{"id":73161,"date":"2023-04-12T14:49:22","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T21:49:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=73161"},"modified":"2023-04-13T16:21:01","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T23:21:01","slug":"trademark-brewing-debuts-morning-drive-beer-in-nod-to-grand-prix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/trademark-brewing-debuts-morning-drive-beer-in-nod-to-grand-prix","title":{"rendered":"Trademark Brewing debuts \u2018Morning Drive\u2019 beer in nod to Grand Prix"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometime in the early 1990s, Sterling Steffen remembers peering out at the hairpin turn from the grandstand at the Long Beach Grand Prix around the age of 9. He sat near the same turn every year with his father.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, he says if his father hadn\u2019t brought him to race weekend from their home in the West Valley, there might not be a Trademark Brewing in Downtown Long Beach, and he’s paying homage to the city’s landmark event.<\/span><\/p>\n

Steffen, who opened Trademark and moved to the city in 2019 with his wife Ilana<\/span>, <\/span>unveiled the first of a series of race-themed beers a few weeks ahead of the 48th Acura Grand Prix this weekend: Morning Drive, a coffee-cream ale.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Morning Drive coffee cream ale is available on tap and by can at Trademark Brewery, April 11, 2023. Photo by Cheantay Jensen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The beer is a light, 5% ABV, crisp ale that carries distinct notes of fresh coffee beans without an overbearing coffee aroma (we definitely tried it).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kane Christensen, Trademark\u2019s head brewer, called it a \u201clight drinking, easy, crushable beer\u201d that is palatable for both evening and, yes, morning drinking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe added a bunch of whole Ethiopian coffee beans to bring out the nice coffee character without being overwhelmingly, you know, potent in flavor, but we still get like a big burst of coffee aromatics,\u201d Christensen said.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Morning Drive will only be available until supplies run dry, more race-themed beers will be released throughout the year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Trademark’s head brewer Kane Christensen holds a pint of the Morning Drive coffee cream ale at Trademark Brewing in Downtown Long Beach Tuesday April, 11. Photo by Cheantay Jensen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI would be surprised if we made it more than once a year. It\u2019s a fun novelty,\u201d Steffen said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For now, the beer is available both on draft and in a particularly striking can. Steffen tapped Norwegian artist Abel Toth to design the wrap-around, which boasts a colorful illustration of a Formula One racer, zooming on a roadway between the ocean and a city skyline.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At first glance, one might assume the illustration is of Shoreline Drive in Long Beach\u2014until you notice the Australian flag. It\u2019s actually Melbourne, where the 2023 Australian Grand Prix took place last month. Trademark Brewing hosted a viewing party for the Aussie race in conjunction with the ale\u2019s debut on March 31.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat was actually a beautiful coincidence,\u201d Steffen said. \u201cThis is a truly collaborative international combination of events.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Morning Drive coffee cream ale is available in four pack cans at Trademark brewing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the Australian Grand Prix\u2019s Formula One race and Long Beach\u2019s Grand Prix just weeks apart, Steffen aimed to release the beer as a nod to both race events. Later this year, fans will see more race-themed beers released by Trademark.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur Formula One crowd is pretty active and they\u2019re pretty loyal, and the Formula One crowd overlaps a little bit with the Grand Prix of Long Beach crowd,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

This year, that overlap will be heightened as Long Beach welcomes Historic Formula One to Grand Prix weekend. The event will feature cars driven in the series in the 1970s and \u201880s.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the race is going on, the brewery will also host a special event on Saturday with Sunset Social, hosted by Avants and MOTUL. Fans can head over to the brewery after the race to view race cars, buy swag and meet special guest IndyCar driver Benjamin Pederson. Tickets are $25 to enter the event area, but the rest of the brewery will be open to the public as normal.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Sunday, <\/span>Battambong BBQ<\/span><\/a> will be vending at the brewery, where fans can watch the race on large screens with the sound on\u2014\u201dnaturally,\u201d Steffen said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, for the rest of the Formula One season, races from all around the world will be shown at the brewery\u2014with some races, such as those in the Middle East, shown at 10 a.m.<\/span><\/p>\n

By June, Steffen says Long Beachers can look out for another race-themed beer. For now, the beers are not an official collaboration with the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, but he hopes to change that as the series continues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe started with (Morning Drive), and we timed it to overlap with the Grand Prix,\u201d he said. \u201cWe figured that was the best opportunity to kind of get our foot in the door and make some noise.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trademark Brewing, located at 233 E Anaheim St., is generally open from 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday. On Friday, the brewery opens at 3 p.m. and on weekends, it opens at noon. Hours will vary based on whether the brewery is hosting an event. Check their calendar for upcoming activities <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trademark Brewing owner Sterling Steffen credits the Grand Prix of Long Beach for his decision to make the city the anchor point for his family and his business. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":302,"featured_media":73167,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30481,6],"tags":[32130],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[9454],"class_list":["post-73161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-hi-lo","tag-2023-long-beach-grand-prix","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/302"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73161"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73210,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73161\/revisions\/73210"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73161"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=73161"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=73161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}