Santa Monica Brew Works has pushed its 12th anniversary celebration from October 3 to October 10, clearing the calendar so patrons do not have to choose between a round of craft beer and a Dodgers playoff game. The party will still unfold at the brewery's tasting room and beer garden at 1920 Colorado Ave., with live music, a returning karaoke night and a reimagined flagship brew leading the lineup.
The scheduling swap came down to a simple conflict: the Dodgers had a playoff game on October 3, the date originally set for the anniversary bash, according to SMDP. Rather than compete with the postseason, the brewery opted to move its milestone celebration a week later. Santa Monica Brew Works said it has an obligation to uphold its title as Santa Monica's most loved place to catch a game, a stance that lines up with the venue's recent investment in big-screen sports viewing.
A Jumbotron Built for Moments Like This
The brewery installed a large outdoor jumbotron in its beer garden back in April, a move made specifically to enhance live sports watch parties for patrons, according to the Santa Monica Mirror. That capital investment helps explain why a single Dodgers game was enough to shuffle a long-planned anniversary date. Santa Monica Brew Works has long cultivated ties to Dodgers fandom, too, with its beer distributed at Dodger Stadium, the Hollywood Bowl and Los Angeles International Airport.
The rescheduled celebration, now set for October 10, will bring back Rock Live Karaoke for its third consecutive year, running from 2 to 6 p.m. Guests can sing favorites onstage with a full live band backing them up, a format that has become a signature part of the brewery's anniversary tradition.
A Reimagined Flagship Returns
Central to the party is the return of Hang 12 Hazy IPA, which has been reimagined as a hazy double IPA made with real pineapple purée for this year's celebration. Hang 12 will be available on draft and in 16-ounce four-packs to go. Guests who buy a pint on draft will receive a commemorative glass and koozie to take home, while guests who buy a four-pack will receive a Hang 12 sticker while supplies last.
Santa Monica Brew Works invites longtime supporters and first-time visitors alike to the celebration, framing it as 12 years of beach-brewed beer and community. The brewery was founded in 2014, making it Santa Monica's first and only commercial production craft brewery, founded by Scott Francis and partners, according to Brewbound. Though brewing began that year, the business did not open its 1920 Colorado Avenue tasting room and beer garden to the public until September 2016, per the Los Angeles Times — a gap that explains why the brewery counts 12 years from its founding rather than its taproom debut.
From Taproom to Regional Food-and-Beer Brand
The Colorado Avenue venue has grown well beyond a simple bar over the years. In August 2022, Brooklyn-founded Emmy Squared Pizza opened its first West Coast location directly inside the tasting room, establishing a permanent Detroit-style pizza partnership, the Santa Monica Mirror reported at the time. That partnership expanded further in April 2025, when Santa Monica Brew Works and Emmy Squared opened a second joint dining and craft beer venue at L.A. LIVE in Downtown Los Angeles, near Crypto.com Arena.
The brewery has also leaned on themed releases to mark local history, including a June Route 66 Centennial Ale celebrating its location two blocks south of the historic highway's official end point in Santa Monica, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press. In 2020, the brewery collaborated with Rip City Skates, Santa Monica's oldest skate shop operating since 1978, on a Rip City Skates IPA honoring local Dogtown skate culture, per CraftBeer.com.
Santa Monica Brew Works operates under California's Type 23 Small Beer Manufacturer license, which allows craft breweries producing under 60,000 barrels annually to run on-site tasting rooms and expand to as many as six satellite retail locations, according to licensing guidance published by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Nationally, taproom hospitality has become an increasingly important lifeline for breweries: the Brewers Association reported that craft breweries contributed $71.8 billion to the U.S. economy in 2025, with direct-to-consumer taproom sales helping offset broader distribution declines across the industry.
For Santa Monica Brew Works, that national trend plays out locally every time a milestone event draws neighbors back through the door. Event updates for the October 10 celebration are available through the brewery's Instagram and Facebook accounts under the handle @santamonicabrewworks.
