It was 2015 when something rather rare—a uniquely different brewing company in a county awash with beer ops—set up shop in a Sorrento Valley business park. Dubbed California Wild Ales, it not only specialized exclusively in sours but was the only local craft-beer concern at the time operating without a brewing apparatus. Rather than brewing on-site, co-founders Zack Brager and Bill DeWitt opted to contract-brew their base beers and focus on fermentation and aging in oak barrels, as well as fruiting and blending.
Dubbed San Diego’s “Sour House”, California Wild Ales’ 2,200-square-foot headquarters was initially utilized as a barrel warehouse with space set aside for resting beer on hand-processed fruits. In 2018, California Wild Ales debuted a tasting room at its facility, and opened a satellite tasting room in Ocean Beach in 2021, taking over a Newport Avenue space previously operated by non-alcoholic and cannabis beer interest, Two Roots Brewing (and defunct Helm’s Brewing prior to that). Both locations have proven reliable profit centers for the small business, which has gone on to diversify its lineup with a lager and pair of IPAs (West Coast and hazy) that are neither wild, sour or barrel-aged.
Brager and DeWitt have accomplished a great deal and made many memories in Sorrento Valley, but the time has come for them to move onward and, hopefully, upward. Late last year, the duo was informed the building housing their passion project had been sold. The new owner intends to demolish the structure in order to erect a new campus designed primarily for biotech companies. This set Brager and DeWitt on a search for a new home base that led them to a part of town they almost went with when scouring the county for their original location, the freeway-adjacent portion of Point Loma near Pechanga Arena.
We have always wanted to be in this area. When we were first starting out, even before we obtained the Sorrento Valley location, we looked at a few locations in Point Loma. We are located right down the street from both Modern Times Beer and Bay City Brewing, so we are hoping to make this little stretch of road a destination for beer-lovers to brewery hop.”
Bill DeWitt, Co-founder, California Wild Ales
California Wild Ales has taken over the Sherman Street space previously operated by Green Fix Green Juice. Located in a building shared with Five Star Fish Processing, it’s roughly the same square-footage as the Sorrento Valley facility, but unlike its predecessor, this space is equipped with a walk-in cooler, floor drains and an on-premise bathroom. It will also have all-new aging receptacles.
“We purchased all new foeders and barrels for the new project and have spent the past six months packaging every ounce of beer in Sorrento Valley,” says Brager, “Sour beer is way too risky to move in the barrel.”
Next up will be constructing a new tasting room. Like California Wild Ales’ other two locations, Point Loma will be built using reclaimed wood and mirrors sourced from the neighborhood Brager and DeWitt are ecstatic to be part of for numerous reasons.
“Point Loma is an ideal location because it is right off Interstates 8 and 5, so it is easy to access,” says DeWitt. “If all goes well with the new Midway Rising project, we will be in an ideal location to capture people going to sports events and concerts.”
The developer-led Midway Rising project envisions a new 16,500-seat arena with a 200-room hotel, shopping, hospitality venues, urban park and more than 4,250 homes (including 2,000 affordable-housing units) at the 48.5-acre Pechanga Arena site.
California Wild Ales expects to be fully operational at its Point Loma location by spring’s end. They plan to hold an industry soft-opening event to get their processes ironed out and allow their hospitality staff to gain their footing. Once that’s accomplished, the new tasting room will open to the general public.
California Wild Ales’ new brewery is located at 3826 Sherman Street in Point Loma