Jayson Pizarro is no stranger to the Craft by Brewery Igniter lease-to-brew facility in North Park. He made his first visit there years ago, enjoying the liquid assets of then-tenants Eppig Brewing and JuneShine. Long after those companies moved on to forever homes in Vista and Scripps Ranch, respectively, he returned to check out current tenant Seek Beer Co. While there, he struck up a conversation with co-owner Dave Ohmer, who shared how well the Brewery Igniter model was working out for his months-old business.
Later that year, as Pizarro, a marketing consultant with an entrepreneurial bent, was moving forward with long-held aspirations of opening his own brewery, he saw an article (via San Diego Beer News) announcing that Pariah Brewing was exiting its Brewery Igniter suite after five years to concentrate on operations at its recently established headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. Remembering Ohmer’s glowing account, he wasted no time getting in touch with Brewery Igniter’s parent company, H.G. Fenton, to discuss leasing Pariah’s suite.
Before that deal could get done, Pizarro learned that the owner of Barrio Logan-based Attitude Brewing was looking to sublease his Brewery Igniter space. Located next door to the suite Pizarro had inquired about, Attitude’s space faces El Cajon Boulevard and is far larger—roughly double the square-footage—with greater cellar capacity and more tasting room space. Pizarro immediately changed course, successfully negotiating a sublease for the future home of his passion project, GOAL. Brewing.
The name could lead one to think Pizarro is a soccer fanatic who loves the emphatic manner that sport’s announcers celebrate scores, but as the capital letters and period suggest, GOAL. is an acronym…and for the individual who came up with it, a whole lot more.
“GOAL. became real for me in late 2020 when I felt cooped up being at home due to the pandemic. My family turned to getting active together outdoors, so the idea of ‘get out and live’ was real for us,” says Pizarro. The phrase soon took on new life, bleeding beyond shaking off COVID-era doldrums and into his beer concept, giving it a name and an identity.
By then he was already years into what he calls his “brand experiment”, having crafted beers with big-name brewers across the country, including Miami’s J Wakefield Brewing, New York’s Equilibrium Brewery and L.A.’s Homage Brewing. He’s also collaborated with San Diego’s award-winning Mostra Coffee and former Abnormal Beer Co. (Rancho Bernardo) brewer Derek Gallanosa at his Rocklin, California operation, Moksa Brewing. Those collabs—along with countless bottle-shares Pizarro hosted under the moniker SHAKASXBEER—provided worthwhile experiences and bolstered his desire to move forward with GOAL.
“After five years, my passion and momentum didn’t fade and I was inspired to create something of my own,” says Pizarro. “I hope our creations inspire the celebration of life and serve as a catalyst to pursue passion. You’ll see me rocking the manifesto, ‘fulfillment through the pursuit of passion’ while living it. This is the goal…no pun intended.”
On the beer front, Pizarro says to expect a tap-list featuring IPAs, lagers, stouts and sours, plus “colla-beer-ations” he says will keep things “fresh and trendy.” His collaborative creations to-date have included “latte beers” (crème brûlée, blueberry-maple pancake), an imperial sour ale with passionfruit, guava, coconut and lactose, and a lambic-influenced barrel-aged saison with nectarines, so it would appear the sky is the limit in that department.
The first-ever beer to feature GOAL. branding will debut this Saturday, January 14. Dubbed “Watch ‘Em All Flock”, it’s an bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout with coconut, Congolese vanilla beans and Filipino coffee, which was brewed at Moksa with Pizarro and key personnel from J. Wakefield, Mostra.
Prior to setting his sights on North Park’s Brewery Igniter facility, Pizarro had planned to purchase a commercial property at which to build a brewery. He says there was sufficient inventory in San Diego but none of the locations he toured felt quite right. Conversely, there were some desirable sites outside of the county, but it was important to him to establish his business here. He likens his current suite becoming available at just the right time to the stars aligning and feels fortunate to have the lease-to-brew option.
“H.G. Fenton’s Brewery Igniter program is great for startup brands like GOAL., because it allows us to kick off with slightly less risk in a shorter amount of time,” says Pizarro, who expects to open to the public sometime before summer. “The program eliminates big hurdles like buildout and big financing or cap raise. We’ll pump out some great beer in a reasonable volume with hopes to accomplish similar things to what brands like JuneShine, Eppig and Pure Project Brewing have done within the program.”
GOAL. Brewing will be located at 3052 El Cajon Boulevard, Suite A, at Craft by Brewery Igniter in North Park