Smog City Brewery Monster Brew May 23rd
Once again, we are spooling up for our annual Monster Brew at Smog City Brewing Company, 1901 Del Amo Blvd, Torrance, CA 90501
This will be our 15th Monster Brew with Brewmaster, Jon Porter, going all the way back to his days at Tustin Brewing and our tenth at Smog. Everybody has a blast at these events, so please come out and join us!
If you have never participated in a Monster Brew, here is how it works:
1) Order wort ahead of time.
2) Bring a clean Fermenter, which we will fill with UNFREMENTED wort.
3) Take it home and add whatever yeast and other ingredients you like to customize the batch.
4) Ferment until ready for bottling or kegging.
Date: Saturday, May 23, 2026
Time: Mash-In: Approx. 7:00 AM
Fermenter Filling: Around Noon
Location: Smog City Brewery 1901 Del Amo Blvd, Torrance, CA 90501
For this year’s batch, Porter will be using a base wort based on Smog Czech one of his new rising popularity styles that will allow for maximum creativity. Consider this your blank slate. For the hop heads, boost up the bitterness with your favorite English or American hop tea to make an 
awesome IPA, or darken it up with roasted malts to make a porter or stout. Use your imagination to make the most awesome beer ever. Each person will need to pitch a yeast of their choice, add adjuncts to the wort, dry hop in secondary, or do nothing special to it at all. To see the full recipe and for modification ideas, see “How Do I Modify My Monster Brew?”
COST and RESERVATIONS
We need a headcount BEFORE the brew session, so we can plan the batch size. You must make a reservation if you want wort. The cost will be $40 for each 5 gallons of wort. You can order several batches if you like. If possible, please pay in advance.
You can sign up one of two ways:
1) Pay now with Paypal. If you do this your reservation is good to go.
2) Drop a line to treasurer@pacificgravity.com saying how many batches you want. Payment will be due on brew day. We will accept payment at the Monster Brew; cash, check and credit card will be accepted.
FERMENTERS
Bring a sanitized PLASTIC or STAINLESS STEEL fermenters for each 5-gallon batch you purchase. Absolutely NO GLASS fermenters will be allowed in the brewery due to the risk of breakage. You may bring small glass vessels with yeast or other additions, however. Fermenters must have a wide opening for the filling nozzle. Plastic buckets are ideal, but Cornelius kegs are acceptable. Again, please do not bring any skinny-neck containers; we may not be able to fill it.
If there is wort left over at the end, we will hold a lottery to determine who may get an additional 5 gallon allotment. Bring an extra fermenter if you are interested.
What Is Not Included
Yeast and any additional ingredients you wish to add to your wort are not included. You can bring your yeast to the brewery, or pitch it at home. We recommend getting your supplies in advance. South Bay Brewing Supply is nearby if you need last-minute supplies the day of the brew.
PARKING
Please park on the WEST side of the building to keep the tap room lot open.
The tap room will be opening to the public at noon.
FOOD
We will have coffee and some light breakfast snacks in the morning. In addition, Porter will be supplying tasting samples of some of his fine brews mid-morning. Around noon a food truck will be setting up in the parking lot. Cut off time for free pours will be shortly before the tap room opens for business. At the end of the day, I also recommend buying some brews from the take-out coolers. Smog has a number of new selections that were not available last time. And finally, REMEMBER TO TIP YOUR BEERTENDER!!!
WORT MODIFICATIONS
For more ideas, see “How Do I Modify My Monster Brew?”
