It was exactly one year ago today that the owners of 11-year-old Rip Current Brewing announced that their San Marcos brewery and North Park tasting room were for sale. It was a long 365 days that saw a number of suitors approach co-founder Paul Sangster and the rest of the business’ ownership team, but coming to any sort of agreement proved elusive…until now. Earlier today, a deal was finalized for Craft Coast Beer & Tacos to take over Rip Current’s 6,700-square-foot North County brewery and tasting room in order to convert it into a base of operations suiting the Oceanside company’s immediate and long-term goals.
“We are maxed out on space and capacity in Oceanside, and this facility checks the boxes of what we’re looking for in a production headquarters: close proximity to the freeway for ease of transportation of products between our locations, a large footprint with offices, warehouse space and room to build a prep kitchen for our growing catering business, and plenty of capacity to brew and package more beer,” says Craft Coast co-founder Blake Masoner.
Craft Coast debuted in August 2020 at the base of the Pierside South Apartment building on Mission Avenue. A veteran of local brewpub chain Pizza Port, Masoner impressed local beer fans from the jump with an intelligent mix of Mexican-style lagers, West Coast and hazy IPAs speaking to today’s beer-drinkers, marrying those creations with San Diego-style taco-shop fare – tacos, nachos, mulitas – produced on-site in an unpretentious indoor-outdoor brewpub. Its popularity has continued to grow thanks in part to the onrush of locals and tourists drawn by downtown Oceanside’s recent and rapid redevelopment.
We have been extremely fortunate to grow our business and we’ve been very careful to not over-extend and expand too soon. Our keys to success have been our dedication to making the highest quality beer and tacos possible and our great staff. None of this would be possible without our passionate and skilled team.”
Blake Masoner, Co-founder, Craft Coast Beer & Tacos
Despite the desire not to expand too soon, Masoner has been actively searching for sites to house additional Craft Coast locations for years. The acquisition of a production brewery where he and his team can manufacture enough beer to supply future venues – as well as distribution to bars, restaurants and other retail venues – is a critical step to the company’s growth plans.
“Our goal is to move as much beer across our own bars as possible, however, the brewery in San Marcos is equipped with a canning line, warehouse space and a large cold room, so our plan is to use the extra capacity to distribute a few of our beers,” says Masoner. “With only the small brewpub in Oceanside, we wouldn’t be able to meet production demand.”
Along with Rip Current’s facility, Craft Coast will acquire a 15-barrel steam-heated brewery from local manufacturer Premier Stainless, the same company responsible for the 10-barrel brewhouse the company has in Oceanside. That continuity should bring welcomed ease and consistency when any equipment repairs or servicing is required.
Despite financial challenges in recent years, Rip Current has built a rather storied reputation over its decade-plus. In 2015, the company was named Very Small Brewery of the Year at the country’s most prestigious brewing competition, the Great American Beer Festival. Rip Current brought home numerous medals from that event as well as its international counterpart, the World Beer Cup, the San Diego International Beer Competition and the California Craft Brewers Cup, where it garnered best-of-show honors in 2019. Sangster counts the medals, certificates, ribbons and trophies populating Rip Current’s award cases as highlights from his time at the brewery’s helm, but something even more special comes in ahead of those accolades.
If I have to pick something special from over the years, I’d have to start with spreading the love of craft beer by talking with our patrons about our wide variety of beers and getting them to try something outside of their comfort zone. Many times, this led to making a new friend, regular or at least someone who more broadly appreciates craft-beer styles. It’s hard to sum up how incredible it has been to meet so many of our customers over the years, and what that has meant to all of us. We were particularly moved by fans who came out to our anniversaries and big San Diego Beer Week events. Saying good-bye is going to be very difficult for all of us.”
Paul Sangster, Co-founder, Rip Current Brewing
Rip Current will remain open until its final day of operation on Friday, December 15. Sangster will be behind the bar from open until 7 p.m. on Rip Current’s last day to thank the company’s loyal customers. And while there is no exact date, Sangster says Rip Current’s North Park satellite will also be closing later this month, contingent on a deal with a business that is looking to take over the space.
After moving in, Craft Coast will get to work brewing and reopening the tasting room. When the latter occurs, the same tacos that are available in Oceanside will be offered in San Marcos, but the service component will look a little different.
“We will utilize our taco cart to serve food on-site on our patio and give the element of a street-taco vendor,” says Masoner. “The food will be made fresh right in front of you daily.”
And once Craft Coast’s catering kitchen is built out, the business may start packaging its chips and salsa to be sold off-site. But first, the beer and before that, a fond week or so of farewells for a brewery that certainly made its mark on the San Diego beer scene.
Rip Current Brewing’s headquarters is located at 1325 Grand Avenue, Suite 100, in San Marcos and its satellite tasting room is located at 4101 30th Street in North Park