Since opening in 2012, Rip Current Brewing has been one of the county’s most award-winning beermaking operations. Its Breakline Bock and Delaminator Doppelbock alone have garnered five medals (including a pair of golds) at the largest and most-prestigious brewing competitions in the world, the Great American Beer Festival (where Rip Current was named Very Small Brewery of the Year in 2015) and World Beer Cup, plus a best of show for the former at last year’s California Craft Brewers Cup. And locally, Rip Current has amassed 18 medals at the San Diego International Beer Competition, coming in as a first runner-up for Grand Champion Brewery title this year for the third time. Awards aside, the company’s Lupulin Lust and its other IPAs enjoy a faithful following, and its burly barrel-aged stouts sell like bourbon-saturated hotcakes. It’s easy to see why co-owners Guy Shobe and Paul Sangster have so much faith in the worth of the brand the former homebrewing duo forged together, and they hope to pass that value on to an entrepreneur who sees the same promise in their brewing company.
“It has been a dream come true to be able to open Rip Current and serve award-winning beers to the San Diego community that we hold in such high esteem. We have investors who are interested in exploring a potential full or partial sale should the right situation come along,” says Sangster. “We believe Rip Current has a strong brand and reputation that would benefit from an infusion of new investments to take things to the next level.”
Rip Current’s San Marcos brewery and tasting room is located a block from the Las Posas Road exit of State Route 78, across the street from the Grand Plaza mall. The facility comprises several industrial suites coming in at over 6,700 square feet. Rip Current also operates a 3,300-square-foot tasting room in North Park that’s equipped with a 900-square-foot kitchen and situated along the busy 30th Street thoroughfare.
Rip Current’s brewery and cellar assets include a 15-barrel steam-powered brewery with rakes, 30-barrel hot-liquor tank, reverse-osmosis water filtration system, 1,200-pound grist case with an auger system, two 15-barrel and six 30-barrel fermenters, a 15-barrel brite tank, a Wild Goose two-head canning line (expandable to four heads), barrel-aging cellars and around 100 barrels of finished, non-barrel-aged beer. The company also owns a delivery vehicle wrapped with the Rip Current logo.
When asked about some of the challenges Rip Current has faced, as expected, the pandemic looms large. Varying and changing governmental restrictions related to COVID-19 have forced ownership to reallocate funds to unplanned expenditures as they pivot to achieve compliance, including constructing a pair of shaded patios at both locations. All this while many of their bar and restaurant customers are closed or operating at lower occupancy and, thus, selling less beer than they have historically. Still, ownership isn’t looking for an out. They’ve immensely enjoyed being part of the San Diego brewing industry and marvel at the ways in which their contemporaries have navigated rough waters and remained supportive of each other even with so much on the line.
“Despite the growth of the number of breweries, the camaraderie remains on every level. We share ingredients with each other and discuss tips and techniques whenever possible,” says Sangster. “The craft-beer industry is like no other with amazing people that work together for everyone’s benefit. There are so many reasons we are thrilled to be part of the San Diego brewing community and would ideally like to remain a part of it. One thing that hasn’t been tried is the merger of two smaller craft breweries. This could be an interesting model.”
Rip Current’s locations will remain open under the same days and hours of operation. Interested parties may contact Shobe and Sangster via email.
Rip Current Brewing’s brewery is located at 1325 Grand Avenue, #100, in San Marcos and its satellite tasting room is located at 4101 30th Street in North Park