Rear View Beer: Escondido Brewing

San Diego’s brewing industry and overall beer scene didn’t spontaneously occur. It was forged over decades by thousands of entrepreneurs, craftspeople, employees and fans. And key to it all have been the brewing companies that have added their own unique spirit, personalities, motifs, influences and, of course, ales and lagers to the equation. In our Rear View Beer series, we take a moment to look back and honor brewing operations that are no longer with us; companies both large and small that leant their passion, ideals and liquid wares to the local scene before exiting it. And we’re doing so with the support of California State University San Marcos’ Brewchive, which has been actively preserving the history and artifacts of San Diego County’s craft-beer community since 2017.

Today we remember Escondido Brewing with co-founding Head Brewer Ketchen Smith.

When Smith caught the brewing bug, it’s sting was intense and long-lasting. Over 20 years as an amateur brewer, he wowed friends but with creations that included a spot-on replication of Ballast Point Brewing‘s original, then-seasonal Sculpin IPA. But he was intent on finding out how good he really was, and went about entering brewing competitions sanctioned by the American Homebrewers Association (AHA). Doing so earned him a total of 18 awards, the most prestigious of which was second place out of 436 entries in the American IPA category at the AHA’s National Homebrew Competition. Months later, Smith and business partner Evan Smith launched Escondido Brewing in a 300-square-foot with a one-barrel brewhouse attached to the latter entrepreneur’s Escondido Feed & Pet Supply store. The smallest beer-production facility in all of San Diego County at the time, the business still drew a large, staunch following made up mostly of Escondidians who lived and worked nearby. Though the Smiths seriously considered expanding the business, those plans were squashed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the business ultimately folded in May of 2020. Five months later, it was acquired by Carlsbad-based Burgeon Beer Co., which reopened it as a satellite venue called The Oasis, which remains in business today. It’s a place Ketchen not only enjoys but has been able to remain involved with to some extent, as he shared in a recent interview about his time as a brewery owner.

What inspired you to open a brewery and what did you aim to bring to the local beer scene?
Being Escondido Brewing Company (EBC), we wanted to bring the city to the forefront. Most of the beer names had ties to the community. Hopcondido IPA, Hidden City Pale Ale, 1888 Stout, Grape Day IPA, Ups N Downs IPA, Hodgee Brown Ale, Rock Springs Red Ale, Pioneer Room Porter and Lime Street Lager were just a few locally inspired names. With a small brewing system, I was able to create over 50 different beers while keeping the core beers flowing. I would brew every Sunday, and all the beers we produced were my recipes.

Which of your beers do you miss the most?
I actually still brew my favorite beers, and a version of Hopcondido IPA called Hidden View IPA is currently being brewed at Backstreet Brewery, the in-house beer operation at Lamppost Pizza in Vista.

Who were your mentors when you were opening the brewery?
Back in the day, Burgeon co-founder and Head Brewer Anthony Tallman worked at Backstreet and we were both in start-up brewery mode. We’d frequently exchange ideas and sample beers together. Burgeon brewed and canned Hopcondido IPA for the first two anniversaries of The Oasis. Also, the crew at Rip Current Brewing helped me out by brewing EBC beers to help us keep up with demand. I attended North Park Beer Co. founder Kelsey McNair‘s talk on perfecting IPAs at the AHA’s National Homebrewers Conference in San Diego, and that helped me further refine my IPAs. Then there’s Jeff Bagby, Nacho Cervantes, Blake Masoner and pretty much all of the brewing staff at Pizza Port, past and present. There’s no better place to talk shop and gain ideas.

What is it about running a professional brewery that you hold most dear?
The people I was able to become friends with who would support me in any way they could. It was truly a brewery made for and by the community.

What are some of the most memorable moments from the good old days?
In 2019 we entered our first festival and competition as a brewery. It was Green Flash Brewing‘s initial Brewdown Festival and Competition. I was interested in serving at this event as it only involved San Diego breweries and had a voting element, in which the winner would have $5,000 donated to the charity of their choice. I remember serving at the event and just trying to keep the line moving, when Green Flash Head Brewer Erik Jensen came by and told me I needed to stop serving and come up to the front. They did not even need to count the votes. We won, and I was able to contribute $5,000 to the Wounded Warrior Homes charity. As a result of the win, we also brewed collab beers at both Green Flash and EBC.

What advice would you share with someone looking to open a brewery?
I wouldn’t say “don’t open a brewery,” but the scene in San Diego has definitely changed since I was open. There aren’t as many new openings. In fact, we are seeing a reduction in breweries.

How have things been since you’ve moved on from Benchmark?
I really do miss having the brewery, but brewing at spots like Backstreet and Burgeon keeps my toes in the wort.

From the Brewchive 

Brewery Name: Escondido Brewing
Business Address: 649 Rock Springs Road, Suite B in Escondido
ABC License Type & Issuance: 23, June 2017
Business Opening: July 2017
Business Closure Date: May 2020
Awards: 1st Place, Green Flash Brewdown Festival & Competition