Beginnings

Bushido Brewery began with the simple desire to learn more about beer. “What better way to learn about beer than to make it?” That was our thinking in October of 2010. We began brewing in January 2011 and once we started we couldn’t stop.

2011: First Year

In 2011 we brewed 14 unique batches of beer. Our total yield was 70 gallons. Among our favorites were the Mexican Breakfast Beer, Honey Blonde Ale, Thai Ale, Xmas Ale, and the Coffee Stout Vertical.

We also joined our local brew club, Pacific Gravity, and participated in several events.

2012: Second Year

In 2012 we brewed less aggressively but grew in other ways.

We brewed five batches of beer, and noteably, our first batch of saké! We also introduced temperature-controlled fermentation into our brewing process.

We hosted more events than the previous year, including brew day parties and our first public tasting, and launched our website, Facebook page, and Twitter feed as we continued to share our craft with more people.

2013: Awards and Growth

2013 was a huge year for Bushido Brewery!

Our Belgian Quadrupel won a gold medal in the American’s Finest City competition and a silver medal in the Mayfaire competition. We also entered the California State Fair.

The brewery was upgraded to support 10-gallon batches, we transitioned from extract to all grain brewing, and relocated the brewery to Echo Park.

The brand evolved as we launched our new website, wrote blog articles, posted some cool pictures to our Instagram feed, and redesigned our business cards.

What about actual brewing, you say? We brewed 15 times with a final yield of 20 unique bottle codes. Our experiments included a lot of coffee beers. We iterated on our recipes and began giving our beers proper names, such as 武士 (“Bushi” or “Warrior’s Ale”) and 狸 (“Tanuki” or “Legendary Shapeshifting Ale”). We also invented the JPA (Japanese Pale Ale) – an effervescent pale brewed with saké yeast.

The year ended by packing up all of the brewing equipment as Josh left Los Angeles to travel as a digital nomad – living in a different city every month – exploring craft beer and saké all over the world.

2014: World Travels and Gypsy Brewing

Currently, we’re on the road! We brew as often as possible at brew on premises establishments and partner with other brewers whenever possible to collaborate. Read about our adventures on the blog.