted with their in-house produced gin, rum, and vodka.
Beachwood Brewing & Distilling, renowned for their exceptional beers, inaugurated their distillery cocktail program in Long Beach on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. Starting from Aug. 14, they introduced cocktails crafted with their own gin, rum, and vodka.
This notable expansion into spirits was celebrated with the introduction of their housemade gin, rum, and vodka, marking a new chapter for the brewery and distillery on Aug. 16, 2024, in Long Beach.
The introduction of cocktails featuring Beachwood’s own gin, rum, and vodka began on Aug. 14, embodying the craftsmanship they bring from beer brewing to spirit distillation.
As of Aug. 14, patrons have enjoyed new flavors in cocktails like the ‘Painkiller,’ which are made with Beachwood’s meticulously crafted house gin, rum, and vodka.
Beachwood Brewing & Distilling, renowned for their top-tier beers, ventured into new territory with the inauguration of their distillery cocktail program in Long Beach on Friday, August 16, 2024. Starting August 14, they began offering a selection of cocktails made with their own gin, rum, and vodka.
The distillery introduced cocktails like the ChiChi, Gimlet, Painkiller, and Vodka and Soda. This new offering marks a significant expansion from their usual beer production.
Among the new cocktails served were a gimlet and a vodka and soda, showcasing Beachwood’s expertise not just in brewing but also in distilling.
A bartender at Beachwood was seen skillfully preparing a gimlet for a customer, highlighting the personal touch and craft that the distillery brings to its new cocktail program.
Beachwood Brewing & Distilling, renowned for their award-winning beers, introduced their distillery cocktail program in Long Beach on August 16, 2024, beginning to serve cocktails featuring housemade gin, rum, and vodka from August 14. A ChiChi.. (Photo by Brittany M. Solo Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Since its opening in 2022, Beachwood Brewing & Distilling, one of the multiple Beachwood locations, originally served food and beer on tap. The establishment, however, started its distillery cocktail program on August 14, providing original drinks crafted with spirits distilled on-site in a 150-gallon, four-plate copper column still.
At Beachwood, the distillation efforts are particularly concentrated on gin, rum, and vodka for key reasons.
“Gin is a primary focus of our distillery work. It’s very much a culinary spirit influenced by botanicals, similar to how ingredients impact cooking,” he explained.
Shrago is also a fan of Tiki drinks so including rum was essential, while vodka was chosen for its clean, versatile quality that suits many cocktails.
“We were very curious about this too. Could we do it? Should we do it? And what do we really have to lose by trying?” Shrago remarked.
There are about two dozen cocktails featured on the new menu, with standouts such as the Saturn, mixing house gin with passionfruit, lemon, and orgeat. The Chi Chi offers a twist on the traditional piña colada, crafted with house vodka, pineapple, coconut cream, and lime. Another notable selection is the 1944 Mai Tai, a Tiki staple consisting of rum, lime, orgeat, and orange curaçao. The menu also presents classics like the gin and tonic, employing in-house tonic water.
“We have multiple scratch-made tonic waters and several different types of gin. It’s almost kind of like choosing your own adventure when it comes to gin and tonic at our distillery,” he explained.
While Beachwood remains famed for its beers, Shrago believes that beer enthusiasts will equally appreciate their cocktails.
“I’m confident they will taste the passion and the research and the purpose behind every drink,” he stated.
Beachwood Brewing & Distilling is located at 3630 Atlantic Ave, Long Beach. For more information, visit beachwoodbrewing.com.