Eat Out. Belmont Brewing Company [Thirsty Thursdays!].

This is one of the more gourmet pubs Long Beach has to offer. The Belmont Brewing Company is an excellent place to sit and have a drink, with a variety of brews crafted on site. Their strawberry blonde is excellent, but they have quite a few other blends that are spot on. Food here is exceptional, with typical dips, pizzas, and appetizers at very reasonable prices during their happy hour Mondays through Fridays 4:30-6:30 p.m. Pizzas cost $7 each.

BBC also offers a growler, where for a one-time $14 investment you can take home what you're drinking in 64 oz. glass jug so you can have craftsman brewed beer at home. Once you buy the jug, just bring it back and get it topped off for a nominal fee.
BBC also is hosting a Beer Dinner on their seaside patio Monday, July 26, featuring delicious-sounding foods and a variety of beers. Beer Dinners are held at BBC through October and cost $49 per person.

The Belmont Brewing Company is located at 25 39th Place in Long Beach.

-- Lauren Williams

Eat In. Buffalo Bill's Orange Blossom Cream Ale.

This is an amazing find by Ms. Leslie Anne Wiggins: Orange Blossom beer. While she wasn't keen on it because of it's strong orange flavor, I loved it even though I quite often I go for more yeasty, wheaty beers.

Buffalo Bill's Orange Blossom Cream Ale has a surprising and refreshing taste, and the "creamy" texture was very unique without being gross. The cute vintage box is a plus, although not exactly a deal breaker.

Buffalo Bill's who bottles this excellent brew has other amazing craftsman seasonals, including their pumpkin ale coming out in the fall, which is probably my favorite of their collection.

It is a bit hard to locate Buffalo Bill's Orange Blossom Cream Ale, although Ralph's and BevMo! will usually have it. One six pack costs about $8 at BevMo!

-- Lauren Williams

Eat In. Summer brews [Thirsty Thursdays!].

If there's ever a time for a refreshing beer, it's summer, and what better way to celebrate than with a seasonal ale from our favorite craft beer breweries. Often only available for the few summer months, and boasting light, invigorating flavors, summer brews are definitely a fun way to spice up your drinking routine. And they usually have some clever names, too--how summer-like. Here's a short list of some of my favorite summer beers:

- Blue Moon's Honey Moon Summer Ale: definitely a player in the cute name game. But so appropriate too--the ale has clover honey that sweetens up the Moon's signature citrus taste (there's some orange peel in this one). Available May through August.

- Sierra Nevada's Summerfest: this one's a lager, and has some extra hop bite to it. They use floral in the description, which I thought was funny at first, but there's really no other way to describe it.

- Samuel Adams Summer Ale: this ale definitely has some tanginess to it, with a strong aroma of lemon. Apparently they use something called "Grains of Paradise," or the Melegueta pepper, which is probably what gives it some bite. Available April through August.

- Pyramid's Audacious Apricot Ale: so this one isn't technically a summer ale because it's available year-round (and apparently there is an actual Pyramid summer brew, but I've never tried it), but the sweetness of this beer makes it a perfect hot-weather treat. Plus, 'Audacious'--come on!

Happy summer drinking! And if you know of any other summer brews worth trying, comment below--we'd love to hear from you!

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: Samuel Adams