Beer has yet to be brewed there and the venue has yet to open to the public (two things that will be rectified in short order), but make no mistake, Craft Coast Beer & Tacos has made great strides at their new San Marcos headquarters. Four months after taking over the 6,700-square-foot brewery and tasting room that was the decade-long digs of Rip Current Brewing, co-founder Blake Masoner and his team have made big changes, including operational improvements to help them achieve their long-term goals.
“When we took the brewery over, we dove right in. The cellar floors got redone, we rearranged the cellar tanks to help the flow, added a brite tank for packaged beer as well as a cold-liquor tank since we will be brewing lager heavily in the heat of San Marcos. Just about every aspect of the brewery got cleaned and repaired, from the glycol system down to moving the mill and auger,” says Masoner. “We’re hoping this facility is our long-term headquarters, so we wanted to put in the work before it’s up and running. It’s nearly impossible to make those kinds of changes once you’re making beer.”
With the aforementioned work nearly complete, Masoner expects to start brewing in San Marcos this month, with resultant beers being available in May. Production of Craft Coast’s core offerings, including a number of lagers, will now take place in San Marcos under Masoner’s oversight, while brewing of small-batch, one-off and R&D beers will be handled by Brewer Will Cleary at the company’s Oceanside brewpub. Regardless of their origin points, all beers will be tapped at both locations.
And now that Craft Coast has packaging capabilities, several of its beers will also be available at retail. The plan is to can Mexican-style lagers Agua Baja (pale) and Oscura (dark), along with some yet-to-be-determined beers, then self-distribute them to select bars and restaurants.
That’s a lot to look forward to for fans of Craft Coast, many of which lament the fact the only place to get the company’s beer and tacos is a singular location in the northwesternmost corner of the county. So, too, is a major value-added at the upcoming San Marcos tasting room.
“We will be serving our tacos and other menu items out of a custom-branded food trailer that will be parked out front,” says Masoner. “We’re super happy we were able to find a way to keep our beer and taco components together at this location.”
While Masoner says his team kept the San Marcos tasting room pretty much the same from a layout perspective, they brought up the ceiling to add some height and added roll-up garage-style doors to help with airflow. They also redid the interiors to convey the surfside Baja thematic that has proven such a hit at Craft Coast’s original location. Key drivers of the new aesthetic are murals from local artist and beer-industry collaborator, Sean Dominguez, whose work can be seen at Craft Coast’s original location.
I’d like to give a huge shoutout to some of the people who have been behind the scenes helping build Craft Coast since day one. First of all, my brother Dane Masoner has been an integral part of our building and design process, lending a hand wherever he can, and using his professional welding and fabrication skills wherever and whenever we ask him to. Neither location could have been built without him. We owe him a lot. All of our parents for supporting us and helping however they can. Our investors for believing in us and continuing to support the vision. Alan Sheapard from Premier Stainless for working late hours with me to install the brewing equipment and making necessary repairs, and for being a great friend and supporter of the business. We’re honored to have great friends and peers that support us and spread the word, that’s the only way any of this would be possible.”
Blake Masoner, Co-owner, Craft Coast Beer & Tacos
Masoner says without the latter, Craft Coast would not have been able to achieve the level of success it has enjoyed since debuting August 2020 in the midst of a global pandemic. Fanfare for Craft Coast’s quintessentially San Diegan food-and-drink experience was the catalyst for acquisition of a facility to increase production and expand the brand’s reach.
Craft Coast will open the tasting room at its headquarters on Friday, April 12. Masoner says to keep an eye on the business’ social-media accounts, including Instagram for details about that debut. Upon its launch, the San Marcos location will start out with limited hours, before extending to full-scale operation down the road.
Craft Coast Beer & Tacos’ headquarters is located at 1325 Grand Avenue, Suite 100, in San Marcos, and its brewpub is located at 275 Mission Avenue in Oceanside