Why a Brewery in LA?

There’s something special about beer. From my first homebrewed batch in my kitchen, I was instantly hooked. I tend to focus on a thing with insane attention, and pretty soon I had almost completely converted my obsession with philosophy to brewing.

Fast forward a few years. I’ve spent time working in the breweries at Golden Road and Stone, won a few awards, have immersed myself in the la beer community, and am ready to pursue my own project.

LA is bursting with new breweries. Places are killing it when it comes to IPAs (think beachwood and El Segundo), which are some of my favorites around, but it’s not what I want to do. I’m passionate about mixed fermentation wild and sour beers. When I had mentioned my ideas to Bob Kuntz, the owner of Highland Park Brewery, he pointed out that LA is quickly turning into a sour beer Mecca. He’s right. HPB, monkish, Craftsman, Ladyface, and phantom Carriage all prioritize sour and other funky beers, while Eagle Rock Brewery, Smog City, and others have occasional sour releases. Compare this to San Diego which has ten times more breweries than LA, but far fewer sours. This gets me excited. The more the merrier.

So how do we stand out? Cellador Ales is 100% devoted to sour, brettanomyces, and farmhouse beers. Every beer we make will be fermented in oak barrels. The few breweries in the US that are like this create some of the best beers in the world… But you’ve got to sell your soul and your first born child to get your hands on a single bottle. I take inspiration from places like Jester King, Crooked Stave, The Rare Barrel, Sante Adairius, and Side Project. To paraphrase a common aphorism “good ideas borrow from others, great ideas are outright stolen.” I don’t want to outdo or compete with these powerhouses, but rather be a place in Southern California that makes beer as good as they do, but that’s affordable and easily attainable to Angelinos.

Blogs have been an amazing source of information for home brewers and prospective brewery owners. Let me know if I can answer any questions about my experience in the process; or feel free to comment and add advice.

If you’re interested in trying a bottle of one of our test batches, contact us!

3 replies

Comments are closed.