In the world of craft beer, Brian Mercer is a gypsy. With no home to produce his Belgian-style beers, he’s spent the past four years cranking out dark amber ales at a handful of breweries up and down California.

In the beginning, the work was brutal for the roaming Palos Verdes brewmaster.

“We’d brew all night long and drive kegs all day,” Mercer said.

Later this year, Mercer’s nomadic brewing days will come to an end. His Brouwerij West label, now distributed in 30 states, is building a permanent brewery at the Port of Los Angeles.

Under construction in a 1940s warehouse, the 43,000-square-foot venue will feature a brewery, a 200-seat restaurant, a beer garden, a bottle shop, a coffee bar and tours.

Mercer, 40, is billing Brouwerij (pronounced “brewery”) as a one-stop craft beer and culinary experience.

“We’re intent on creating a world-class brewery,” said Mercer, who spent his childhood in Mission Viejo and San Pedro.

Brouwerij, slated to open in late 2014, is part of a surge in experimental and destination breweries opening north of San Diego, the epicenter of California’s exploding craft beer movement.

From Torrance to Anaheim, clusters of small-batch breweries are setting up shop in far-flung industrial areas as demand for craft beer outpaces overall U.S. beer sales.

“You’re seeing all kinds of establishments trying to get in on the craft-beer action,” said Ting Su, who co-founded Eagle Rock Brewery in Los Angeles in 2009. “It’s been an amazing period of growth.”

Since the revival kick-started five years ago, the number of breweries stretching from Agoura Hills to Rancho Santa Margarita has more than doubled to 55 – far less than San Diego’s burgeoning 81.

“L.A. has room to grow,” said Bart Watson, a spokesman for the Brewers Association in Colorado. “Breweries are opening everywhere, and there’s no sign of slowing even in the hot spots.”

At least a dozen more breweries are in the works, including Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

The pioneer craft-beer giant from central California is taking advantage of the thriving Los Angeles beer culture with an experimental brewery and tap room planned in Venice.

The project, nicknamed the Propagator, will specialize in limited-edition brews in addition to serving Firestone’s core beers.

“We hope it will become a destination,” said Firestone co-founder David Walker. “Rare, fresh beer, new ideas, great friends and beer culture is always worth a visit.”

A PUBLIC THIRSTY FOR OPTIONS

Today’s artisan brewmasters are considered modern-day pioneers with fortunate timing.

In the late 1990s, mediocre brewpubs were disappearing, giving way to hipster gastropubs and gourmet burger houses. These chef-driven restaurant concepts were thirsty for craft-brew options beyond the Bay Area, San Diego and Oregon.

Rich Marcello’s Strand Brewing Co. began producing premium handcrafted ales in a small warehouse in Torrance in September 2009. Two months later and 30 miles away, Eagle Rock introduced its approachable mild ales to Los Angeles.

Around the same time in north Orange County, 1-year-old breweries Bootlegger’s and The Bruery were emerging as cutting-edge darlings in an underserved craft-beer community.

Marcello recalls the scarcity of hyperlocal options.

When he initially started hawking his premium ales, most restaurants were pouring beers made 100 to 200 miles away, he said.

“It wasn’t that they didn’t want to have beers from closer to home. They just didn’t have any real choices,” Marcello said.

Now a variety of handcrafted local beers can be found in taps across Southern California. Many labels take inspiration from the region’s sophisticated food culture.

There’s the floral-infused, Belgian-style elixirs at Monkish. The zesty sours at Hoparazzi Brewing Co. The well-balanced and wacky-named brews at Smog City.

The barrel-aged beauties at The Bruery and the under-the-radar beers at The Craftsman. Need a hoppy beer? Try Noble Ale Works or El Segundo Brewing.

“Each brewery has its own thumbprint,” Marcello said.

Mark Schultz, who samples suds all day as “beermonger” for Slater’s 50/50, said there’s no shortage of great local beer at his seven burger restaurants. And five of those eateries have more than 100 taps.

“Some are making good beer right off the bat,” Schultz said. “We have the luxury of picking from the cream of the crop.”

At a recent beer festival sponsored by Slater’s in Lake Forest, longtime craft-beer fan Mike Vanderwerd said he’s in awe of innovative beers being made close to home.

One of the Irvine resident’s favorite flavors of the day came from Monkish in Torrance: a Belgian-style tripel infused with hibiscus.

“I love what’s going on with the local scene,” said Vanderwerd, 42. “The startup breweries here are almost like artists.”

CRAFT-BEER CRAZE HITS CALIFORNIA

Craft beer has been a lone bright spot in the U.S. beer market, where sales have been down or flat in recent years. In 2013, overall beer sales edged up, but production dipped 1.9 percent, according to the Brewers Association.

Craft beer, however, is soaring. In 2013, volume increased 18 percent and sales jumped 20 percent to $14.3 billion.

“Overall the beer industry is declining, but craft beer is absolutely booming,” said Tom McCormick, executive director of the California Craft Brewers Association.

Demand for craft beer is triggering rapid brewery growth in California. At the end of February, the craft-beer association reported 430 breweries in the state, up from 418 at the end of 2013 and 313 in 2012.

For years, San Diego has led the boom with gold-standard players like Stone Brewing, Karl Strauss, Ballast Point and Port Brewing. Startup breweries in Los Angeles say they’re encouraged by the demand in San Diego, whose 81 breweries (and 30 in the works) serve 3 million people and generate sales of $781.5 million.

Los Angeles County’s population, by comparison, is 10 million.

Mercer, founder of Brouwerij West, likes the math.

Brouwerij West, he said, is poised to be among the top five largest craft breweries in the city, in terms of size and production. At capacity, it will produce up to 6,000 barrels a year, or six times its current output.

Because Los Angeles foodies are demanding, Mercer is raising the bar with the Port of Los Angeles revival project. He’s building the brewery and restaurant inside a historic Navy warehouse with a well-preserved wood trussed ceiling.

Giant glass windows will act as walls to separate the 15,000-square-foot brewery from the food and retail areas, allowing visitors to watch beer production and bottling.

A 40-foot-long shipping container will house an exhibition kitchen headed by the chef at Waterloo & City in Culver City. Los Angeles cold-brew specialist Outpost will run the indoor café. A 17,000-square-foot courtyard will feature picnic tables, gardens and a stage for events.

“It’s like a wooden temple. We think it is going to be the most beautiful brewery you’ve ever seen,” Mercer said.

California is adding about five to 10 breweries a month.

WILL OVERSATURATION BECOME A FACTOR?

Some of the hot spots include clusters in Anaheim and Torrance. Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait, a craft-brew aficionado, has streamlined the permitting process to attract craft brewery startups.

“You see what that industry has done to places like Portland, San Diego and Denver,” Tait said. “It draws people to your city and brings business and commerce.”

Besides Brouwerij West and Firestone Walker, other newcomers include: a second location for Eagle Rock on Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock; Three Weavers in Inglewood; Phantom Carriage in Carson; Santa Monica Brew Works and MacLeod Ale Brewing Co. in Van Nuys; The Good Beer Co. in Santa Ana; and Barley Forge Brewing Co. in Costa Mesa.

Hoparazzi is opening its tasting room later this year in Anaheim, home to six breweries.

Jerry Kolbly, founder of Noble Ale Works in Anaheim, said the clustering effect is great for business. His 4-year-old brewery is a popular stop along a growing beer trail in Orange, Anaheim, Placentia and Fullerton.

“We have people from San Diego taking the train just to find our place,” Kolbly said. “We have a bright future.”

The beer onslaught, however, worries brewmaster Evan Weinberg, co-founder of Cismontane Brewing Co. in Rancho Santa Margarita.

“It’s starting to get a little bit crowded. I don’t think the market can handle all of us – and there’s more coming,” said Weinberg, whose brewery opened four years ago this month.

Kolbly said he’s not threatened as long as everyone is making quality craft beer.

“Our only competition is Budweiser – the big boys,” Kolbly said. “I think we have two to five more years of pretty rapid growth, and then there’ll be a slowdown. Brands that aren’t that strong will fade away.”

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Brouwerij West: A closer look

What: A 43,000-square-foot destination craft brewery with a beer garden, a 200-seat restaurant and a bottle shop. It will also have a coffee bar by Outpost – a Los Angeles maker of cold-brew coffee.

History: Brouwerij (prounounced “brewery”) West was founded in 2010 by Brian Mercer, a commercial photographer turned brewmaster. He brews his core Belgian-style beers at a brewery in San Jose. Brouwerij is Mercer’s first permanent brewery and part of a larger revitalization project at the Port of Los Angeles.

Size: 6,000 barrels a year.

When: Opening late 2014.

Where: 110 E. 22nd St., Warehouse No. 9, San Pedro.

More: Guide: L.A. and O.C. Craft breweries

Contact the writer: nluna@ocregister.com or @fastfoodmaven on Twitter