Torrance Travel Guide: A Craft Brew Lover’s Paradise

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Welcome to Torrance, CA – a balanced city and the city through which I am going to give you a short tour. Tanner and I went down to Torrance last weekend to enjoy some of the things that this city just outside of LA has to offer. It’s the perfect place to go that’s close to LA, but just far enough away from the crowd, you feel like you’re in another place. Even more perfect, it still has so many of the things that make LA great like great food and the beach! So, I’m putting together a short Torrance Travel Guide!

There are a lot of great things about Torrance that I didn’t know before: it’s only 15 minutes from LAX, they’ve got a wide variety of hotels, it has literal perfect weather (it was 75 when we visited), it’s home to the largest mall in California, there are plenty of restaurants to check out, and the beaches here are fairly uncrowded!

Learn more about Torrance HERE.

Torrance is also LA’s Craft Brew Capitol, so it’s only fitting that we made it there for LA Beer Week. Talk about good timing. I mean, what’s better than a whole week dedicated to craft beer? Not much, I can tell you that.

If you like food trucks, this is also the place for you. Different food trucks frequent the various breweries so you can eat some local food while you enjoy your beers! (Trust me, you’ll probably want some.) We managed to get a delicious adult grilled cheese at Strand Brewing Co., but there was also a tasty looking barbecue place at Absolution!

The Brews:

Scholb Premium Ales

My dad took me to Scholb Brewery the weekend before and I just knew I had to go back. Of the three breweries that we went to, this one was my favorite. Don’t get me wrong, the beer is good at all of the breweries. Scholb just had this nice vibe that I enjoyed.

Tanner and I played Connect 4 (I beat him – he didn’t stand a chance) and enjoyed a beer before going on to the next place.

What I ordered: Plan B IPA

What Tanner ordered: Tall, Dank, and Handsome IPA

Absolution Brewing Co.

Absolution and Schlob are within walking distance of each other – so you can easily go to both! They’re in a warehouse-looking district, so you’d never know they were there if you didn’t look closely (or have my guide to tell you that)!

Now, this brewery is really, really cool. The name Absolution comes from a church-type theme, so all the names are based off that theme. They even have church pews in the brewery, which I will tell ya, are just about as comfortable as actual church pews (aka not very comfortable). So, if you can, grab a spot at the bar.

What I ordered: Global Warming Spiced Ale, Rest in Peach Pale Ale

What Tanner ordered: Angel’s Demise IPA, Cardinal Sin Red Ale

Strand Brewing Co.

I’ll be honest – I have loved Strand Brewing Company for a long time. I didn’t even know their brewery was in Torrance, so when I found  that out, you can bet I was excited.

By the time we got to this brewery, we were getting a bit hungry, so we enjoyed a grilled cheese from the food truck this place. The name of the food truck was Barley Hops Grill and it looks like they frequent Strand quite often! I would definitely get it again!

What I ordered: 24th Street Pale Ale

What Tanner ordered: Atticus IPA

The Eats:

By the time Tanner and I finished off our day of beer tasting, we were exhausted. So, we were also pretty thankful that there was a delicious looking restaurant downstairs in our hotel.

Tanner was really craving wings, so we got those and then a few other appetizers to share. Turns out, we still had too much food, so we took the rest to go (and I enjoyed the leftovers for dinner the next day)!

The mules were so refreshing after a long day and the perfect way to end the day. The staff was super friendly and accomodating and the food came quickly after being ordered. The rest of their drinks looked really good, so I would love to try more of what they offered sometime!

21 Square Bar + Kitchen

What we ordered: 21st Mule, Dog on a Board, BBQ Chicken Flatbread, Buffalo Chicken Wings

Great Maple

Great Maple was conveniently located across the street from our hotel in Del Amo Fashion Square. There were a few good looking food places, but this place definitely looked promising for brunch.

It ended up being the perfect place to stop for brunch before we headed out!

What I ordered: Morrocan Mint Iced Tea, Egg White Frittata

What Tanner ordered: Double Shot Mocha, BLT with Parmesean Truffle Fries

Unfortunately, we had to head out before the mall opened (tragic, I know) but this mall is one of the biggest I’d ever been in! There were a ton of good food and shopping options and it was conveniently located right next to our hotel.

What I Wore:

Yes, a good beer tasting outfit was obviously a necessity. I chose a romper for a few reasons.

1. It hides a lot of that beer bloat. Plus, the length of the shorts it totally flattering.
2. It’s breezy by the beach and a romper doesn’t fly up.
3. It’s just cute.

Where I Stayed:

I stayed at the Marriot in Torrance. It also goes by Marriot Rendondo Beach if you’re having trouble finding it. It’s such a nice hotel and I definitely wish I could’ve spent a little more time there. Everyone who worked at the hotel was so polite and helpful and I definitely enjoyed the King-size bed. The pool was nice too!

They even gave me this nice little welcome gift for my stay!

All-in-all it was really a great weekend trip to Torrance. Tanner and I enjoyed good food, even better beer, and perfect weather (the perfect escape from the Arizona heat)!

So, if you were to go check out Torrance, what things would you like to do?