Stitched
Self Edge LA threw a party tonight to welcome and celebrate the arrival of The Flat Head and Real Japan Blues. With all three companies under one roof (two of them being from Japan) it was a truly rare juncture to witness. Self Edge even put together a collaborative limited release jean and shirt with The Flat Head and RJB just for the event. Denim enthusiasts came to meet and greet the crews, check out some of the exclusive garments, and chill for awhile.
Self Edge founder Kiya Babzani and The Flat Head president Masayoshi Kobayashi.
The scene.
SELF EDGE x FLAT HEAD X RJB
Parties with good beer are always good parties.
They even had Intelligentsia pulling shots at the espresso bar. Way too cool.
On a side note, yo-yo's are part of the scene here. Meet Mark Montgomery, a true yo-yo professional. He has several signature yo-yos and is a champion in the industry. Kiya also has some crazy yo-yo skills.
Rather than explaining what he does, he decided to show me. Check it out.
Summer of 2009
My friends in Horse Marriage are going on a west coast tour, check for tour dates here. I shot this video awhile back at a radio show. Check it out.
Horse Marriage - Acme Tunnel
Savor
The event of the week, Savor. It's been going on for 4 years now and sells out in just under a few minutes. There are 144 craft beers from 72 breweries, each one specifically paired to match a dish prepared by some of the best chefs in the beer world. So in short, its a lot of great beer paired with a lot of great food.
I almost didn't get in because I had my camera with me and was actually told not to photograph anything if I was let in. But, I don't like boring myself and others with just my illiterate commentary. So I took pictures anyway. Don't tell on me.
The unlimited oyster bar.
Huge Flying Dog logo made out of chocolate.
Look who it is, Patrick Rue and Tyler King of The Bruery.
New Belgium's Peter Bouckaert. We talked about Ojai for awhile.
Ken Grossman (Sierra Nevada) and Kim Jordan (New Belgium). Along with Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head) sneaking in from behind spotting the same photo op.
CEO talk.
Sam.
Sam and Jim Koch (Samuel Adams CEO) discussing and pouring Savor Flowers.
Julia Herz, Program Director of the Brewers Association and CraftBeer.com. We spent some time and chilled for awhile, sampled a couple beers, and she let me keep my camera too. Many thanks to her and the rest of Brewers Association staff for putting on such an exquisite event.
My party team, Chelsie and Andrew. We shared a cab on the way here and ended up hanging out the rest of the night. I'm glad I met them, they were super cool and I usually look like a weirdo walking around alone at these things. In any case, it was a pleasure meeting these two and if they're reading this, thanks for keeping me in good company.
Head Brewer of Flying Dog, Ben Clark. This guy outweighed everyone's rad-level. He provided me a pass to the Flying Dog after party, told me the secret free beer password, and dropped some serious brewing knowledge.
The spot.
Found the place. Ran into these guys, Nebraska Brewing Company peeps with Chris Spradley from the recently started SoCal Beer Co.
Ben C. and Tom Hunter. Flying Dog can party.
24 hours later, I'm back home.
In the Clouds
Rustico in Arlington, Virginia hosted a meet and greet event with the staff from Sierra Nevada.
Founder Ken Grossman was one of the firsts here in America to push forward with the craft beer movement and was one of the early pioneers to the trade. When he founded Sierra Nevada in the 80's starting your own brewery was even more difficult that it is today and wasn't really the business you wanted to push. The conglomerate breweries controlled even more of the market than they do today and little to no one knew anything outside of watered down lagers. But Sierra Nevada worked hard and stood out, now being one of the largest craft breweries in America. So getting to share words with Ken, Steve, and the rest of the OG staff was pretty cool.
Steve Grossman (middle) and Sierra Nevada dudes meeting and greeting.
Back to DC.
Good People Drink Good Beer
I'm in DC and it's Capital Beer Week. There is plenty to do before Savor kicks off this weekend. So, being a huge fan of Flying Dog and always trying to stop at Kramerbooks when I'm in town, it only made sense to stop by Flying Dog's Happy Hour at Kramerbooks. Flying Dog CEO Jim Caruso and Anita Thompson, widow of the late Hunter S Thompson were the guests of honor. Jim spoke about the passion he has for beer, the growth he's experienced with his company and his relationship with Hunter S. Thompson and Ralph Steadman.
Elizabeth Stewart and Jim.
Anita Thompson and her guest, former UN Ambassador Clovis Maksoud.
Jim signing books.
As the great Hunter S. Thompson said, "Good people drink good beer". It's simple but very, very true.
