Smog City Brewing Co.

You might pass right by the Smog City taproom if you don't pay attention. From the outside, this small brewery looks just like all the other warehouses on Del Amo Boulevard: white, boxy, industrial. Pull into their parking lot, though, and you'll immediately spot beer-wielding Torrance folk spilling out of the door. The family-run brewery started making beer in 2011, and over the next two years built up enough of a presence in LA's craft beer scene to open their own brewery in 2013. Now their taproom is a place where locals can pick up growlers of Smog City staples (the Make Out Session Pale Ale and the Hoptonic IPA are serious crowd-pleasers) or put their stamp of approval on any variations being tried out in the tanks housed in the back. After scanning the blackboard for beers on tap, order a couple tastes or a pint at the counter, fill up a bag with some free popcorn, then find a spot at one of the handful of tables and get ready to shoot the shit with complete strangers.