In May of 2021, Attitude Brewing owner and brewmaster Kurt Bach signed on to take over the largest of three lease-to-brew suites at CRAFT by Brewery Igniter in North Park. That El Cajon Boulevard facility served as a launchpad for the likes of Eppig Brewing, Pariah Brewing (which relocated to Baltimore, Maryland) and JuneShine Hard Kombucha. The latter graduated from the same space Bach moved into, which is equipped with a 10-barrel brewhouse and 140 barrels of cellar capacity, the same amount as Attitude’s original brewpub in Barrio Logan.
It was a sizable expansion for the then less-than-three-year-old company. Bach saw big growth on the horizon after signing on with distribution partner Classic Beverage of Southern California to introduce its beer into Los Angeles, but says there were hiccups that resulted in less product placement than he’d planned for.
“Our distributor was caught off-guard by the combination of a lack of truck drivers willing to work or moving on to other companies in a very competitive market. Essentially, they couldn’t deliver product,” says Bach. Classic Beverages’ LA portfolio, which no longer includes Attitude, has since been acquired by Scripps Ranch-based Scout Distribution. “The reason we leased the North Park brewery was to increase volume to fill their demand during the pandemic because we were maxed out at our Barrio Logan facility.”
Bach and his brewer Angel Contreras never ended up producing any beer at the Brewery Igniter suite. Instead, they operated it as a satellite tasting room. Without the anticipated demand that led the company to North Park, a public venue in a hip neighborhood became an unaffordable luxury.
Despite its infeasibility for Attitude, Bach says the Brewery Igniter suite will present plenty of opportunity for its next tenant, Jayson Pizarro. That entrepreneurial-minded beer enthusiast has wanted to get into the beer industry for years but has been waiting for the right time and place to justify taking the leap. Attitude’s Brewery Igniter space meets his criteria, so he will be subleasing the unit to bring his passion project, GOAL. Brewing, to life.
Attitude’s last day of operation in North Park was last Thursday. The suite is now under Pizarro’s control. He will go about redecorating while applying for governmental permits that will allow him to legally produce and serve beer.
“It’s a good fit for us while we line up a better distribution deal, and will allow us to focus on our other two locations,” says Bach, referring to the Barrio Logan flagship and a one-year-old tasting room on Third Avenue in downtown Chula Vista.
Attitude’s projected barrelage for 2022 is 1,600 barrels, with a production target of 2,200 barrels for 2023. Should the company find itself unable to meet production demands via its seven-and-a-half-barrel Barrio Logan brewhouse, Bach says he will most likely enter into a contract-brewing agreement with another brewery.
Increased demand for Attitude’s beers has partially been driven by big wins at high-profile brewing competitions. In 2021, its Blissed won a bronze medal at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in the category with the highest number of entrants (427), Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale. This year Attitude’s German-style pilsner, Pils Bitte, took bronze at GABF’s international sister-competition, the World Beer Cup.
“To receive awards of this significance only being in business a few years is inspiring. It reinforces and validates our cause and abilities. It doesn’t help wash kegs but looks nice on the walls,” says Bach. He and Contreras aim to introduce one or two new beers each month while experimenting with new ingredients. “We’re using new genetically modified yeast strains that boost thiols, a new hemp strain to complement hops and elevate complexity, and, of course, different hop combos to present new twists and flavors.”
Attitude’s culinary partner at its Barrio Logan homebase is a steakhouse concept called Rancho Sonora. Eventually, Attitude’s Chula Vista tasting room will have on-site food, as well, but it is still in the buildout phase. Bach hopes to have the kitchen completed and pumping out food by next spring.