LAGUNA BEACH : Something New Is Brewing

As Laguna Beach residents sipped their morning coffee Tuesday, a towering crane lowered two 18-foot-high fermenting tanks through the open skylight of a building that what will soon become this city’s first brewery.

Once the vats were deposited, Laguna Beach Brewing Co. President Michael Fein again eyed the approximately 6-foot-wide skylight and wondered aloud how the bulky copper tank next in line for delivery could possibly squeeze through the opening.

“That one’s going to be tight,” he said. “I’m told we have about an inch-and-a-half clearance.”

If the deposit of three truckloads of brewery tanks created a bit of drama in Laguna Beach on Tuesday, Fein said they will also be part of the show when the new business opens on Dec. 5. Customers can watch as barley and hops are turned into lager and ale.

“You’ll get to see part of the brewery from the minute you walk into the place,” said Fein, who is restoring the historic building where the small brewery will operate at 422 S. Coast Highway. “All the tanks are part of the show.”

The collection of vats--including the tall stainless steel fermenting tanks and two copper “brew houses” rolled into town Tuesday on three 18-wheel trucks that had carted them from Victoria, British Columbia. The journey took four days, Fein said.

The showy serving vats with fine mirrored finishes should arrive next week.

The equipment--including tanks, plumbing and copper lines to carry the beer--cost about $250,000, Fein said.”