THIS ARTICLE IS TAKEN FROM OUR JANUARY 2011 ISSUE
“This is a dream that’s been in the works for while now,” says David Meadows while glancing to his brother, Stephan. The two men are behind El Cajon Brewing Company that’s currently under construction in downtown El Cajon. Stephan chimes in: “For a while, we would only see each other at weddings or funerals. After the funerals began to outnumber the weddings we looked at one another and said, ‘Let’s do this.’”
The two brothers come from very distinct backgrounds. From separate mothers, David’s mom hails from Sweden where he cut his teeth in the brewing industry by earning a degree in Brewhouse Technology at Västerbergslagens Utbildningscentrum (Västerbergslagen Education Centre), the renowned Swedish answer to the UC Professional Davis Brewing Program. Along with five other student-founders, David opened Sigtuna Brygghus as his final project. Now, the brewery is now a major player in the Swedish craft beer scene. The school is closely connected with Spendrups, a large family-owned Swedish brewery & beverage company. David worked for the company during the summers while in school. Upon returning stateside, he consulted on the opening of the Grand Canyon Brewing Company in Arizona. No stranger to the San Diego Craft Beer Community, David has made a name for himself at Premier Stainless Systems. Premier is known for their excellent brewery equipment, and their products are installed at Mother Earth, AleSmith, and Ballast Point (to name a few).
The other brother, Stephan Meadows is a restaurateur who opened the 11,000 sq. foot Sequoia Mining Company in 1991. Taking his skills from the field, Stephan began to scour San Diego looking for abandoned restaurant space. A hot tip led him to El Cajon. The city of El Cajon had long been courting the San Diego Craft Beer Community to open a brewery in their downtown business district. “The City of El Cajon has been nothing but good to us.” To date, EJBC has received around $350,000 in grants and loans from the city for opening in El Cajon.
The brewery itself is shaping up nicely. Located on the corner of N Magnolia & Main St., the square footage of EJBC clocks in around 5,700. Rough plumbing and electrical have been completed, & fermentation tanks arrived tight around Christmas. The grand opening is slated for late March 2011. Stephan, the business-side of El Cajon Brewing Company, elaborates on the interior: “There will be booth seating, an open kitchen, and a patio.” The patio will add a tinge of European influence to the corner of Magnolia & Main, and Stephan describes the open kitchen as necessary because “it cuts down on kitchen tension, and ensures that things will be kept clean.”
The brewhouse is located on the north side of the property, and will have a 150-barrel serving capacity with 4 fermenters. Currently, the video return slot in the brew house is the only indicator of the space’s previous incarnation as a Hollywood Video. The first beer on the system will be a yeast propagator with the same original gravity as Brasserie Artisanale de Fribourg’s 1047 Pale Ale. Afterwards, a 10 or 12% strong, dark & chocolaty raspberry stout will be brewed. The trademark beer of EJBC, however, will be one of David’s specialty styles – a Swedish-influenced Pilsner or Dortmunder. David hopes to use his Swedish connections to bring his friend’s Scandinavian craft brews to taps in the USA at El Cajon Brewing Company, while swapping his own beers to Sweden. “Some say that Swedish beers are better than California’s. We’ll make those styles and put them to the test against what San Diego does best.” West Coaster predicts that El Cajon Brewing Company will transform downtown El Cajon, and we can’t wait.