Next week, Pure Project Brewing will hit a significant milestone, notching a half-decade in the craft-beer industry. It’s one of two causes for celebration for the company this month. Shortly after the dawn of the New Year, Pure Project officially closed on the 14,000-square-foot brewery and tasting room formerly occupied by defunct Iron Fist Brewing. Located at 1305 Hot Springs Way in Vista, the facility consists of a trio of suites and features a wrap-around outdoor patio overlooking Sycamore Avenue.
Pure Project is in the early stages of getting the space ready for phase-one operations, opening to the public for to-go beer sales and hopes to accomplish that by March. Phase two will involve the company transitioning the bulk of its brewing operations from its original facility in Miramar, moving administrative staff to the new headquarters, revamping the Vista tasting room to match Pure Project’s established eco-friendly design aesthetic, and offering beer for consumption on-site. The latter is contingent on relaxation of governmental regulations imposed due to the pandemic. Further horizon goals include adding a silo in Vista and utilizing the new facility’s added space to expand the company’s barrel-aged beer program.
Co-founder Mat Robar says Pure Project will maintain a public-facing presence at its Miramar location, keeping its tasting room open while brewing smaller-batch and R&D beers on the system its leased through local developer H.G. Fenton’s Brewery Igniter program since 2015. They also plan to continue housing their sour-beer program in another of their leased industrial suites.
The Miramar facility, which currently serves as its headquarters and lone brewing facility, is equipped with a seven-barrel brewing system and three cold boxes totaling roughly 600 square feet of refrigerated storage space. At the Vista brewery, they have a 15-barrel brewhouse, a single 1,500-square-foot refrigeration unit, and will eventually be able to increase production to 10,000 barrels per year. To put that in perspective, the company brewed a respectable yet still much lower 3,100 barrels of beer in 2020.
So, there is much for the company to rejoice about. Due to California state mandates, they will have to do so in a less traditional manner, but they’ve gotten creative, organizing five days of festivities from January 20-24. The diverse slate of promotions will roll out as follows:
- Wednesday, Jan. 20 | Keep the Tumbler Special: A purchase of five or more beer items or online purchases for shipping over $200 will include a complimentary commemorative tumbler (pictured above). A full line of fifth-anniversary merchandise will be released, as well.
- Thursday, Jan. 21 | Anniversary Can Release: Pure Project’s specialty anniversary beer is a quintuple IPA called Shadow of the Moon that registers a formidable 15% alcohol-by-volume.
- Friday, Jan. 22 | Quarterly Stout Release: Pure Project will release the first of its quarterly stouts, Could Be An Illusion, an imperial stout with coffee and maple syrup.
- Saturday, Jan. 23 | Beer Pairing Dinner: Customers can pick up or arrange delivery of a four-course dinner for two prepared by MIHO Catering, which will include tuna crudo, smoked brisket and cranberry-amaretto clafoutis, plus four Pure Project beers and access to a video walk-through of the food-and-beer pairings.
- Sunday, Jan. 24 | Raffle & Non-Profit Donation Day: Spending $75 will net customers a raffle ticket for prizes including a one-year membership in the brewery’s Cellar Cyndicate club, rare beer and other quality items. Five dollars from each $75 purchase will be donated to the Balboa Park Conservancy.
Additionally, Pure Project’s founders will conduct a live broadcast at 2 p.m. (PST) on Friday, January 15 via the company’s main Instagram account. Also on Instagram is a new account devoted to the Vista project, where demolition is currently underway. Meanwhile, Pure Project is maneuvering the early stages with its recently announced satellite tasting room on El Cajon Boulevard in North Park. That project is scheduled to debut this summer. So, it would seem the company will have also a great deal to pat itself on the back for when its sixth anniversary rolls around, as well.
Pure Project Brewing’s brewery and tasting room are located at 9030 Kenamar Drive in Miramar, and its tasting rooms are located at 2865 Fifth Avenue in Bankers Hill and 2825 State Street in Carlsbad