Though a rather large brewery that’s been in operation since 2007, Mission Brewery flies mostly under the radar. But the recent departures of its former director of brewery operations Cody Morris and brewer Andrew Kelly, both of whom are heading production for new Miramar dual-interest concept New Motion Beverages and Embolden Beer Co., made for headline news and spots to fill. Head Brewer Jeremy Castellano is serving as interim DOBO while Mission searches for a permanent replacement and the company recently brought aboard Societe Brewing and Resident Brewing alum Mitch Tastrom as the fourth in its quartet of shift brewers working under Lead Brewer Troy Janikowski. So the team remains solid and production is chugging along, but many have little idea what Mission’s mission is.
Earlier this summer, Mission’s tasting room remained open with food trucks providing bona fide meals, but being located in a part of the East Village that isn’t ideal for outdoor dining thanks to ongoing construction and other factors, management decided to close its public space. They are still selling beer-to-go from the tasting room during limited hours and hope to reopen in 2021, but in the meantime Mission will focus on producing core brands (Grapefruit Radler, California Craft Lager, Hefeweizen, Amber, IPA, Hazy IPA, Shipwrecked Double IPA, Dark Seas Imperial Stout, Strawberry Tangerine hard seltzer) which are largely packaged in kegs.
Mission also produces “white-label” house beers which are served on draft at various restaurants under their own names. It’s an additional revenue source that has been tapped over the years by numerous local brewing companies such as Karl Strauss Brewing, as is another generator: contract brewing. This practice of companies brewing beers for outside entities that either lack their own breweries or have limited capacity to produce enough beer to meet demand, has proven a smart move for some of the county’s larger breweries, including AleSmith Brewing and Green Flash Brewing.
“Beyond all of that, there’s a good amount of internal research and development beers that never see the light of day. You’ll never see us chasing trends, but you also won’t see us shy away from experimentation. I’m hopeful the public will get to see some of the things we’ve been piloting once we reopen,” says Castellano. “Just prior to COVID, we were doing a lot of work with Eric Tomaszewski from Skagit Valley Malting and Mallorie King from Hop Head Farms. They have some fantastic small-batch craft malts and unique hops, and I’m looking forward to doing more with both of them. You’ll also see some unique beverages inspired by our recent experience with hard seltzers and other alternative beverages in the market.”
Castellano is also in charge of quality control at Mission. In addition to improving the company’s lab and endeavoring to lower dissolved-oxygen levels in its canned beers, he has also reassessed tried-and-true beer recipes, saying he feels there’s always a way to make them better. For him, beer is a living thing that never ceases to surprise him, and he feels like some who may not have ventured to Mission in a while might be surprised, as well.
“We’re one of the older breweries in San Diego and are often overlooked for younger, trendier breweries. That’s understandable, but I’d like to encourage anyone who hasn’t drunk a Mission beer in a while to pick up a six-pack or two of cans and give us another shot,” says Castellano, who recommends the company’s Grapefruit Radler or Mission IPA. The latter took a bronze medal in the San Diego International Beer Competition’s most highly contested category in October. “And maybe once we reopen our tasting room, stop by, say ‘hi’ and try some of our small-batch R&D beers.”
Mission Brewery is located at 1441 L Street in downtown’s East Village neighborhood