Laguna Beach isn’t within San Diego County limits, but beer from its namesake brewing operation soon will be. Laguna Beach Beer Co. will be one of the tenants at an artisan manufacturing collective called Co-Lab Vista located just off State Route 78. That 11,500-square-foot will also be home to Oceanside’s Breakwater Brewing and Barrel and Stave, a second fermentation operation from the owner of San Marcos’ Wild Barrel Brewing. All three will share time on a 10-barrel brewhouse and have counter space in Co-Lab’s food-hall-style tasting room.
The Co-Lab location will be Laguna Beach Beer’s fourth and first south of Orange County. Founded in 2014 by Brent Reynard and Mike Lombardo, the company started out contract brewing until it was able to acquire the brewery formerly operated by Cismontane Brewing in Rancho Santa Margarita. The duo replaced the brewhouse with a 15-barrel system, expanded the facility’s tasting room and added an on-site kitchen. Since then, the company has expanded, opening a tasting room in Laguna Beach that has become its marquee location, and another satellite sampling space in Huntington Beach.
Reynard is no stranger to San Diego. His brother lives here and he regularly visits the area, but hammering down stakes goes far beyond being a frequent weekender. When asked what made the Co-Lab Vista project appealing enough to expand to an entirely new county, he replies:
I like the idea of having multiple breweries in one location. We can all work together on the marketing and the events, and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. As a consumer myself, I would love to have something like this near my house.”
Brent Reynard, Co-owner, Laguna Beach Beer Co.
Laguna Beach Beer’s primary focus at its new digs will be expanding its heretofore limited barrel-aging program. That sequestered oaken stock will be overseen and maintained by Chris Linn, an alum of Beachwood Brewing who made the jump to his current gig a year ago. Reynard says Linn’s versatility and ability to brew just about any style well are his key strengths. The company’s core line-up includes a blonde ale, red ale, hoppy pale ale and West Coast IPA. In addition to the latter, Linn regularly crafts one-off pale ales and all forms of IPAs, from hazy to red, single to triple.
“We like hops to say the least,” says Reynard. “However, Chris is a master of his craft. He has brewed Belgians, stouts, barley wines, wheat beers and some very clean lagers. We are fortunate to have him on our team.” As part of his expanded responsibilities, Linn also intends to brew beers that will be available exclusively at the Vista tasting room.
Back in Rancho Santa Margarita, Laguna Beach Beer’s production facility is equipped with seven 30-barrel fermenters and has two 60-barrel vessels on the way. Laguna Beach Beer produced about 1,500 barrels in 2020 but would have been on-target to hit 2,000 barrels were it not for COVID-19. Even with a solid sales figures and a healthy company, the pandemic complicated the
decision to expand to a new county.
“Honestly, it was a little scary when COVID-19 first hit, and it did keep me up at night a few times. However, outdoor seating has proven to be extremely popular and, since Vista will have a lot of outdoor seating, I am comfortable moving forward,” says Reynard. “I would just like to thank everyone who has supported our company and local craft breweries through these tough times. I want to thank our entire staff, who have been through this struggle with us and have kept a positive attitude throughout.”
The Co-Lab Vista project is still underway and its current timeline has Reynard hoping to debut Laguna Beach Beer there in the summer, but taking the pandemic into account, he says it’s more likely that will happen in the fall.
Laguna Beach Beer Co.’s tasting room at Co-Lab Vista will be located at 2129 Industrial Court in Vista