King Harbor Brewing Co. to open waterfront tasting room in Redondo Beach

By John Vervive

June 5, 2015 11:08 AM PT

One of Los Angeles’ oldest craft beer hot spots -- Naja’s Place in Redondo Beach -- is about to get some locally brewed company on the waterfront International Boardwalk. King Harbor Brewing Company is opening a satellite tasting room just doors down from the venerable beer bar.

The year-old King Harbor Brewing Co. (briefly known as Coastline Brewing Co. before the official opening) was the first production brewery in Redondo Beach. Its founders initially looked for space for their facility near the water, but instead settled on a more industrial area on the north end of Redondo. Now they’re back to that original idea with the King Harbor’s Waterfront Tasting Room set to open in June.

“We’ve got all kinds of fun things planned for the new space,” said King Harbor Brewing founder Will Daines, “and we’re excited to bring more awareness to the Redondo waterfront.”

Daines said the brewery hopes to partner with neighboring businesses in the harbor and he encouraged the brewery’s fans to “come down to the harbor, get a pint, grab a growler and explore all the new [businesses opening].”

The small space is to offer 10 taps of King Harbor brews, as well as bottles to go, growler-fills and on-demand growler-can hybrids (called “crowlers,” natch) that will be filled and sealed while you wait. King Harbor is the first brewery in L.A. (that I know of) to use the 32-ounce oversized cans for to-go brews. The outpost will also offer snacks such as jerky and nuts. Brewery merchandise also will be available.

The King Harbor team hopes to get the satellite tasting room up and running by L.A. Beer Week (which starts June 20), though they are still awaiting final approvals from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. “At this point,” Daines said, “anything could happen.”

The planned operating hours are Wednesday through Sunday from noon until the late evening, though the exact days and hours will be fluid depending on demand.

King Harbor Brewing Co. has recently begun bottling its core brews including the tropically hoppy King Harbor IPA, the coffee-infused Abel Brown, and a vanilla-and-chocolate version of Abel called the Swirly. There are also a series of single-hop pale ales called the Quest, with each batch highlighting the flavors of a different hop variety (The Quest: Citra is the most recent release).

The brewery is also introducing a new core brew: a hefeweizen called South Bayern. The Waterfront Tasting Room is to offer the spritzy German-style wheat beer mixed with housemade soda for the King Harbor take on the traditional German radler (a refreshing favorite of cyclists in Bavaria).

And if you don’t feel like sipping a pint in the harbor, the brewery’s attached tasting room at 2907 182nd street in Redondo Beach will still be serving brews.

King Harbor Brewing Co. Waterfront Tasting Room, 132 International Boardwalk, Redondo Beach