Greg Wellins

My name is Greg Wellins. I’m a government lawyer by day and a beer fan by night and weekend. How big a fan?  On Saturday, August 28, at brand new Farfield Beer Co. in Lawndale, Beer Paper and a group of family and friends will celebrate me having visited 1000 breweries. Needless to say, I travel far and wide to visit breweries from my home in Scottsdale. You can track my visits @gregvisitsbreweries on IG.

I have a lot of “on the way to LA” breweries that I’ve come to know and love over the years, and Homage Brewing in Pomona is one of them.  I’ve stopped in several times over the years and have never been disappointed in owner/head brewer Matthew Garcia’s — and there’s no better word for this — creations.  Farmhouse ales, barrel-aged saisons, sour beers, stouts, and yes IPAs (including hazies) – I’ve tried them all!  So, when I heard that he was finally opening his long-rumored and COVID-delayed downtown LA/Chinatown location, I re-arranged my travel plans for a vacation in San Diego to take me through LA and a visit to Homage II.

Homage II is on the edge of Chinatown, near the Los Angeles State Historical Park (one of my favorite places to wander in LA – awesome park if you’re into history, and in particular how the original settlement got its water from the LA River via the Zanja Madre (aka the “Mother Ditch”)).  It’s also less than a block from another of my favorite breweries, Highland Park (it’s second location as well), so if you’re into brewery hopping, this might be the area for you.  It’s also walking distance from Dodger Stadium, which I’ve done once or twice, though it’s admittedly much easier walking DOWN that hill from the game than up.

While the original Homage location in Pomona is tucked away and quite small, the new Homage space is a stunner.  It’s quite large, though not overly so, with a second floor overlooking the main taproom area, and well-lit though not too bright – a very pleasant environment in which to enjoy some delicious beers.  The patio is large, spanning the width of the interior, and well-shaded.  Music was pumping through the space, but not so loud (not that there’s anything wrong with that) that you couldn’t converse.  They are clearly not finished with the space (there was no place to take my beer selfie in front of an Homage sign), and I’ll be looking forward to future visits to see the progress.  And to get that proper beer selfie.

I did not have the opportunity to speak with Matthew, as he had already left for the day, but I did get the chance to talk with GM Edward, and a bit with bartenders Robert and JJ, each of whom was quite busy but still took the time to spend a few minutes chatting about Homage, the ever-improving LA brewery scene, and the challenges of opening a new brewery location.  It looks like things are in good hands, however, as there was a good-sized crowd and things seemed to be going off without a hitch.  When the beers are this good, it’s a good bet you’ll find happy customers, and that appeared to be the case this night.

I was with some friends, we ran into some more friends, made a couple more along the way, and everyone had a great time.  I needed to leave to get my daughter’s dog to Hermosa Beach, but the others stayed longer before hitting the next brewery, always a good sign.  I’ve now been to 989 breweries, but Homage Brewing and now this new location is on my short list of breweries that I recommend to people visiting LA.  In fact, it’s on my short list of favorite breweries anywhere!  Whether you’re on the way to LA and stop in Pomona, or in LA and visit the Chinatown location, I think you’ll see why after you check them out.

It was a lazy Sunday on vacation in Manhattan Beach recently, and I decided to take advantage of the pandemic traffic (or lack thereof) and check out 14 Cannons, a brewery in Westlake Village that I’d been meaning to visit since it opened in October, 2017. Less than an hour later, I was ordering my first beer on the back patio of my 842nd brewery. It was late on a very hot afternoon, and I was busy taking photos for my Instagram page. As I positioned my beer for that perfect shot I always strive to take, I apologized to a guy sitting nearby as I was arguably within six feet of him and I didn’t want to violate our current unwritten, yet very real, social-distancing contract. The guy turned out to be Marshall Haraden, the owner of 14 Cannons.

It turns out that Marshall also owns The Marshall Group, a general contracting firm that, among other things, specializes in brewery construction. The fact that I was wearing a t-shirt from one of the breweries that his firm constructed didn’t hurt (Imperial Western, a gorgeous brewery located in LA’s Union Station), but he seemed more than willing to discuss 14 Cannons with me, and I was more than willing to learn about it.

First, this isn’t your typical brewery. Oh, it’s in your average commercial complex, but once inside you are transported to one of the more beautiful breweries you’ll ever see.  That is because, in addition to being a working brewery, it is also a brewery showroom, showcasing various brewing vendors’ equipment for prospective brewery owners.  From the copper bar to the artwork to the brewing equipment (most notably the lagering tank) all out in the open, you may spend considerable time just gazing at the place!

But, as always, the most important aspect to every brewery is, how good is the beer itself? I’m glad to say 14 Cannon offers a delicious lineup of beers.

I always like to learn where the brewer has previously worked. Although he wasn’t in that day, Marshall told me that head brewer Nic Bortolin came from critically-acclaimed Figueroa Mountain, a brewery whose beers I’ve enjoyed for years. So, I was not surprised that I loved the beers I tried, especially their flagship West Coast IPA (Tyrannicide) and the award-winning Marooner Marzen. If I didn’t have an hour to drive post-brewery-visit, I would have tried more. That said, I did leave with 4-packs of 14 Cannons Coffee IPA and a triple IPA, Wreck Yo Ship, both of which I’ve since enjoyed.

I asked Marshall about the origin of the name 14 Cannons. And, boy, did he tell me a fascinating story! Turns out that his great-great-great uncle, Jonathan Haraden, commanded, in 1776, a ship called the Tyrannicide, known for hunting down tyrants.  Anyone want to guess the number of cannons on the Tyrannicide? After learning all of this, I felt like saying the Pledge of Allegiance before my next beer, but that would have been weird, so I just mentally made a toast to great-great-great uncle J.  I called my Mom in Upstate NY after to see if I had any great-great-great uncles (or aunts) in the family lineage who did anything similar. Disappointingly, she told me that we came from a family of cheese-makers, but I digress.

Why do I go to so many breweries? Because, probably just like you if you are reading this on Beer Paper’s website, I am a true beer geek. And you just never know when you are going to discover a new (or old) gem of a brewery. 14 Cannons proves that point.  Fantastic beers, fun and interesting people, a beautiful taproom, and a phenomenal back-story that dates back to the Revolutionary War.

I highly recommend you make the trek to Westlake Village and see for yourself.