About Long Beach Jerky Co
Few jerky brands can say their recipe started life as a holiday gift. Long Beach Jerky Co traces its roots to Albert Naticchioni Sr., the Gramps on the label, and a family tradition of beef dehydration that the brand says goes back decades. What began as Gramps’ holiday stocking stuffer grew into something people kept asking for. The idea of turning it into a company came to founder Alex Naticchioni on a Southern California summer night, with what the brand cheerfully calls an intoxicated craving for something hearty. Alex and co-founder Richie were born in Lincoln, Nebraska, raised in Colorado’s craft beer scene and, per the brand, relocated to Long Beach nearly a decade ago. There they bonded over good beer and set out to make the food that belongs next to it. Working from those family jerky stylings, over many days and nights and a great deal of beer, the two shaped what they call the beer drinker’s jerky.
What makes Long Beach Jerky Co different
The whole pitch is beer. Every flavor, by the brand’s own description, exists to complement a cold brew, and each product page ends with a pairing: a pale ale and a strong Gouda for the original, beer and football for the buffalo wing, beer and a fire extinguisher for the spicy teriyaki. The recipes tie back to one person. Gramps’ Original is described as a recipe done the same way for generations and over 30 years in the making, and Cracked Black Pepper is that same base covered in black and white pepper. The company says it operates out of a 100% USDA approved facility, and it points to being named one of the top 10 craft jerky brands by JerkyGent. Where the jerky is made today, the site doesn’t say.
Long Beach Jerky Co flavors we carry
Everything here is beef, and it runs from mild to a flat-out ambush. If you want the starting point, Gramps’ Original is billed as mild but boldly flavored, and it anchors the original-style beef jerky we stock. If pepper is your thing, Cracked Black Pepper takes that recipe and loads it with black and white pepper; the brand describes a zest meant to jolt your senses and stay with you, with no chili heat called out, which puts it alongside our other peppered beef jerky picks. For heat, you have two routes. Buffalo Wing comes from co-founder Alex’s lifelong obsession with wings: a homemade buffalo wing sauce marinade, a tangy and zesty bite, and what the brand calls a rush of spicy flavor. Spicy Teriyaki starts sweet, rich and salty and then, in the brand’s words, lands a vicious heat, which earns it a place among our teriyaki beef jerky and spicy beef jerky collections.
If you want to compare it against the rest of the shelf, the full beef jerky range is the place to look. Everything currently in stock is in the grid above.
Who it's for
If you drink craft beer and want something to chew on alongside it, you are the brand’s stated audience, and it is hard to argue with the fit. Heat seekers should head for Spicy Teriyaki, pepper fans for Cracked Black Pepper, and anyone who wants mild should start with Gramps’ Original. The manufacturer’s site doesn’t publish ingredient lists or allergen statements for its flavors, so read the Contains line on the bag for whatever allergen you’re watching. The only texture clue the site offers is its promise that the jerky will strengthen your jaws.
JerkyBrands is an independent retailer; the Long Beach Jerky Co name and logo are trademarks of their owner.
