What We Do
At Hopped, we bring our mission to life in three distinct ways:
Content
The core of our service is content creation, where we highlight breaking news, curate local beer guides, take you behind the scenes on our beer adventures, and showcase the stories behind our favorite beers and the breweries that produce them. View our latest stories.
Creative
We partner with independent craft beer brands that we believe in to create content that tells the stories behind their products in an authentic, consumer-centric way to connect more deeply with craft beer enthusiasts here in Southern California. Learn more about our programs.
Experiences
From intimate beer testing events to custom beer gear, our goal is to create experiential opportunities that allow people to interact with Southern California craft beer in unique and exciting ways. Check out our apparel store.
Our Team
Initially concepted as a membership-only email newsletter in 2013, Hopped launched as an Instagram account in April 2014. Since then, we’ve rolled out multiple versions of our website, merchandise, events, and creative services while growing our team to bring more unique and diverse voices into the fold.
Gary Magnone
Founder
Gary is the founder of Hopped and is responsible for day to day operations of the organization. When he’s not drinking beer, writing about beer, taking photos of beer, or talking about beer on camera, you can find Gary managing his digital marketing agency, brewing small batch specialty cold brew coffee, cooking, going to live music and comedy shows, and spending time with his wife, Caroline and dog, Blue.
Brett Keating
Content Contributor
Brett is a writer who grew up in Massachusetts, but got his LA resident card after beating Jake Gyllenhaal at pub trivia. He enjoys oysters, running, and spontaneous fermentation sours. Brett lives in Silver Lake with an obese tabby and an ever-growing selection of pastry stouts.
Cambria Findley-Grubb
Content Contributor
Cambria is an OC native who spends her days speed reading fantasy novels, gabbing about digital marketing, and drinking beer.
Conrad Ytuarte
Content Contributor
Producer that helps provide the secret sauce for Hopped’s projects. When I’m not busy with work you can find me out hiking, or enjoying a hockey game. My favorite beers: WC IPAs, Hazy IPAs, or Stouts. I love connecting with new people that share in the love of the Craft Beer Scene.
Javi Gonzalez
Content Contributor
Javi is the host of The Hop Show podcast here with Hopped and a brewer/janitor at Pacific Plate Brewing Company. He loves pro-wrestling, Packers, and all things LA. He dislikes milkshake IPAs and Portland, Oregon. The beer you're most likely to find him sipping on is Pizza Port's Chronic Amber Ale.
Mark Smolyar
Content Contributor
Mark is a Chicago native who loves writing about cats and beer, his work in education, and peanut M&M's
Testimonials
I'm a craft beer fan who loves the thrill of discovery. By using Hopped as my guide, every weekend has become an adventure to discover a local independent brewery and pick up some cans of something I never tried before. The Hopped crew has great taste. Their blogs and tasting videos provide unpretentious enlightenment on our seemingly infinite local craft beer options.
Nate Easterling
Hopped is the most knowledgeable source of information about the LA County beer scene. If I want to see which places have just opened? Hopped’s got me. New releases? Hopped's got me. Happy hours on Instagram? Hopped's got me. They're great dudes who love beer and love LA, and I check their site all the time, because I, like Hopped, love me my LA beer.
Russell Hainline, TheBeerTravelGuide.com
Hopped is innovative, fun, and really well executed. I've been super impressed with their work and can't wait to see what they come up with in the future!
Brian Jensen, Bottlecraft
I love passing on Hopped's news and new releases to our members; it’s the best way to stay updated on local brew happenings!
Carl Anderson, President of the Craft Beer Club at UCLA Anderson
When I first moved to LA I didn’t know anyone, so there was no one to grab a beer with. Following Hopped’s videos helped me feel a part of the community, and not only helped me discover the best beers in town, but helped me get out to all the best pockets of LA with a great spot to stop at while I was exploring. Never lived anywhere with such great beer guides!
Keagan Anderson
Hopped keeps me up on all the latest and greatest brews in the LA area. I honestly wouldn’t know what to drink if it wasn’t for them!