Belmont Brewing Co. A Bloody Mary with a View.
***UPDATE: Belmont Brewing is now under new management; Happy hour prices and times have changed.*** Everyone needs “that bar.” The bar that you don’t have to think about, the bar with that special bartender, the bar you start your night at before going to all the other bars—the default bar, your bar, that bar. Whether it was the now defunct River City Saloon in Portland, High Dive in Brooklyn or Reservoir in the Village, I have always had that bar.
But since moving to the LA area, I haven’t been able to find that special place to call my own. Perhaps it’s the sprawling nature of the city that forces us to drive everywhere, or perhaps it’s just that I’m still getting used to Southern California culture, but either way, I’m still on the hunt. And though I haven’t found it just yet, I have found a very welcoming happy hour to tide me over.
Belmont Brewing Co. offers a generous happy hour that features specials every day of the week.
M-F: 4:30 to 6:30 50% OFF BAR APPETIZER MENU (Excludes Holidays) HOUSE BEER $3.50 pints ~ $4.50 well ~ $10.00 pitchers Every day: 8:30 to 10:30 $6.95 PIZZAS HOUSE BEER $3.50 pints ~ $4.50 well ~ $10.00 pitchers Sat-Sun: 2:00 to 5:00 HOUSE BEER $3.50 pints ~ $4.50 well ~ $10.00 pitchers
With big, wide windows overlooking the Belmont Pier, I enjoy sitting in the bar, watching all the beach happenings and devouring my half price appetizers. I also enjoy imbibing their award winning brew house ales, and when the craving arrives, their bloody marys. So after a long day of wedding planning activities, I knew exactly where to go to decompress.
A heavily celery salted rim meets a dolled up (what I think was) Tabasco brand bloody mary mix. This mix was actually my go to brand for a short while. Though quite salty and rather unremarkable by itself, it takes very well to your own additions, providing a good baseline to work from. In this case, the added lemon and Worcestershire both brightened the drink and added depth of flavor to this pint sized cocktail. The natural hint of spice from the mix rounded it out, resulting in a very drinkable, standard bar bloody mary, the kind that you could order three of and not think twice.
So while this isn’t the end of my search for “that bar,” it will more than do to pass the time, especially during happy hour. For its very drinkable bloody mary with a view, Belmont Brewing Co. earns Celery Stalks.
Belmont Brewing Co. 25 39th Place, Long Beach, California 90803. T: (562) 433-3891. [wpgmza id="25"]
