The upcoming Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco and Music Festival on April 8, 2017 promises to be one of the top events of its type in Southern California. Taking place at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, it will be a fun day for all who attend and especially those who are interested in trying some of the best craft beers that Southern California has to offer. Presented by radio station KLOS, Sabroso is produced by Brew Ha Ha Productions, California’s most successful and respected craft beer festival producer. Also helping to power the festival is Gringo Bandito, a hot sauce company established by Dexter Holland, lead singer for powerhouse multi-platinum Orange County punk rock group The Offspring, who will also be headlining the music portion of the festival.
Of course, local craft beers are a highlight of the weekend’s festival. The LA Beat sat down with Nicolas Cordato, co-owner of Artifex Brewing, a small family-run brewery in San Clemente. Artifex Brewery will be one of the craft breweries pouring tastes at the festival.
Craft Beer. Photo by Ed Simon for The Los Angeles Beat
Q: When you brew your beers, do you have a specific style in mind?
A: Yes, we do. We live in the West Coast, in Southern California, so we typically brew hoppy beers. We brew what we want to drink. A lot of our beers are brewed because we like to drink them and we enjoy them. But then there are also beers that we brew to fill our tap lines. For example, we need dark beers, or we are going to do a crazy one-off collaboration beer with another brewery and make a very limited release, so yes, we do do that.
Q: Are you brewing a special beer for the Sabroso event?
A: Possibly. For the Sabroso event we always bring something special. We don’t typically brew a special beer for them but because it’s a great event, we’re going to bring our ‘A’ game in our beers. We’ll bring specialty beers to the Sabroso.
Q: Do you like tacos with your beer?
A: Love tacos! I love tacos—tacos and beer—–actually my favorite thing is music, so tacos, beer and music, all three are my favorite things.
Q: How do you suggest that visitors to the event do their beer tasting?
A: Since there is a very limited amount of breweries there, this is the best of the best breweries that are going to be there, and according to how Cameron wants to work with—-I suggest they come with an open palate and an open mind and have fun. Because every beer there is going to be excellent and you’ll get to pick and choose what you want to drink. Every palate is different though, so there really isn’t a right or wrong way to try or where to go, but if you find something that you like, ask the beertenders where they can purchase it and things like that.
Q: Is there anything the novice beer tasters should know?
A: Pace yourself! Here’s a good one for beginners—-if you don’t like the beer, you don’t have to drink it. It does not offend us if you throw out your beer. We have dump buckets, there’s a beach so you can dump it on the beach. It doesn’t offend us if you don’t like it. The person behind you might like it, the person ahead of you might like it, but your palate is your palate. You might like something different then other people do. That’s what we love about beer. That’s why this community is so great.
Q: Is there a certain type of beer that you think goes well with tacos?
A: For me, personally, I like lagers with tacos. But on the same hand, I like IPA’s with tacos. I like both IPA’s and lagers, but preferably lagers.
This event in particular, Cameron has been around for seven years doing these events, I think he runs it very professionally, very well. I, personally, as the owner of a brewery, enjoy his events because I get great exposure, and the people going to these events not only love beer, but they love what the whole festival is about. The festival is about beer, food—-in this particular one it’s about tacos—-and then also music. I’ve never talked to anybody who didn’t like a Brew Ha Ha Productions event. What better way to spend your day than drinking some great local craft beer, eating some tacos and listening to some great music at the end of the day, on the beach in Southern California. I mean, this location this year is amazing, on the beach. We were lucky enough to be part of the country concert that was a couple months ago at the same location and I couldn’t express to you any more how phenomenal everything went, it was just a great event. You’re literally right on the beach hanging out with your friends, drinking beer, eating food and listening to music. It’s a good time!
Tickets are on sale now for the Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco and Music Festival at Doeheny State Beach. Tickets are $60.00 for general admission. VIP Lounge and admission is $99.00, while VIP Lounge and Gringo Bandito Eat and Greet admission is $199.00. Designated driver admission and shuttle tickets for remote parking are also available. Tickets and information can be obtained at http://sabrosotacofest.com.
artifexbrewing.com/
