Beachwood Brewing is an award-winning brewery with accolades that include winning the World Beer Cup Champion Large Brewpub at the World Beer Cup Awards in 2016, and the silver and bronze at the Great American Beer Festival in 2023.
Now the brewery is getting into another drinking game and pouring its own gins, rums and vodkas out of Beachwood Brewing & Distilling in Long Beach.
“We wanted to diversify. We didn’t want to only do beer but we also wanted to explore another type of alcoholic beverage. Because of our experience in brewing beer we figured it would translate into making either spirits or wine. And we chose spirits,” said Julian Shrago, founder, co-owner and brewmaster of Beachwood Brewing.
Since opening in 2022, Beachwood Brewing & Distilling, which is one of several Beachwood locations, has been serving food and beer on tap. But on Aug. 14 the establishment launched its distillery cocktail program, offering original drinks made with spirits distilled in-house in a 150-gallon, four-plate copper column still.
Beachwood is focused on gin, rum and vodka for specific reasons.
“Gin is a big focal point of what we’re doing at the distillery. Gin is a very culinary cocktail, it’s driven a lot by botanicals the way a lot of cooking is,” he said.
Shrago is also a fan of Tiki drinks so rum was a must, while vodka appealed to them because of its clean and versatile nature that can be used in many drinks.
“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 said.
There are about two dozen cocktails on the new menu and some of the highlights include creations like the Saturn, a blend of house gin with passionfruit, lemon, and orgeat. There’s the Chi Chi, which is a twist on the classic piña colada made with house vodka, pineapple, coconut cream, and lime. Another noteworthy drink is the 1944 Mai Tai, a Tiki classic made with rum, lime, orgeat, and orange curaçao. The menu…
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