Craft Beer Hits New Heights at This SpaceX-Adjacent Brewery

Craft beer has officially come to Hawthorne. The South Los Angeles city flanked by beer bigwigs like Torrance is now getting into the game itself with the official arrival of Los Angeles Ale Works, a patio-friendly newcomer right around the corner from SpaceX.

Though the place itself is brand new, in many ways LA Ale Works has been years in the making. Craft beer community mainstay Kip Barnes has been trying to bring his own brewery to market for a long time, and even has a well-funded Kickstarter under his belt from a few years back. Now he’s finally achieved his dream, though he’s far from alone in the endeavor. Andrew Fowler and Jeff Szafarski are on board as managing partners, while Lloyd Johnson IV is co-brewer and Brian Holter oversees the barrel program.

The newly minted 10,000 square foot warehouse space is still getting settled in, but has been soft opening to the public since last weekend. The team is already pushing hard from their 10 barrel brewhouse with a menu of drinks that includes everything from a session IPA called Space XPA to a heartier Buttress of Windsor, with tasting pours, pints, and growler fills all available. There’s no food available on site, so guests can bring their own or wait for the near future when more than a few food trucks will start parking on site.

A brewery at daytime with gleaming steel bright tanks.

As for the building itself, there’s plenty of room inside at the long L-shaped wooden bar or a variety of two- and four-tops. Outside is where the real action lands though, with picnic tables, string lights, and room to breathe. Eventually the plan is to also offer a boardroom space for private parties and buyouts.

In the meantime, soft open hours for Los Angeles Ale Works run Wednesday and Thursday from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. with a Friday extension to 11 p.m. Saturday they open noon to 11 p.m., and Sunday noon to 8 p.m. There’s a big grand opening party coming sometime this month as well, so get ready to party in Hawthorne, LA’s most surprising new craft beer destination.

Los Angeles Ale Works
12918 Cerise Ave.
Hawthorne, CA