CJ Dablo:
Staff Writer
The Beachwood Blendery in Long Beach is already in operation, and the company’s brewers are waiting for the beer housed in barrels like this one to be ready for public consumption. The distillation process for a batch of sour beer can last for one to three years, according to a company spokesman.
While independent microbreweries and craft-beer makers are already popular in Long Beach and throughout the United States, Long Beach Director of Development Services Amy Bodek acknowledges that this is the first time that they have created development standards to specifically address the budding alcoholic-beverage-manufacturing (ABM) industry and create new opportunities for these potential businesses.
In a first-reading vote on March 24, the City Council voted 8-0 to approve the ordinance. The ordinance is scheduled on the April 7 agenda for a second-reading vote and final approval.
At last week’s Council meeting, Mayor Robert Garcia praised the efforts to encourage the micro/craft-brewing businesses and their desire to appeal to beer connoisseurs who wish to sample the product.
“[It’s] become a lot like wine tasting,” Garcia said, adding that there is a lot of interest in specialty shops.
Bodek’s staff report explained how the municipal code doesn’t have a specific definition for alcohol manufacturing, but it does allow that use in some industrial zones and brewpubs in the downtown area. Her report stated that under the current regulations, if companies want to offer “tasting rooms,” business owners have to apply for a conditional-use permit (CUP).
This new ordinance will change some of those limitations.
Bodek told the Council that, with certain restrictions under the new ordinance, they can allow the ABM use in specific areas in the city, and business owners wouldn’t need a CUP if they follow the new standards.
The development director highlighted some of the other changes to the municipal code.
There are restrictions on the size of a tasting room’s floor space in a facility, and if there is a restaurant on the premises, there are limitations on the size of the restaurant. ABM facilities can’t be located within 500 feet of schools.
Just because some companies may not need a CUP, there still will be red tape for the potential business owners.
The facility must still comply with all federal, state, and local regulations, and business owners must still obtain the applicable license from the California Alcohol Beverage Control Board, according to Bodek’s report.
One company didn’t need the ordinance to be fully approved before it moved forward with its plans to open soon.
Aaron Carroll serves as the company’s creative and marketing manager for Beachwood Blendery. He said the company already obtained the necessary licensing for its facility. However, the Blendery’s experience with the city’s processes and regulations proved to be useful in creating the proposed ordinance.
“That was the first craft brewery that will allow manufacturing to occur on site,” Bodek told the Council last week. “And through that pilot project, we did determine development standards that would reduce any potential nuisance activities.”
Located on Long Beach Boulevard and south of 3rd Street, Beachwood Blendery’s manufacturing facility will have its own tasting room, which will be open on a limited basis to the public. The Blendery will be producing sour beer, similar to the kind produced in Belgium.
This beer will appeal to connoisseurs who appreciate the sophisticated and slow process of distilling the alcohol and who don’t mind waiting. Carroll said that the lambic, one of the Belgian beers, often takes a year to reach maturity after brewing. He acknowledged that certain beers can take up to three years to mature. He estimated that the product right now at the Blendery won’t be mature for at least several months.
“Much like wine, it’s kind of up to the beer to tell us when it’s ready,” Caroll said, adding that the price of a bottle of Blendery’s beer may be similar to what customers would expect to pay for wine.
The proposed new development standards have captured the attention of other business leaders with a passion for craft beer.
Jacqueline Medina, a spokesperson for Long Beach Development Services, said in an email that the office has received general inquiries about a business model that includes an alcoholic-beverage-manufacturing facility and a tasting room, but they have so far not received any inquiries from existing beverage manufacturers. Most of the general inquiries have expressed interest in craft beers.
Last year, Jason Van Fleet went through the process to obtain his own conditional-use permit for his business, Dutch’s BrewHouse. The facility, located at 4244 Atlantic Ave., has not yet opened. Even though he already has his CUP, Van Fleet is still in the process of getting his plans approved and receiving his building permit. The Signal Tribune reported last year that his facility is designed to be a bar and restaurant with opportunities on the premises for adults to make their own beer and for kids to make their own pretzels and root beer. Dutch’s will also sell its own beer.
Beachwood Blendery is the first craft brewery in Long Beach that can do on-site manufacturing.
He explained that the popularity of craft beer might be because “everyone has a little different twist.”
He acknowledged that a neighboring business, Stateside Crafts, also sells bottled beer, and they are exploring the possibility of developing a private-label beer together.
Van Fleet said he started his company out of a love for making beer.
“[When] I make this very successful business, I hope to grow it in many different ways,” he said.
He hopes that Atlantic Avenue might become a destination for the local craft beer scene. Van Fleet hasn’t seen the specific details of the ordinance, but he liked the idea of someday opening a manufacturing facility with its own tasting room in addition to the BrewHouse. ß
