Nothing’s been dry where San Diego’s beer scene is concerned this January. Despite it being the least busy time for imbibers, much is happening with local ale-and-lager producers, as evidenced by our latest roundup of news items, which includes info on two venue closures (It’s common for owners of struggling brewing companies to make the decision to terminate their businesses come the start of the year, given that January and February are the slowest months of the year for alcohol producers, sales-wise) as well as a long-awaited public debut. Read on!
In 2018, Creative Creature Brewing opened in the small brewery built into URBN Coal-Fired Pizza’s El Cajon location, which had previously housed the local pie chain’s short-lived in-house beermaking operation, URBN St. Brewery. Despite working out of a small space coming in at just over 900 square feet, Creative Creature earned a cult following by producing trendy, outlandish beer styles made all the more alluring by fun names and branding mirroring nostalgic brands, such as Smucker’s and Hi-C, as well as video-game, movie and TV franchises. In 2022, owner Derek Carnation took over the southwest San Marcos brewery previously operated by Stumblefoot Brewing as a means to expand the company’s production capabilities. Two years later, URBN terminated Creative Creature’s lease and all operations were moved to North County. Since then, business has waned. Carnation was able to partially make up for declining revenues by contract brewing for a handful of brands which did not have their own breweries, as well as brewing beers with individuals in the entertainment industry. In recent months, Creative Creature’s hours of operation were scaled back significantly, and now – without any formal notice to the public – the business is permanently closed.
Don’t file the sudden and equally silent shuttering of Asylum Brewing‘s North Park taproom (pictured above) as a local brewery closing. The eight-year-old, Anaheim-based company is one of numerous Orange County operations that have flooded into San Diego County over the past three years…and the oddest. Owner (and North Park resident, the plot weirdens) Tommy Sebestyen‘s decision last summer to open an out-of-town satellite while simultaneously running a crowdfunding campaign to help refinance his company’s debt was made all the riskier by his selection of a site where two other breweries – Rouleur Brewing and Black Plague Brewing – had recently failed. The chances that a barely known brand could fare better than a pair of established local brewing companies with sizable fanbases were infinitesimally low, but like the owners of the aforementioned (now defunct) businesses, Sebestyen was lured in by what he assumed would be steady overflow patronage from The Observatory, a popular live entertainment venue located next door to the taproom. But those flood gates remained closed, and now, so, too, is Asylum’s satellite. Will a fourth brewery take a chance on a spot most members of the brewing and hospitality communities considered “cursed”? Stay tuned.
Ending out on a positive note, Harland Brewing will finally be able to open its first full-service bar and restaurant in the inland North County community of 4S Ranch at 4 p.m. today. Located within Del Sur Town Center, the venue had been ready to go and awaiting one final sign-off from the local office of the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (more commonly referred to as the “ABC”) since the second week of January. With that hurdle officially cleared, the 3,400-square-foot, family-friendly, indoor-outdoor venue will be open daily, serving an eclectic mix of entrées, handhelds, salads, appetizers and desserts from Director of Culinary Operations Scott Cannon, plus plenty of beers and other beverages from the Scripps Ranch-based business and other guest producers. The restaurant’s hours of operation will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays, 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays, and 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays.