BREWS IN THE NEWS Mayhem


westcoastersd.com’s Top May Headlines Open for business:


May saw the opening of two breweries, one bottleshop, and two restaurants. On-The- Tracks Brewery opened the doors at its 5674 El Camino Real, Suite G location in Carlsbad on May 21st; for more information, visit their website ottbrew.com. Butcher’s Brewing was launched at The Ritual Tavern on May 28th; more information can be found @ butchersbrewing.com. According to their website, Butcher’s beer is brewed in Irvine, CA by Bayhawk Ales. New bottleshop Bottlecraft conducted a soft-opening at their 2161 India St location in Little Italy. They will be open sporadically until their June 18th Grand Opening. Restaurant/gastropub The Knotty Barrel opened May 18th at their 844 Market Street location in Down- town San Diego. Also, from the owners of beachside brewpub Pacific Beach Ale House comes Union Kitchen & Tap in Encinitas, which opened recently at 1108 South Coast Highway 101.


Firehouse Fire Sale


The Firehouse Brewing Company filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on March 27th. Their assets were sold at a public auc- tion on May 24th. The brewhouse, bottling line, company brand, and various brewery paraphanelia (i.e. jockey boxes, hoses) sold


for around $400,000 total according to Jeff Bloom of Fisher Auction Company, who handled the auction. Matt Spencer, who is the co-owner of Firehouse American Eatery & Lounge in Pacific Beach, purchased “copy rights, logos, brand, web sites, etc & a lot of six packs (not equipment)” according to his Twitter account. Yet-to-open Societe Brewing Co. bought the fleet of kegs, according to their Facebook. The other buyers at time of print are unknown.


Stone to Aggressively Expand San Diegan Presence


Last month, Stone Brewing Co. hosted a media unveiling and made many announce- ments (nothing on the European front). Here’s the skinny: 1. Stone Liberty Station will be a 20,000 sq. ft., 400-seat brewery/restaurant complete with bocce courts and an outdoor movie area. The new brewery/restaurant will have a 10-barrel brewing system, provide 130 new jobs, and is expected to open in late spring 2012. 40 taps, emphasizing local brands, will complement a ~100 ct. bottle list. 2. Stone South Park, located at 2215 30th Street, will open in late June for growler fills, limited tastings and merchandise. Beers from the Liberty Station location will be available also.


3. Stone Farms is located off Protea Gardens Road in Escondido and is 18 acres in size. The farms will produce produce for the two Stone Bistro locations, but in limited quanti- ties. Greg Koch describes the farms as an experiment. Stone plans to use the farms as an event space, also. 4. Planned Citracado Expansions are numer- ous. Directly adjacent to the south of the current location: a 55,000 sq. ft.production facility. Packaging, bright beer storage, filtra- tion and separation will all move; a second brew line (not a full brewhouse, but a second lauter tun and kettle) to be added. Capacity will increase to 400k-500k barrels a year. Across the street to the east, new buildings housing five components: 1. new offices, 2. Stone Catering, 3. more barrel-aging and a new sour program, 4. event space (which will be incorporated with the barrel room), 5. Stone Hotel, with 40-50 rooms. All this before summer 2013.


Birthdays & Commemorations At The Lost Abbey / Port Brewing’s Fifth Anniversary Party on 5/14/11, we snagged Director of Brewery Operations Tomme Ar- thur for a few questions. WC: One high point over the past half decade? TA: “The people. We’ve met so many different people, and there are so many new people here. It’s sur-


prising to see so many new faces here today.” Expect more of the same on the horizon, as Tomme reports the 2007 GABF Small Brew- ery of the Year plans to increase distribution by one new territory per year. Read the rest of the interview online.


Cheers to Pizza Port OB, who turned 1 in May. To commemorate the occasion, the ever- popular Cho Saiko and Bacon & Eggs were back on draft, along with an anniversary beer brewed by Yiga Miyashiro.


Up in North Park, Toronado turned 3. The famous 30th Street beer bar celebrated by throwing on tons of awesome beers all week, starting with a fantastic Port / The Lost Abbey lineup on the 24th.


In 2010, May 18th was officially declared Ballast Point Day in San Diego. One year later, the brewery celebrated in style by tak- ing over all 20 taps at The High Dive in Bay Park. Let’s just say barrel-aged Victory at Sea


on nitro didn’t last long.


Local beer community builders TapHunter. com celebrated their 2nd on May 20th at URBN North Park.


See more news online! westcoastersd.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17