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Brew Talks Los Angeles Examines Local Craft Market

When Brew Talks hit Los Angeles, the tone shifted from the talk held in San Diego the day before.

Instead of a crowded market, the vision of branding under discussion at Golden Road Brewing (video for which can be seen above) focused on the apparent lack of a go-to craft beer brand in California’s largest metropolitan city.

“There is a lack of center here in L.A.,” said Anne Conness, a partner with the craft-savvy Simmzy’s and Tin Roof Bistro restaurant chains.

Jeff Sapsford, the general manager of Sunset Beer Company — a hybrid on-premise and off-premise craft beer retail outlet – said he’s excited to watch Golden Road try to become L.A.’s craft brewer.

“You want to be able to go to Dodger stadium and see ‘L.A.’s beer.’ You want to go to these signature places in L.A. and see these brands,” he said.

Jace Milstead, the craft brand manager for distributor Ace Beverage Company echoed Sapsford’s words.

“It is nice to have brands that you can cling to and say ‘these are locals, these are our guys. You can create a culture behind that.”

Editor’s Note: Video footage of the Brew Talks stop in Los Angeles, which includes a debate-style discussion that examined differing brewery business models and featured Golden Road Brewing founder Meg Gill, Paul Burgis, Golden Road’s CFO, The Bruery founder Patrick Rue and Benjamin Weiss, the company’s director of marketing, is below.