Sequestered in a hospital bed between major surgeries, his body ravaged by diverticulitis but his mind and its ambitious intentions crystal-clear. These were the conditions under which Mike Zane realized life is both uncertain and far too short. Fueled by that epiphany and the loving, earnest support of his wife Ewa, he decided that as soon as he was well enough to be discharged from the hospital, he would start working toward his longtime dream of opening his own brewery.
“I’m better now but going through all of those medical issues and surgeries gave me a new perspective. And being on the couch gave me time to evaluate things,” said Mike, who brewed at Green Flash Brewing in the early aughts before taking a 20-year break from the industry. Over that span, he never stopped brewing or contemplating a comeback. The only question was when he would return. “I felt inspired to chase my dreams now instead of later. I’ll admit, it was scary.”
“It still is,” added Ewa just one week after she and Mike’s InZane Brewing soft-opened in downtown Vista.
Installed on Main Street in the former 4,500-square-foot home of defunct Wavelength Brewing, the business is run solely by its founders, with Mike responsible for brewery operations, Ewa managing business and hospitality, and both of them applying elbow grease to the bar as their tasting room’s lone servers. All this after spending months completely changing out the interior design of the formerly space-themed venue into something conveying InZane’s motif. It’s been a lot of hard work—and it still is—but they are more certain than ever that they made the right decision.
From the beginning, we knew we wanted to stand out from other breweries by having our own character. It was the height of COVID when we were planning everything, and there was so much negativity everywhere that we wanted to bring in some fun and humor. Our vision is simply to make people feel good.”
Ewa Zane, Co-owner & Manager, InZane Brewing
InZane’s light-heartedness is conveyed care of a wall covered in signs fashioned from reclaimed pallet wood and fence posts, each of which is emblazoned with funny phrases, such as “Certain beers give me a terrible hangover, I narrowed it down, I think it’s the 18th”, and “Carrots may improve your vision, but beer will double it”. The brewery’s apparel also sports cheeky phrases, as do its coasters, all of which have been a source of delight for customers.
“There have been lots of smiles so far,” said Mike, who reports similarly positive reactions to his first-draft beers. It’s typical for brewery owners to receive kudos upon opening. After all, many of their early patrons are close friends and family members, hardly the most critical clientele. But that was not the case for the Zanes.
“We didn’t tell anybody we knew that we were opening,” said Ewa. “We didn’t want our tasting room to be filled with a bunch of friends having a great time and chatting with us while people we’ve never met who came to check us out sat neglected in the corner having a terrible experience.”
It’s an astute service-based decision from two people who, until October 16, had never worked in hospitality. It’s been a crash course for the couple, but they are rising to the occasion and enjoying interacting with new customers.
InZane is equipped with 16 taps. At present, half are in use dispensing a varied array of beers, most coming in under 7% alcohol-by-volume. This is by design. The Zanes want to be a responsible cornerstone business in downtown Vista where people can start out an afternoon or evening with a beer or two before heading out to explore the area’s other businesses without feeling tipsy. To that end, they serve low-alcohol styles, including an American lager and vanilla- and orange-infused cream ale that’s a tip of the hat to former downtown Vista resident, Mother Earth Brew Co.
The tap list also includes a “tropical” hazy IPA with flavors of papaya, mango and red berries, a California common with toasty caramel notes, and a Sierra Nevada-style pale ale harkening back to Mike’s younger days spent living in Chico. A West Coast IPA and post-season Oktoberfest-style lager are en route, with a small portion of the latter being set aside to be served on nitro for fun.
More whimsy will be introduced to the equation by comedy shows, which will take place on a stage backed by a wall covered in over 7,700 hand-painted-and-placed, sound-dampening two-by-fours driving home InZane’s black-and-teal color palette. That area will also be utilized for live music and an in-the-works concept the Zanes refer to as “Vista’s Got Talent”.
Also in the works is a project that would see the front windows of the tasting room removed in favor of roll-up doors as part of an outdoor patio expansion. While the Zanes say that would be a nice addition, as would a satellite tasting room down the road, for now they are happy having not only bought a dream to life, but having done so on their own specific terms.
InZane’s hours of operation are 3 to 9 p.m., Monday through Wednesday, 3 to 9 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays, noon to 10 p.m. on Saturdays, and noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays.
InZane Brewing is located at 236 Main Street in Vista