Following a 2023 ownership split that saw Managing Partner and longtime Director of Brewing Operations Tomme Arthur take full control of 19-year-old craft-beer producer, The Lost Abbey, the company moved from its headquarters in San Marcos, setting up shop at Mother Earth Brew Co. in Vista. In addition to leasing time on that business’ brewing system, The Lost Abbey worked with its new landlords to open a tasting room selling both of their wares from separate sides of a shared counter. It was an innovative move that provided both companies increased visibility and on-site sales, but for Arthur it proved to be a patch versus a permanent solution.
Last year, Arthur signed a lease with Mason Ale Works’ parent company, which allowed him to move The Lost Abbey’s production to the Vista facility previously constructed and operated by Eppig Brewing. In 2023, that nine-year-old concern was taken over by the “House of Mason”, which has since installed a number of public-facing tenant improvements, including a backroom recreation area equipped with golf simulators and lounge furniture, as well as big-screen televisions and pinball machines in the main tasting-room area. Initially, The Lost Abbey’s beers were not available at the Eppig facility, but last week that changed when Arthur soft-opened a new tasting area, one which is all his and sited in the brewery itself.
“Guests enter the main building through the front door, then head through a doorway that’s dead ahead, just beyond the main taproom’s bar,” says Arthur. “We explored installing a small cold-box, but it just didn’t make sense, so we’re using two kegerators, which allows us to have 10 beers on tap, plus a set of canned offerings like we do at our other locations throughout the county.”
The mobile bar and kegerators also allow Arthur and his crew to move them – along with tables, chairs and stools – out of the way so they can utilize the brewery space during working hours. After all, increased production capability was the primary reason for The Lost Abbey’s cross-city move. And thus far things have worked out well in that regard.
“In January we brewed over 500 barrels of beer, and that is something we don’t think we could have pulled off without moving,” says Arthur. “We’re full steam ahead with our new contract partners and getting our inventories back to our needed levels. Our staff crushed it and we are learning a ton about how best to navigate the tanks and space.”
In other exciting news, The Lost Abbey is releasing a new 2025 vintage of its famed American gueuze, Duck Duck Gooze. The company’s most sought-after offering, it is made up of a blend of oak-aged, lambic-style sour beers. With a singular exception, Duck Duck Gooze has been released every three years since 2009. Well known and lauded for its barrel-matured sours, The Lost Abbey has not released a new one in the last two years, making this a significant release.
The Lost Abbey’s club members may pre-order Duck Duck Gooze beginning today, while the general public will be able to purchase the beer starting Friday, February 28. Customers will be able to pick up the beer at a party that will be held at the Vista tasting room on Saturday, April 5. That event will feature numerous vintage beers on tap along with upcoming batches of two saisons, Carnevale and Red Barn, as well as high-gravity dark beer, Serpent’s Stout.
As far as other events, Arthur says he intends to get a feel for the tasting room and gauge its reception by fans, new and old, before he and his team determine what sorts of programming to institute. In the meantime, he likes the fact visitors can partake in the amenities Mason has put in place, including the patio, fire pits, aforementioned games and food from mobile vendors.
The Lost Abbey’s Vista tasting room is open from 4 to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday, noon to 9 p.m. on Saturdays, and noon to 7 p.m. on Sundays.
The Lost Abbey’s new tasting room is located inside Eppig Brewing at 1347 Keystone Way, Suite C in Vista