From expansions to relocations and ownership changes, San Diego County’s craft-brewing industry has been in a state of flux in 2024. Since the start of the year, 20 venues have opened, including those from newly established business enterprises, some from out-of-towners that have gained a local foothold and others from existing operations that have moved or expanded their operations. The following are details on all of those venues broken down by region.
North County
Mother Earth Brew Co. / The Lost Abbey: Last year, the ownership team behind world-renowned crafter of Belgian-inspired, barrel-aged, and hoppy ales, The Lost Abbey, opted to go their separate ways. The dissolution left the company’s managing partner in search of a new headquarters for the business, and he found it at Vista’s Mother Earth Brew Co., which had space on its production calendar and room to construct a shared tasting room. That dual-threat venue is now open and serving beers from both businesses in a room that’s split down the middle from an interior-design perspective, showing off oak aging vessels, and religious-themed bottle art from The Lost Abbey offset by Mother Earth’s peace, love and high times motif. 2055 Thibodo Road, Vista
Pizza Port Brewing: After divesting in The Lost Abbey, the brother-sister owners of beloved local brewpub chain, Pizza Port, took over that business’s San Marcos production facility (which is also the historic birthplace of Stone Brewing). The first thing they did was reconfigure the space to meet their need for increased production capacity. Once that was complete, they constructed a tasting room in the complex’s southeast corner, furnished with the company’s trademark picnic tables and array of distinctly West Coast IPAs. It’s the second of two Pizza Port venues to open this year, following the installation of a four-tap pie-and-pints pick-up window at Mission Beach’s Belmont Park. 155 Mata Way, San Marcos
Craft Coast Beer & Tacos: In 2020, a veteran Pizza Port brewer emulated his ex-employer’s business model, switching out pizza for SoCal taco-shop fare and adding Mexican-style lagers. It’s been a success from day one and prompted a search of locations to house future iterations of the Craft Coast Beer & Tacos model as well as a production brewery at which to brew enough beer to supply future venues and supply beer for retail distribution.The latter was found when San Marcos’ Rip Current Brewing shuttered last year. The space has since been redone, adding Craft Coast’s Baja-inspired design, roll-up doors, and a patio with truck serving up tacos, mulitas, and nachos. And now the team is at work on their next location at a former Filiberto’s Mexican Food in Encinitas. 1325 Grand Ave., Ste 100, San Marcos
Green Cheek Beer Co. – Oceanside: Last year’s sad news that 10-year-old family-run Bagby Beer Co. would be closing its doors was offset by beerophile glee when popular Orange County brewing concern, Green Cheek Beer Co., announced it would not only be taking over the sprawling two-story property, but keeping on former owner and brewmaster Jeff Bagby, who just so happens to be the most award-winning brewer in the country. Together they are pumping out multiple new releases per week, leading with hoppy beers but touching on lesser-seen styles from around the world and some of the most interesting hard seltzers around. 601 S Coast Hwy, Oceanside
Fox Point Brewing: Encinitas welcomed its first beer-making facility in more than 30 years care of the organic brewery at the heart of the city’s new Fox Point Farms development east of Interstate 5 off Leucadia Boulevard. Helmed by a local with 20 years of industry experience, Fox Point Brewing has zero plans for world dominance. Rather, it is designed to stay small, with its beers available exclusively at the community’s bar-equipped market and a restaurant located directly above it. Eventually, beers will be brewed using ingredients harvested off the property’s three acres of farmland. 1150 Quail Gardens Dr, Encinitas
Burgeon Beer Co. – The Grove: As the name suggests, Carlsbad’s Burgeon Beer Co. remains in a state of consistent growth, having opened its latest “branch” in Vista’s Paseo Artist Village. That indoor-outdoor taproom’s modern aesthetic helps subtly convey the company’s eco-conscious ethos while providing a stylish spot for fans to enjoy its line of clear and hazy IPAs, and lagers, as well as occasional stouts and English-style beers. 501 S Santa Fe Ave, Vista
Prey Brewing: When the brewer and hospitality-industry vet behind San Marcos’ Stave & Nail Brewing decided he wanted to reimagine his business to include a prominent culinary element, he shut it down and spent two years increasing his brewery’s production capacity while building a restaurant in downtown Vista. That casual-upscale eatery has been a hit, not just for its ales and lagers, but its next-level food and craft cocktail program. 110 Main St, Vista
Tarantula Hill Brewing at Draft Republic: A Thousand-Oaks-based beer company helmed by Stone Brewing expats, Tarantula Hill Brewing recently took over operations of the brewhouse at the Cohn Restaurant Group’s (CRG) Draft Republic restaurant in San Marcos’ North City development. In addition to brewing house beers to be served across CRG’s family of eateries, Tarantula Hill also produces their own mainstay and specialty creations there. 255 Redel Road, San Marcos
Tipping Pint Brewing at Vinaka Cafe: Two years after open Tipping Pint Brewing at Carruth Cellars’s Hangar 76 co-op, its brewer-proprietor has gone on to bring his IPAs, stouts, and lagers to his original business, Carlsbad’s second-story java house, Vinaka Cafe, in Carlsbad’s Village Area. Beer and a shot…of espresso? 300 Carlsbad Village Drive, #211, Carlsbad
Downtown and South Bay
Protector Brewery Hide Site —BRIC: For the past seven years, San Diego’s lone certified organic beer concern, Protector Brewery, has flown under the radar from Miramar’s Miralani Makers’ District, but lack of visibility is no longer an issue following the debut of the company’s first satellite venue downtown. Located steps from Broadway Pier at the base of the InterContinental hotel as part of the BRIC hospitality concept, Protector’s tasting room gives way to a shaded patio. Its taps dispense the company’s all-organic beers while a kitchen will soon serve up gourmet pizzas, apps, and salads, all of which utilize USDA-certified organic ingredients. 901 Bayfront Ct, Ste 102
Eppig Brewing — Bierhaus at the Park: Considered by brewers and beer fans alike to be one of the finest producers of lager in San Diego County, Vista-based Eppig Brewing has taken over the J Street taproom formerly occupied by Stone Brewing. This puts them (and sister business, Mason Ale Works, beers from which are also available at the “Bierhaus”) at the center of baseball-season action, steps away from Petco Park’s Downtown Gate with a clear view of the recently remodeled Gallagher Square. 795 J St., East Village
Brewjería Company: A four-year-old operation out of Pico Rivera recently made itself at home at downtown Chula Vista restaurant, El Cruce +241. In doing so, it put its constantly rotating family of exotic, L.A.-brewed beers — a hibiscus pale ale, Belgian-style tripel with Muscat grapes, and Berliner weisse with strawberry, pineapple, and dragon fruit — on tap as it works to make the Third Avenue space all its own. 241 Third Ave., Chula Vista
Bolt Brewery — Diego’s Baja Grill: The married owners of La Mesa-based Bolt Brewery were such fond frequenters of Old Town’s bars and restaurants that when longtime resident resto, Hungry’s Kitchen & Tap, closed, they decided to take the space over, converting it into a Mexican restaurant with a bar serving the company’s beers. 2547 San Diego Ave., Old Town
Middle Ground and East County
North Park Beer Co. Pizza Shop: After successfully assuming management of culinary operations at their Bankers Hill kitchen and taproom, the owners of North Park Beer Co. (NPBC) doubled down, opening a second satellite where food is as much a focus as the beer. This time it’s a pizza shop in Pacific Beach’s Crown Point neighborhood putting out piping-hot New-York-style slices. As with the company’s award-winning IPAs and lagers, quality ingredients are key — Grande mozzarella, Bianco di Napoli tomatoes, Ezzo pepperoni — as are technique and equipment like the cutting-edge, top-of-the-line dough mixer and stone deck conveyor oven that grace the kitchen. Aesthetically, NPBC is leaning into the cast of hoppy cartoon characters that adorn its colorful cans. 3805 Ingraham St., Crown Point
Home Brew Mart: Opened in 1992, Home Brew Mart started out — as one would expect — as a shop selling homebrewing supplies. Four years later, its owner installed a brewhouse in the back room and began producing beers under the Ballast Point Brewing moniker. From those humble beginnings grew a company that would famously sell for $1 billion in 2015, only to have its buyer, beverage conglomerate Constellation Brands, unload the failing business to Chicago’s Kings & Convicts Brewing four years later. Lost in this shuffle was this historic venue, which employed and served homebrewers who would go on to open and lead some of San Diego’s most notable brewing companies. Last month, Kings & Convicts sold Home Brew Mart to one of its longtime managers, who is determined to give the business the love it deserves and get it back to what it once was, much to the elation of local beer fans and members of the brewing industry. 5401 Linda Vista Road, Morena
Latchkey Brewing: In 2021, seeking greater production capacity for their growing brand, the owners of Latchkey Brewing decided not to renew their lease at their original location at historic Mission Brewery Plaza. Finding a new base of operations proved difficult, but after two years of searching they were able to take over the former home of defunct Bitter Brothers Brewing in Bay Ho. They have since revived Latchkey from that space, which will soon sport a kitchen that will be operated by a chef partner that has yet to be announced. Even without food, fans are happy to see the return of the 7-year-old operation and its diverse line-up, which includes IPAs, lagers, and an above-average variety of dark beers. 4170 Morena Blvd., Ste F, Bay Ho
Gravity Heights — Mission Valley: This spring, the restaurateur behind Prepkitchen, Whisknladle, and Catania, debuted the long-awaited second iteration of his successful craft-beer concept, Gravity Heights, in the heart of Mission Valley. Located between the Mission Valley and Fashion Valley malls, the contemporary bar and restaurant serves a contemporary menu blending Californian, Mediterranean, and other worldly gastronomic influences, along with ales and lagers produced at its Sorrento Valley progenitor, all of which can be enjoyed in an expansive open-air beer garden. 525 Camino de la Reina, Mission Valley
Novo Brazil Brewing — Mission Valley: After strategically siting a number of venues around the South Bay in a bid to service the region and its residents, Novo Brazil Brewing opted to expand its footprint with its most recent venue, an 11,500-square-foot sports bar in the Mission Valley space that previously housed The Tilted Kilt. Outfitted with 64 taps serving the company’s beers, hard kombuchas, and ready-to-drink cocktails, it is furnished with televisions galore for watching local sports teams, including the San Diego Wave soccer team, with which Novo Brazil has an official partnership. 1640 Camino del Rio N, Ste 341, Mission Valley
Sunny Grove Brewing: The husband-wife team behind Sunny Grove Brewing originally wanted to set up shop in brewery-less Lemon Grove (hence the company’s name) but encountered permitting issues when attempting to do so. When Santee’s Pacific Islander Beer Co. went out of business last year, they decided to pack up their concept of a communal haven where locals can come together over beers and transport it to Santee. A large outdoor patio helps facilitate conversations over beers, allowing for al fresco consumption of Sunny Grove’s German-, English-, Scottish-, and Irish-style ales, and, of course, IPAs. 8665 Argent St,. Ste B, Santee
Getting Around
Discover the vibrant craft beer scene in San Diego without worrying about driving by working with an experienced vendor to coordinate a comprehensive San Diego Brewery Tour. Suitable for locals and visitors alike, tours provide an exclusive look into the city’s finest breweries, with unique tastings and a deep dive into the art of brewing.
The original version of this article originally appeared in the Business section of the Friday, July 5, 2024 edition of The San Diego Union-Tribune