Brett Keating
July 31, 2021
LA’s newest brewery is Far Field Beer Co., an autobody shop-turned taproom, and the first-ever brewery in Lawndale. Far Field joins a busy South Bay beer scene, including Common Space and LA Ale Works, both a few minutes away in Hawthorne.
The grand opening is planned for Saturday, July 31st, though they’ve been doing to-go beer since March. They will launch with seven beers on draft, and plan to expand to as many as 20 taps once brewing capacity ramps up. The opening line-up includes Two Wheeler, a tart, easy-drinking Berliner Weisse, Feller, a Nelson-forward Hoppy Pilsner, and Field of View, a surprisingly bitter and refreshing Hazy IPA.
Walking in, the contemporary taproom is bright and open, with noticeably more of a beachy feel than some of the more industrial breweries nearby. It might feel more like a third wave coffee shop than a brewery. The space was a former DIY auto body shop, which was gutted and converted into a multi-level tasting room space and barrel room. Outside, there’s a patio, a small parking lot, some yard games, and plenty of space for food pop-ups.
Founders James and Regan Bardeen are a husband-and-wife duo, who first signed the lease in late 2019. James will run a barrel program for the brewery, after doing the same at Appleton Beer Factory in Wisconsin, while Bryce Lowrance will serve as Head Brewer and COO. Lowrance previously worked in civil engineering and medaled at multiple homebrewing competitions before signing on with the Far Field team.
The brewing facility, housed in a separate building from the dining room, includes a two-vessel, seven-barrel production system. Though they don’t have any barreled beers to start, they recently picked up some chardonnay and pinot noir barrels from Iron Horse Winery in the Russian River Valley, which they’ll use to launch their barrel-aged sour programs soon.
For more of LA’s latest brewery openings, check out our guide to the latest craft beer openings across LA.
Photos by Brett Keating, Mark Smolyar & Cambria Findley-Grubb
