Even in the midst of a pandemic, while pivoting then pivoting then pivoting again, Timothy Parker has forged ahead with plans to expand his business, Chula Vista Brewery (CVB), by opening a brewpub in his namesake city’s Eastlake community. It will be installed at the 6,450-square-foot space that previously housed The Brewery at Eastlake, which shuttered in 2012. The space and most recently served as a private-event venue. The brewpub’s culinary component will be the charge of Oak & Anchor BBQ, while the ten-barrel brewhouse will be collectively presided over by a pair of head brewers, CVB veteran James Hodges and a recently hired, highly respected member of the San Diego brewing community: Ignacio “Nacho” Cervantes.
“As we grow, we want to have both brewing operations functioning at their peak. For us, that means having two skilled brewers working side-by-side,” says Parker, who anticipates starting work on the Eastlake project after the holidays. “We are humbled to have Nacho partner with us as we grow and are very much looking forward to this venture together.”
Cervantes is best known for his award-winning work with Pizza Port, where he worked from 2004 to 2018. He started as a busser and bartender at the company’s Carlsbad Village location before being brought onto a brewing team headed by Jeff Bagby, who now owns his own brewpub, Bagby Beer Co., and has earned more medals at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) than any brewer in history. Cervantes took his time over the next four years, learning as much as he could about every aspect of brewing. That study paid off when he was promoted to head brewer at Pizza Port Carlsbad. In his first year in that role, he earned a gold and bronze medal at GABF as well as a pair of medals at its international sister competition, the World Beer Cup.
Cervantes was later put in charge of brewing at Pizza Port’s Ocean Beach brewpub, where he amassed seven more GABF medals before moving to the company’s production brewery at Carlsbad’s Bressi Ranch development in 2016. Working as Head Production Brewer, he managed teams of as many as 15 brewers producing 36,000 barrels of beer per year. When Los Angeles-based Artisanal Brewers Collective took over the downtown San Diego brewpub that previously housed The San Diego Beer Co., Cervantes’ former Pizza Port colleague Noah Regnery tapped him to serve as head brewer at what became known as The Bell Marker. Despite producing more award-winning beers, that short-lived business closed the following year, leaving a talented brewer without a home.
“Pizza Port and The Bell Maker were amazing companies, and I am so thankful for all of the opportunities I was given. I’m beyond excited to join CVB and see what the future holds,” says Cervantes, who actually hired Hodges to work as his assistant back at Pizza Port Carlsbad. “I look forward to working with my old colleague and can’t wait to make some awesome beer.”
The Eastlake project is on schedule to debut in spring 2021. “While we know we have a lot of work ahead of us, we couldn’t have asked for a better team,” says Parker. “It feels like the family is finally complete.”
That familiar reference is literal. Cervantes is related to Parker’s wife, Dali, and has served as a trusted brewing advisor for CVB since the planning stages. The Parkers pitched the idea of him coming on as head brewer back then, but Cervantes wasn’t in a place where he could take them up on it, so he referred them to Hodges…who also wasn’t available. It took a domino-like series of events, but a year-and-a-half later Hodges came aboard and, when the CVB team started discussing plans for the Eastlake project, they started their search for a second brewer with Cervantes.
“The universe has an odd way of working things out on its own timing, not ours, and now here we are, full-circle,” says Parker. “We are all extremely hard-working here and, truly, Nacho is the glue that connected us all.”
Chula Vista Brewery is located at 294 Third Avenue in Chula Vista