Local beer news is developing at a rapid clip, evidence of which is provided in our latest edition of Beer Briefs. Today’s beer blotter includes news from coastal and inland North County as well as an eastern municipality, covering branding, personnel and news of a would-be entrant into the brewing community who was unable to close on the property where he hoped to install a pet-centric beer-and-coffee business. Read on.
Big things were anticipated for Heritage Barbecue & Beer Co. when it opened in south Oceanside in early 2023. An extension of Michelin-recognized San Juan Capistrano business, Heritage Craft Barbecue, it was sited in the more than 7,000-square-foot, brewery and speakeasy-equipped building that had previously housed Municipal Taco (and Municipal Beer Co.) for three years, and Urge Gastropub & Whiskey Bank (and Mason Ale Works) for four years ahead of that. The space had always been challenging, but with famed culinary minds running the kitchen and award-winning Pizza Port ex-pat Mike Aubuchon heading beermaking operations, it seemed Heritage had worked up a winning formula. Two-and-a-half years later, the Heritage group and Aubuchon are both long gone, with the latter working with his wife on his own Oceanside enterprise, Koakai Brewing, and the former having turned the brewpub over to restaurateur Travis Lester at the start of 2024. The ownership transition was kept under wraps until recently when Lester and his associates announced they would be closing the business and bringing it back as a similar barbecue-centric brewpub called Hill Street Brewing. Sharing the original name of the Oceanside stretch of Coast Highway, the revamped concept will open Friday, October 3 at 2002 South Coast Highway.
It’s been 23 years since restaurateur Ivan Derezin took over San Marcos bar and restaurant Churchill’s Pub & Grille. Over that span, he and his team have worked tirelessly to build and maintain the venue’s reputation as one of the best craft-beer establishments in all of San Diego County. In 2014, Derezin opened a second business in the nearby Campus Point II development near CSU San Marcos called The Bellows. That upscale restaurant operated for 10 years under the direction of classically trained Executive Chef Schuyler Schultz, who Derezin formed a connection with over their shared love of beer and cuisine. In addition to his work in the kitchen, Schultz also authored the 2012 educational book, Beer, Food & Flavor: A Guide to Tasting, Pairing, and the Culture of Craft Beer. Now, that beer-and-food expert’s expansive skillsets are again benefiting one of Derezin’s operations, as he’s now helming the kitchen at Churchill’s. It’s early, but both the publican and toque are excited about advancing the storied public house’s culinary program.
In March, we shared that entrepreneur Cameron Valentine was taking over the longtime home of Bolt Brewery in La Mesa, with plans to install a business called Breeds & Brew. His concept to offer house-brewed beers and coffee for dog-owners in a largely outdoor, gated environment ideally suited for four-legged frolicking made sense. The fact he had zero beer industry or brewing experience, nor any intention of hiring a head brewer did not. Instead, he planned to lean on a pro brewer friend of the family to have that veteran show him the ropes so he could then do the job himself. Many were interested to see how that would pan out, but they won’t have a chance. Valentine’s deal with his landlords fell through and Bolt’s brewery equipment has since been hauled away from the site. It remains to be seen what will become of the tucked-away space, its central Quonset hut and the refurbished shipping containers populating its expansive lawn, but at this point they most likely will not be inherited by a beer-oriented business.