The founders of Pure Project Brewing have never been afraid of exploring untraditional avenues to grow and diversify their business. In 2016, they were the first to test out H.G. Fenton’s newly constructed, lease-to-brew Brewery Igniter facility in Miramar. It’s from that humble starting point (which Pure Project still occupies today) that the company grew to operate a large-scale headquarters in Vista and a quartet of satellites throughout the county.
Similarly pioneering have been Pure Project’s environmental initiatives, which include contributing 1% of all sales to non-profits like The Conservation Alliance, WILDCOAST and Coastal Roots Farm, putting in the considerable effort to attain climate-neutral certification from The Change Climate Project, and partnering with contemporaries like Admiral Maltings and Patagonia Provisions to elevate their eco-conscious efforts and initiatives.
All of the above speaks to the character of the organization, but at the end of the day, it’s the products it offers which allow for the doing of good deeds. Last year, those liquid wares were expanded to include a line of house wines crafted with vintners that share the company’s values. Available exclusively at Pure Project’s taprooms, those initial offerings included a Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon and Santa Barbara County Sauvignon Blanc.
“While we are a craft brewery, first and foremost, the reality is that we have a lot of different customers visiting our taprooms, and not everyone prefers beer,” says Pure Project Marketing Director Makenna Barris. “Just as we aim to have a diverse array of beers available for all palates, we wanted to venture further and provide some creative non-beer options. This is where our hard seltzers, ciders, non-alcoholic offerings and wines come into play.”
Getting into winemaking marked yet another occasion of opting for the road less traveled, but it’s worked out quite well for Pure Project. Sales of its initial red and white have been encouraging enough to merit development of a third house wine, a Provence-style Rosé developed in collaboration with Paso Robles’ Tablas Creek Vineyards, which is slated for debut this spring. In addition to being a highly respected, 36-year-old operation, Tablas Creek also holds the distinction of being the first Regenerative Organic Certified vineyard in the world.
“Our co-founder, Mat Robar, was impressed with Tablas Creek’s sustainability efforts and has a lot of respect, not just for the wines they produce, but all that they do on their vineyard, from biodynamic and dry-farming practices to native yeast fermentation and more,” says Barris. “Our motto is ‘beer for good’. Tablas Creek embodies the idea of ‘wine for good’, and it is this value alignment that makes the partnership such a slam dunk.”
A similar solid brand of cohesion fueled Pure Project’s invitation to downtown restaurant Empanada Kitchen to start supplying their Argentinian snacks at its Bankers Hill taproom last summer. It’s another decision that’s come to be embraced by the company’s clientele – in part, Barris says, thanks to in-person training which has allowed taproom staff to educate patrons on Argentine culinary culture – leading to the decision to also have the eatery’s quintet of empanadas (beef, chicken, ham and cheese, Caprese, sweet corn and basil) available at Pure Project’s Miramar location. But that’s not the only venue that’s added a permanent food option.
Pure Project’s indoor-outdoor North Park tasting space is now collaborating full-time with URBN. A nearly 20-year-old mainstay that includes five San Diego County locations, including one on the North Park stretch of University Avenue, URBN previously worked with Pure Project in 2020, supplying food to a temporary beer garden the brewery opened across the street from its Bankers Hill location. That COVID-era prelude formed the basis for what is now a full-time partnership, and now URBN offers an abbreviated menu at Pure Project, Wednesday through Friday, starting at 4 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays, starting at 1 p.m. That bill of fare includes eight 14-inch New Haven-style pizzas, wings, Brussels sprouts and a mixed-green salad.
And starting later this week, it will be Pure Project that will lend itself and its goods to another entity’s offerings, Function PDX. Located in Portland, Oregon, Function teams with notable breweries from across the country, setting up month-long, rotating pop-ups in which a pair of breweries in residence hold dual tap takeovers at its two locations. Pure Project’s tap takeover will begin Thursday, April 3 at Function’s 23rd Avenue location, while Anaheim-based Radiant Beer Co. will occupy its sister spot on Alberta Street.
“Last September I happened to see a post from Yakima Chief Hops that featured Ghost Town Brewing’s pop-up at the Function space,” says Barris. “That business model – rotating breweries and converting their entire space into a new taproom each month – seemed really fun, if not incredibly ambitious. I thought it could be a great way to bring Pure Project beer to a new audience of craft-beer lovers.”
Pure Project and Radiant have worked together in the past and, as part of this pop-up they brought the band back together to brew four collaboration beers, one of which is a murky double IPA brewed with Nelson Sauvin, Strata and Citra Cryo hops called Limitless Light (pictured above) that will go on tap and be available for sale on Pure Project’s website this Thursday.
“We’ve always admired the vibrancy of Portland’s beer scene, and are extremely excited to bring our beers there through this partnership with Function,” says Pure Project co-founder and Brewer Winslow Sawyer. “The team at Radiant are longtime friends of ours, and we’re proud to be representing sunny SoCal with these four new collaboration beers.”
Pure Project Brewing is located at 1305 Hotsprings Way in Vista, and its satellite venues are located at 2825 State Street in Carlsbad, 9030 Kenamare Drive, Suite 308 in Miramar, 2867 El Cajon Boulevard in North Park and 2865 Fifth Avenue in Bankers Hill