TITLE
Recommendation to request City Manager to review current licensing and zoning policies for potential micro-brews and brew production; examine best practices for brew policy in other localities including San Diego and Torrance; engage local brew pub and retail community for ideas and input; and report back to the City Council in 90 days.
DISCUSSION
In 2013 Beachwood BBQ and Brewing, a fixture of Downtown Long Beach since it opened in 2011, received five medals at the Great American Beer Festival and was named "Mid-Size Brewpub in the Country". The success' of this style of business and the growing industry it represents is something our ,. city should be both incredibly proud of, and willing to encourage on a larger scale. Other local successful brewpubs include the Belmont Brewing Company and Rock Bottom.
The story of the craft brewing industry in the last decade is one of incredible growth, especially when you consider how it has thrived despite a recession and ongoing economic instability for the average consumer. The success of these businesses can be seen regionally in San Diego; a city that hosts an exponentially expanding number of micro-brews/brew pups, and now sustains an entire tourism industry devoted specifically to it's local beer producers. In particular San Diego demonstrates how municipal government can (and should) co-exist in a symbiotic relationship with the local production of a product that has been treated with some well-deserved trepidation from public safety advocates.
The current trend within the craft brewing industry emphasizes the importance of urban development, sustainable and ecological business practices, and a model of consumption that encourages customers to appreciate the "quality" of their drink over the "quantity". Local brewers employ members of their own
community, install permanent fixtures in their businesses, and encourage a degree of creativity with their products that is not necessarily seen with other d...
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