It’s been a year-and-a-half since former Pizza Port brewer Adam Jester and business partner Dominic Burns secured an enclave at Carruth Cellars’ Oceanside winery to install their upcoming Tipping Pint Brewing. That addition is part of an overall revamp of the facility, transforming it from a spot focused purely on production to a public venue called Hangar 76, complete with a courtyard Carruth will share with Tipping Pint. Over the past year-and-a-half, Jester and Burns have been attending to their full-time jobs while contending with supply-chain shortages, contractor-scheduling issues and permitting delays. Their project has been slow-going, but the duo is in the home stretch and expecting to soft-open their tasting room next month.
“At the beginning of COVID, we had to concentrate on our other careers. My other business is a café, so there was no guarantee of income for the first year of the pandemic,” says Jester, who is gracious to numerous factions ranging from his wife to the federal government for providing the support for him and Burns to soldier through the COVID era. “Worrying if I would be able to pay family bills, not to mention the bills from the project, was especially trying. But once we got through the first year, it got a little clearer that we could forge the waters and come through on the other side. I am extremely lucky to be the position I am, but I wouldn’t be here without a lot of help.”
Tipping Pint operates out of a 1,300-square-foot space (less than a tenth of the facility’s 15,000 total square feet), which is equipped with a seven-barrel brewhouse as well as a dozen taps and eight serving tanks. Indoor bar and picnic-table seating is supplemented by the aforementioned 3,000-square-foot outdoor area.
The opening-day beer list isn’t set just yet, but Jester hops to offers early visitors the following beers:
- C-Level Mexican-style Lager, 4.5%
- Honey Orange Wheat Ale, 5.6%
- No Fad Days Simcoe-hopped West Coast IPA, 6.5%
- Homeward Through the Haze Citra- & Mosaic-hopped Hazy IPA, 6.5%
- Out the Back West Coast Double IPA, 8%
Further down the road, a dry Irish-style stout and an imperial stout will go on tap. Some of the latter going into barrels as the initial entries into an aging program that will utilize used bourbon, wine and Port barrels.
While enthused to be close to the point where he will be able to share the fruits of his labor with beer fans, right now it’s the labor itself that has Jester amped. “At this point, I am so excited just to make wort. We did a collaboration with Pizza Port the other day and waking up to mash in felt like Christmas morning,” he says. That beer, a Nelson- and Strata-hopped, low-alcohol “West Coast table beer”, will debut as part of an event taking place at the Pizza Port Bottle Shop on February 19. Other Tipping Pint collabs IPAs brewed with some combination of collaborators Pizza Port Carlsbad, Burgeon Beer Co., Craft Coast Beer & Tacos, will also be available at that pseudo-sneak preview.
Back in Oceanside, Tipping Pint is working to open in the first half of March. The tasting room’s hours of operation will be 3 to 8 p.m., Monday through Thursday, 2 to 9 p.m. on Fridays and noon to 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. Those hours may change based on initial patronage. Once Jester and Burns have their footing, they will set up an official grand-opening event complete with music and food. To stay apprised of Tipping Pint’s progress and soft-open date, follow the company’s official Instagram account.
The Tipping Pint Brewing is located inside Hangar 76 at 3229 Roymar Road in Oceanside