A New Brew Lounge Experience: Steady Brewing
By John Grossi
Steady Brewing, which opened up on Clark Street in 2018, has steadily become a staple in East Long Beach. Among other virtues, they offer what may be the best beer for gift giving because that is how they got started!
The story goes like this. Aaron Henderson and Robert Booth were already business partners at Rock Steady Productions (RSP), a company that provides custom fabrication for experiential marketing. It was their tradition to put together creative alcohol holiday gifts as a thank-you for clients. Meantime Dennis, then an RSP employee (but now head brewer and third co-owner at Steady Brewing), was perfecting his craft beer-making techniques.
After Dennis whipped up a very successful “Grasshopper IPA,” the first beer Aaron and Robert gifted to clients, and still their best seller at Steady Brewing, the idea clicked. The three partners decided to brew their own beer not only to give away to clients, but to provide for the community!
The team at Steady Brewing loves creativity, but they love consistency even more. They experiment with new ingredients and processes until they perfect a beer and then stick with it.
Price points are a big consideration too. Steady’s lagers, pilsners, and seltzers represent some of the most affordable craft beers here in town – beers meant to compete with the big guys, except a lot tastier and locally made.
Steady Brewing’s mindset is to create what the neighborhood needs…not fit into the “mold” of what breweries are “supposed to be.”
The owners live in East Long Beach near the brewery location and feel they have a keen sense of the market.
“What separates us [from the competition] is that it’s really important we provide something that works well within our neighborhood. We didn’t come in with a preconceived notion of what a brewery or brewery lounge needs to be. We provide beers that fit well into the neighborhood,” says Aaron.
The Steady Brewing lounge might best showcase their neighborhood intuition and lack of conformity. You won’t find the classic industrial trend at Steady with exposed wood and metal. Instead, you’ll find a trendy but comfortable and well-furnished tasting room that seats a lot of people and can be rearranged for events.
The huge TV’s on each wall are viewable from every seat and perfect for big games. A shuffleboard table runs the length down the middle for friendly competition, with space enough for live bands and/or DJ’s when the time comes for that.
Their tasting room is truly a treat and an innovation in the neighborhood.
“All of our furniture is modular, so the room can be reconfigured—we plan to keep it interesting all the time.”
They have already moved into a bigger space twice since opening in 2018, making creativity and Steady growth part of the procedure.
Maybe most important to owners Aaron, Robert and Dennis is that the Steady brand is truly theirs. This being the second business venture for Aaron and Rob, and given their background in creating, designing, and building… they can proudly view the brewery they designed and own. No outside influence, just 100% theirs.
So come out some time to try your neighbors’ delicious beer and lounge a bit at Steady Brewing.
