Creature Comforts Brewing Co., one of the fastest growing, respected and recognized new breweries in the U.S., announces its expansion to Los Angeles with the planned opening of a new brewery and taproom. Slated for Summer 2021, it will be located in City Market South at 1124 San Julian St. in the Fashion District. This represents the first time that Creature Comforts, founded by the entrepreneurial trio of David Stein, Adam Beauchamp and Chris Herron, is expanding beyond its beloved home state of Georgia.
The brewery will offer Californians the brand’s award-winning, finely balanced beers for the very first time. The innovative brand will be introduced to one of the U.S.’ most trendsetting states with its own robust craft beer culture.
Since launching in 2014 in Athens, Ga., an eclectic college town east of Atlanta, Creature Comforts has electrified the craft beer community with its year-round and limited release beers, with beer sales skyrocketing 2,675 percent since debuting.
Creature Comforts is known for its wide range of highly rated beers, including year-round and seasonal offerings such as Tropicália® (American IPA), Classic City® Lager (Lager), Athena (Berliner Weisse), Cosmik Debris® (Double IPA), Bibo® (Pilsner) and others. Limited releases range from Hazy Double IPAs and Fruited Berliner Weisses to rustic barrel-aged farmhouse-style ales using locally-sourced ingredients. Creature Comforts’ Los Angeles brewery will also produce select beers exclusively for the California market.
“Over the years, we have admired the stellar craft brewing scene in California and its pivotal role in advancing American beer,” says David Stein, Founder and Co-Owner, Creature Comforts Brewing Co. “We have collaborated with outstanding brewers in Los Angeles and throughout the state, and I’m proud to call them my friends. We are committed to both bringing our beers to California and continuing to build our brand in Georgia, home to our long-time, loyal fans who have been critical to our success,” adds Stein, a creative force for the company who plans to relocate to Los Angeles to help build the brand.
Creature Comforts’ Los Angeles brewery is a partnership with Joe Russo, an award-winning film director and entrepreneur. While filming in Georgia, upon one sip of Tropicália®, he became a genuine fan of Creature Comforts’ brews. Over time and many conversations over beer, a human bond and a partnership emerged. Russo has been instrumental in helping the Creature Comforts team bring their brand to the West Coast. He is sharing his insights into Los Angeles and his expertise in storytelling and global brand building.
Once constructed, the brewery will include a 3,000-sq. ft. taproom, a 10,000-sq. ft. production facility and copious outdoor seating. The brewery will have the capacity to grow production to 15,000 barrels (the equivalent of nearly 3.75 million pints) annually, with more than two dozen hires planned. The brewery includes a 15-barrel brewhouse with a mix of 15-barrel and 60-barrel fermenters and brite tanks, a centrifuge and a canning line.
When selecting its first market outside of Georgia, Creature Comforts combined both the founders’ personal desires with an array of analytics on American cities, including data points such as the number of breweries, population dynamics, regulatory environment, demographics and more.
“Los Angeles stood out because of its large craft beer community, the success of numerous independent, small craft breweries and California’s brewery-friendly state laws,” says Chris Herron, CEO and Co-Owner, Creature Comforts Brewing Co. “The beautiful weather and coastal location were also factors, since a good number of our beers are great in the warmer months, and we just really love the beach! Combining those factors with the solid friendships we have made with some local breweries and the chance to work in close proximity to Joe and his team, LA became an obvious choice.”
Over the years, Creature Comforts has collaborated with breweries in and around Los Angeles, including Highland Park, Modern Times and Green Cheek, as well as those in other parts of California, including Russian River, Sierra Nevada, Firestone Walker and Alvarado Street.
“We are excited to join the vibrant craft beer scene in California and plan additional collaborations,” says Adam Beauchamp, Brewmaster and Co-Owner, Creature Comforts Brewing Co. “While we are delighted to share many of our core year-round and seasonal beers, we also look forward to creating unique brews for the Los Angeles community.”
Since launching in 2014, Creature Comforts has embraced brewing beers that are innovative and balanced. For example, Tropicália® was on the front end of the less bitter IPA trend and focused more on the citrus and tropical aromatics from the hops. Beer fans and critics alike responded enthusiastically, both in their home base of Athens, Ga., and throughout the state. Their beers are frequently crowned as the best in their category and the brewery the best in Georgia. As a result of their success, Creature Comforts opened their second production brewery in 2018 to keep up with demand. The world class brewery houses top-of-the-line brewing equipment, a full science lab and a canning line capable of filling 280 cans per minute.
Creature Comforts embraces eco-friendly practices to minimize power usage and waste. This includes using solar power for 70 percent of the brewery’s needs and extensive LED lighting. Highly-efficient, fully automatic brewing equipment also economizes energy use, as does heat recovery in the brewhouse. In addition, spent grain goes to local cattle farms, resulting in a 99 percent total waste diversion from landfills.
Call it fate or pre-destiny, award-winning film director Joe Russo was in Atlanta shooting the blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War. Joe’s assistant at the time, a Georgia native, brought his attention to Tropicália®, Creature Comforts’ flagship brew that famously sold out within an hour of hitting store shelves when it launched. On his first sip, Russo was immediately hooked and became the ultimate fan, along with his cast and team. The production crew regularly waited in line to purchase six-packs that they then brought back to the set. Russo, who is always seeking new creative talent to celebrate, set out to meet Creature Comforts’ founders. Upon sharing meals and beers together, he discovered the great people behind the excellent brewery that he adored.
To salute Creature Comforts’ behind-the-scenes role in the filmmaking process, Russo gave their Tropicália® and Athena beers a cameo in Avengers: Endgame, which had the most successful box office debut in history. In the film, the brews are enjoyed by no less than Thor, the heroic lead character played by Chris Hemsworth. Russo has a calling for finding amazing individuals who are outstanding at their craft and spotlighting their creations.
Upon returning to Los Angeles, Russo serendipitously discovered a space in the same development as his AGBO production company that was zoned for a brewery. He knew that Creature Comforts had an eye on the city as an expansion market and reached out to the team. Over time, many conversations and beers, they decided to collaborate and build a Creature Comforts brewery in Los Angeles. The goal of the partnership is simply to empower the Creature Comforts team to succeed in their first expansion and help expose more people to this top-quality beer.
“Creature Comforts beers are some of the best I’ve ever had,” says Russo. “I was taken by the beers on their own, but when I met the team behind the brews, their standards as great human beings matched their standards as exceptional beer makers. I fell in love with their work ethic and their caring attitude towards their customers and employees, as well as their commitment to social causes. I think people in LA are going to value the way Creature Comforts builds community. Equally important, they’re going to love the beer as much as I do.”
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