S E R V I N G T H E S A N D I E G O C R A F T B E E R C O M M U N I T Y


TABLE OF CONTENTS


Letter from the Editor


SD Brews in the News


2


The façade of the under-construction El Cajon Brewing Co. on the corner of N Magnolia & Main in El Cajon


3


Beer and Now 4 11 in ‘11 6 & 7 Into the Brew 8 Guest Tap


9


The Nameless Beermaid


Torrey Pines & Ballast Point Chili Dinner


Directory Mama Tierra 10


Vista’s Mother Earth Brew Co. Sends Good Libations By Ryan Lamb


10 11


ith their roots fi rmly planted a half mile off the North County beer highway that is the 78, family-owned Mother Earth Brew Co. opened its doors in early 2010. Boast- ing up to eight taps of “small-batch, hand-crafted beers that stimulate sensory conversation and a desire for the next sip,” MEBC has grown three times since May, now brewing on a 3.5-barrel system. One of Vista’s best tasting rooms also doubles as a terrifi c homebrew supply shop, carrying sixty hop varieties, sixty bulk grains and seventy yeast strains from industry leaders White Labs and Wyeast. Co-owner Daniel Love told us, “When we opened, twenty percent of sales came from the homebrew side. Now, it’s more than forty percent.” MEBC regularly donates their space to The North County Home- brewers Association, and the kickbacks don’t sound bad: “I’ve got a fridge full of beer that homebrewers want us to try. They want our feedback just like we wel- come theirs.”


W


A Friday afternoon at Vista’s Mother Earth Brew Co.


cho Bernardo’s Urge Gastropub in July, and a bottled Belgian strong to be sold at the Barrel Room right next door by the end of the year. On top of that, they will also begin bottling and selling beer on- site.


Sensory standouts like the Red Dog


Look to hear much more about Mother Earth Brew Co. in 2011. MEBC will be teaming up with award-winning homebrewer Paul Sangster for the Pro-Am Competition during the National Home- brewers Conference coming to San Diego in June. MEBC will be brewing a saison to mark the one-year anniversary of Ran-


Rye Pale Ale and the Auld Knucker IPA are a testament to the creativity abound- ing from the 70’s décor-adorned space. New ideas are always cropping up: “I love brewing brown ales to get all their nuances, from macadamia nuts to crème brûlée. To get it right takes passion…and a little Pink Floyd in the background.” Being a businessman-turned-brewer instead of the other way around, Daniel


Continued on Page 5


New Brew in East County El Cajon Brewing Company will look to improve


business district By Mike Shess


his brother, Stephan. The two men are behind El Cajon Brewing Company that’s


“


This is a dream that’s been in the works for awhile now,” says Da- vid Meadows while glancing to


currently under construction in down- town El Cajon. Stephan chimes in: “We would only see each other at weddings or funerals. After the funerals began to outnumber the weddings we looked at


one another and said, ‘Let’s do this.’” The two brothers come from very distinct backgrounds. From separate mothers, David’s mom hails from Sweden where he cut his teeth in the brewing industry by earning a degree in Brewhouse Technology at Västerbergsla- gens Utbildningscentrum (Västerberg- slagen Education Centre), the renowned Swedish answer to the UC Professional Davis Brewing Program. Along with fi ve other student-founders, David opened Sigtuna Brygghus as his fi nal project. The brewery is now a major player in the Swedish craft beer scene. The school is closely connected with Spendrups, a large family-owned Swedish brewery & beverage company. David worked for the company during the summers while in school. Upon returning stateside, he consulted on the opening of the Grand Canyon Brewing Company in Arizona. No stranger to the San Diego Craft Beer Community, David has made a name for himself at Premier Stainless Systems. Premier is known for their excellent brewery equipment, and their products are installed at Mother Earth, AleSmith, and Ballast Point (to name a few). The other brother, Stephan Mead- ows, is a restaurateur who opened the 11,000 sq. foot Sequoia Mining Com- pany in 1991. Taking his skills from the fi eld, Stephan began to scour San Diego looking for abandoned restaurant space. A hot tip led him to El Cajon. The city of Continued on Page 5


Local Focus Documentary


fi lmmaker shifts lens to San Diego Craft Beer


“From Beer Zeros to Beer Heroes” is the tagline of Suds County, USA, a feature-length documentary focused on the San Diego Craft Beer Community that is currently in post-production and scheduled to come out this summer. West Coaster got a teaser from Sheldon Kaplan, whose company Ibhayi Media is produc- ing the fi lm. “The rise of the local craft beer industry in San Diego over the past twenty-fi ve years is a story I really wanted to tell,” said Sheldon. “There were a number of chance happenings that occurred over the early years that if fi ction- alized, no one would believe it.” One of the fi lm’s focuses is the early relationship between homebrewers and pro-brewers, and Sheldon told us, “When I talk to younger brewers they’re sometimes surprised at the amount of history this community really has.” Suds visually follows that historical timeline up to the pres- ent day, giving a new perspective on the burgeoning industry we see today. Check back with West Coaster in the coming months for more details on the fi lm.

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