Earlier today, news broke that Mikkeller Brewing San Diego would be closing the Miramar brewery and tasting room that it has operated for the past six years. The company cited rising costs of goods and the lasting ill effects of the pandemic as key reasons for its decision. The explanation mirrored that of Pariah Brewing, a five-year-old operation that got its start in a least-to-brew suite inside H.G. Fenton‘s CRAFT by Brewery Igniter facility in North Park, when owner and Brewmaster Brian Mitchell took to social-media to announce his and his wife’s decision to close that location.
“We are reaching out to announce that we will be closing that location with our last day of service being this coming Sunday, [August 28],” said Mitchell in a post from Pariah’s Instagram account. “Rising costs and the lasting effects of COVID in that state on top of the already nearly impossible reality of operating with the Brewery ‘Igniter’ program have taken their toll. After much consideration, Christa and I have chosen to consolidate our resources and output to better position the company for strong growth over the coming years.”
Last June, after maxing out capacity at the Brewery Igniter suite, the Mitchell’s acquired a 6,837-square-foot brewery in Baltimore, Maryland. They went on to purchase and install a 20-barrel brewhouse and 40-barrel fermenter tanks, increasing their annual production capacity to 10,000 barrels. At the time, they intended to proceed as a bi-coastal operation, building a solid foundation in Baltimore, while continuing to service fans in Southern California and maintain the retail customers they’d amassed over the years. They say they still want to accomplish the latter goals, but will do so without a physical location.
“While we are closing that brick-and-mortar location, we are working to pivot to maintain the distribution footprint we have built in San Diego and beyond over the last five-and-a-half years. More details on that to follow, but you can still expect to see our beers available,” said Mitchell.
Prior to establishing his own business, Mitchell worked for the now-defunct La Jolla Brew House and Helm’s Brewing before taking a position as part of the small-batch brewing team at Stone Brewing in Escondido. Pariah was one of the three original tenants of the North Park Brewery Igniter, sandwiched between Eppig Brewing, which has since moved to Vista, and San Diego Brewing, which moved out of the facility roughly a year after its debut.
“We are forever grateful to all of those who came out to that tasting room and we have built lifelong friendships,” said Mitchell. ”These last few days in this incarnation, we hope to see some familiar faces and to cheers with optimism for the future.”
Pariah Brewing is located at 3052 El Cajon Boulevard in North Park