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Photos courtesy of Long Beach Beer Lab.

Wrigley is getting cooler—and by cooler, I mean cooling the thirsts of Long Beach by way of a beer lab that is the first in the city to receive a manufacturing license.

Yes, the Long Beach Beer Lab will be opening its doors at 518 Willow St. in between Daisy and Magnolia, offering the neighborhood not only some much needed expansion in the dining’n’drinking options but bring a small manufacturing brewery “dedicated to fermentation-forward beverages,” in the words of founder and owner Levi Fried—and he means that seriously: with degrees in biochem and microbiology, the man who was once dedicated to medical research has opted to take a more artistic, culinary approach to his mind’s wanderings.

“We really have a passion,” he said. “And ultimately we know that hard work and methodical attention to details are what it takes to create a great product—hence our slogan, ‘Discover an experience of experimentation in a curious science of suds.'”

That science results in ales, sours and tonics thanks to the brainpower of Fried and the creativity and mastery of brew master Ariel Druck, the guy behind The People’s Brewery in Isreal—and yes, includes a bakery that makes Long Beach sourdough thanks to classically trained baker Harmony Sage. (Friendly competition for the badasses over at Saints & Sinners, no doubt.)

“Alongside our beverage manufacturing, we have a small production sourdough bakery,” Fried said. “We use wild microflora harvested from local fruits and then incorporate malt grains from the brewhouse.”

It’s been a lengthy process: the venture was announced last summer but thanks to final inspections being completed last week, the Lab is hoping to open doors within the coming weeks with soft openings here and there beforehand.

“This week we received our chairs and tables,” Fried said. “Currently, we are wrapping up the largest project yet, fermentation control. We are building this ourselves and it is coming along just great. It’s a big project but it’s very hard to make consistent and quality beer without it.”