Culture Brewing opened to the public in Solana Beach’s Cedros Design District in 2012. At the time, it seemed like any other local brewery, but its owners had a long-term plan to build taprooms in coastal communities and sell every drop of its beer across Culture’s network of bars. And they’ve stuck to that plan. Over the past eight years, Culture has opened tasting rooms in Encinitas and Ocean Beach. The latter shuttered earlier this year (and was quickly snapped up by Chula Vista-based Novo Brazil Brewing), but by next week Culture’s oceanside empire will be three strong once more when it opens its first taproom outside San Diego County in Los Angeles’ Manhattan Beach community.
“We believed there wasn’t a lot of real estate left in San Diego, especially the coastal communities, so we began to get excited about the possibility of expanding further north,” says Director of Operations Whitney Johndro. “We had been looking for a new space to call home up and down the California coast and believed Manhattan Beach was another city that fit our brand perfectly and was similar to those of our other locations. Our new location is close to the ocean in a high-density shopping and walking downtown area, and a popular family destination, which we love so much.”
The new 2,300-square-foot spot will resemble Culture’s other locations, utilizing wood, concrete, steel and barrels, with plants hanging fro the rafters and stools as the primary seating option. It will also feature a cold box outfitted with glass so that patrons can see the kegs, and doors so they can reach right in to grab beer to-go. Amenities like that will have to wait until Culture is able to have its new spot open for more than the curbside pickup that will be its only form of sale initially. But they will put this time to good use, working on creating an outside patio area and a social-distancing plan for on-site service. They plan to partner with local restaurant and food vendors, as well as artists, small businesses and South Bay charities.
All of Culture’s venues will soon be stocked with a variety of canned beers. The company has canned special releases in the past, but moving forward, customers can expect to see a greater variety of styles being funneled into aluminum. The array releasing on September 4 will include La Cerveza lager, Mosaic IPA and 2X Hazy IPA. Pilsner and Passion Fruit Haze IPA will be two of the five beers offered during the next round of canned Culture beers. As cans keep rolling out, expect to see more hazy IPAs and higher-alcohol fan favorites.
Culture Brewing’s new taproom is located at 327 Manhattan Beach Boulevard in Manhattan Beach