![\"BeerPaper01\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/BeerPaper01.jpg\")
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Photos by Brian Addison.<\/em><\/p>\n Even with a dedicated and diligent staff and countless lost nights of sleep that have gone into each issue, Long Beach native and resident Aaron Carroll is still shocked that his first major business endeavor–the all-things-craft-beer regional news source that is Beer Paper LA<\/a>—<\/em>would make it to its one-year anniversary.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it would be fun for a few months\u2014but I never expected this<\/em>,\u201d Carroll said as he watched a massive crowd bombard Beachwood BBQ and Brewing last Wednesday to celebrate the paper\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n Mobs of beer geeks and brewers, dedicated readers and just simple supporters gathered along the Promenade to cheer on and salute the latest issue of Beer Paper LA, <\/em>enjoying pours from the epic beer list curated specifically for the anniversary: Monkish’s Selah? Noble’s Nutty Sauce (jokes welcomed)? Taps Fish House’s Blanche de Conundrum? Bring. It.<\/p>\n Beyong the celebratory nature of Beer Paper<\/em>\u2019s success–20,000 copies are now distributed monthly to 300 locations throughout Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties–is the state of craft beer itself, which has been growing at such a fast rate that the free rag can barely keep up. <\/p>\n Carroll is unapologetically unsure of craft’s future as the beer boom has been creating massive amounts of breweries, but not necessarily the talent or quality required to lift them up. The boom-and-crash of craft beer in the late ’90s is a moment that stands out for Carroll since he lived through it.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t to say that the entire element is money: South Bay breweries like Smog City and Monkish have, at least for Carroll, risen up from good breweries to great breweries\u2014proof that talent and quality aren\u2019t being entirely usurped by the love of the green (and not the hoppy kind).<\/p>\n And in the end, he stands by the belief that beer is America\u2019s drink and more and more people will continue to discover that there is more to beer than the macros they\u2019ve been served (a la the Buds and Stellas).<\/p>\n \u201cI probably shouldn\u2019t say this as a beer advocate but all those beers are well-made beers\u2014they just taste the same,\u201d Carroll said. \u201cFor the consumer, there\u2019s a natural arc where you get used to drinking watered-down, boring beers.\u201d<\/p>\n After ditching the macros, new craft beer drinkers tend to go big with massively high-ABV brews like double IPAs or \u201chyper-bold flavors\u201d that then attract a larger market. After all, these are the guys who were buying 30-packs of Miller Light, the same market that generates over some $220B a year. Craft beer has about $34B of that share\u2014and for some beginning entrepreneurs, to not want to be a part of that would be ridiculous.<\/p>\n But as Carroll points out: that doesn\u2019t equate to great beer.<\/p>\n Long Beach, thankfully, steers clear of bad beer by way of Belmont Brewing Company, Rock Bottom and Beachwood itself, the latter of which was last year named the Best Mid-Sized Brewpub in the County. The city also has great beer bars like Simmzy\u2019s and The Factory, and even has a rich history steeped in crafty awesomeness<\/a>. However, when it comes to bringing in new breweries, like San Diego and Torrance have, Long Beach has not yet streamlined its obstacle course of regulation to facilitate new openings. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not that the City of Long Beach was being anti-brewery but that no one knew what they were doing,\u201d Carroll said.<\/p>\n However, beyond Long Beach\u2019s lack of bringing in the breweries (and there’s a large civic hope that will change<\/a>), for both his hometown and his paper, it is about people simply appreciating good brews.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, so Long Beach does or doesn\u2019t get breweries,\u201d Carroll said. \u201cWhat\u2019s important are the people and the people remaining lovers of beer. I was lucky enough to score two of the best beer writers [Sarah Bennett and Daniel Drennon] in my own town. And we\u2019re covering all of LA and Orange Counties\u2014so we\u2019re this perfect in-between that allows us to not just cover it all for Beer Paper LA<\/em>, but experience it all.\u201d<\/p>\n Inset photo: Aaron Carroll (left) and Beer Paper LA staff. Photo by Brian Feinzimer.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n For more information on BPLA, visit beerpaperla.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Eds. note: Aaron Carroll is a former contributer to the Long Beach Post. Beer Paper LA’s Contributing Editor Sarah Bennett is the Executive Editor of the Post.<\/em><\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n {FG_GEOMAP [33.7703276,-118.19071889999998] FG_GEOMAP}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"BeerPaper4\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/BeerPaper4.jpg\")
\u201cI am fearful of the beer bubble, yes\u2014but I am not fearful that beer is gonna go away,\u201d Carroll said. \u201cI see some of the same things happening that happened in the late ’90s: people are getting into it for the money and not for the love of the craft. So what we\u2019re starting to see is a ton of breweries opening\u2014but they\u2019re making, to be honest, really crappy beer.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"BeerPaper02\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/BeerPaper02.jpg\")
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