Kyle Harrop has travelled the world, not only drinking in some of its finest beers, but collaborating to create some with brewers across the globe via his Oceanside-based brewing interest, Horus Aged Ales. It was during a trip to Denmark to attend the Mikkeller Beer Celebration, that he became enamored with WarPigs, a joint-venture brewpub run by Copenhagen-based Mikkeller and Munster, Indiana’s 3 Floyds Brewing. It wasn’t just the quality of the beer that won him over, but the way two brewing giants had worked together to create a one-of-a-kind venue for brewers and beer geeks alike to share experiences over a tap list that aptly included numerous beers brewed collaboratively with brewing interests from all over. To say it left an impression would be an understatement. He ended up going back to WarPigs every day of his trip.
“I was sitting at a communal table, stuffing my face with barbecue and drinking world-class beer on a beautiful afternoon, thinking how we needed something like this back in California. I thought to myself how cool it would be to do something similar with a fellow brewery back in the States,” says Harrop. “On the plan back home, I dreamed about how to make that happen and what it would be like. I had no idea when it would be or who it would be with at that point, but I knew I wanted to pursue it someday.”
As it turns out, someday is right now. Harrop has teamed with longtime friend and brewing-industry colleague Grant Tondro of the 3 Local Brothers hospitality group, which operates Southern California’s family of Urge Gastropub beer-centric restaurants. Harrop met Tondro as a regular customer at Urge’s original Rancho Bernardo location, and the two will use the in-house brewery at San Marcos’ Urge Common House, Mason Ale Works, to bring his vision to life. The resulting joint-venture will go by the name Ferrous Falcon, a nod to Mason’s iron-working thematic and Horus’ feathered mascot, and focus on producing hazy and unfiltered single, double and triple IPAs. Harrop will head up the brewing side while Tondro handles logistics.
“Over the past three years, Grant and I have become very close friends. We share the same passion and love for our local craft-beer scene and have been talking about this special project for quite some time,” says Harrop. “I have been brewing most of my imperial stouts out of Mason consistently for the past 18 months and plan to do so for the foreseeable future. We’ve also done three different Horus events at Urge Common House over that span. We work together exceptionally well and love many of the same things, craft beer being number one.”
Harrop entered the brewing industry in 2015 with an unorthodox business model. His Oceanside base of operations is mostly a barrel-aging warehouse devoid of brewing equipment or a tasting room. In fact, it only opens to the public on designated pickup days where customers, primarily members of Horus’ bottle club, The Convocation, may retrieve pre-purchased beers. Harrop deals primarily in big stouts and a variety of barrel-aged beers, sourcing oak vessels of varying character and regularly resting strong ales on all manner of flavorful adjuncts. It’s proven a highly successful business model, but Harrop is eager to spread his wings and participate in the haze craze, brewing perhaps the most popular beer style among today’s consumers.
I have been itching to brew hazy IPAs for the past half-decade. Many factors have prevented me from doing so until now, but I am very excited for the opportunity. I look forward to brewing hoppy beer again—hazy IPAs, specifically—pushing the envelope on what this style can be and putting our own San Diego stamp on it.”
Kyle Harrop, Owner of Horus Aged Ales & Co-founder of Ferrous Falcon
Hops are the name of the game where IPAs are concerned. Ferrous Falcon’s IPAs will all have no less than a minimum six pounds per-barrel. That will require a plenitude of raw materials. Fortunately, Harrop was able to utilize existing connections to secure a combination of workhorse and sought-after specialty varietals for the new venture. On top of that, Harrop’s father-in-law is planning on growing heirloom oats for him on his farm in Wisconsin.
On the collaboration front, Ferrous Falcon’s dance card is filling up rapidly. Early co-brewers will include Broussard, Louisiana’s Parish Brewing, Foam Brewing out of Burlington, Vermont, and Brooklyn’s Other Half Brewing. The Parrish collab will be a double IPA that’s a mix of Ferrous Falcon’s heavily oated recipe and their collaborators’ famed 100-plus IBU (international bittering units) Ghost In The Machine IPA. As for where and when it and the other beers in the Ferrous Falcon portfolio will be available, that is not yet certain but quickly taking shape.
“Once the pandemic subsides, we plan on having a separate, dedicated tasting room within some facet of Urge Common House in San Marcos, possibly the library area that’s primarily used for special and private events, along with possible locations in Carmel Valley, downtown San Diego and Old Town Pasadena to start out,” says Harrop. “In addition to having Ferrous Falcon beer, Mason beer and Horus beer—a first because all of my stouts to-date have been presold online—under one roof, one of the most exciting parts of having tasting rooms will be the ability to offer merchandise. I get asked daily about shirts, glassware, hats and more, but it’s just too hard to manage by myself and makes bottle pickups that much harder.”
Food is in the cards for the eventual tasting rooms, as well. The aim is to keep things “simple but delicious.” A concept being discussed is offering several spins on French fries, perhaps using different heirloom potatoes depending on the season. It’s an inspiration from a fry shop in Santa Monica that Harrop frequented with his parents as a kid. A dream come true within a dream come true.
“The possibilities for Ferrous Falcon are endless. We hope to offer great packaged beer each month, have inviting tasting rooms, hold special events, beer-release parties, fundraisers and a beer festival when it’s safe to do so again,” says Harrop. “We have a lot of aspirations for this brand and it will be an exciting ride.”