The city of Vista always has been the home of Mother Earth Brew Co., but the 3-year-old brewery is returning to its roots when it re-opens its original and tasting room on Thibodo Road.
The grand opening is set for 4 p.m. today and will be open Thursday-Sunday.
Last year, Mother Earth moved into a larger downtown location on Main Street to accommodate its growing legion of followers. The Thibodo location remained as Mother Earth’s brewing facility, but it was closed to the public.
The move was a disappointment to some of the brewery’s original fans, many living in the surrounding Shadowridge community. Mother Earth promised to return, and now after some modifications, the brewery is doing just that. Owner Dan Love said he’s excited to have two tasting rooms, one being in the modest industrial park location just south of Highway 78 where it all started.
“Thibodo is for Shadowridge and it will attract a lot of the regulars,” Love said. “Main Street attracts a lot of new people to the brewery, so I don’t think Thibodo will detract from downtown.”
The Thibodo location has expanded to 5,500 square feet — the brewery took over the School of Rock next door — and will accommodate a new 20-barrel system, which should be operating by July, Love said.
All of Mother Earth’s iconic 1960s and ‘70s memorabilia still adorns the walls and now there are seating areas where there weren’t before.
“It still has the feel that people are used to, but it’s not just one big rectangular box like it used to be. Now it’s a bunch of little boxes with places to actually sit down,” Love said.
To commemorate the re-opening, Mother Earth brewed Thibodo IPA, bittered with Polaris and Galena hops and dry-hopped with Mosaic and Belma.
Meanwhile, Mother Earth continues to gain momentum, particularly with its bottling line.
In bottles alone, the brewery is producing 600-800 cases each month, and Love said he hopes to land a distribution contract by October.
“We’re growing every month,” he said. “We can’t produce enough to keep up with demand.”
As for awards, Mother Earth is racking those up too. Hop Diggity, its popular double IPA, was a Silver winner at the Denver International Beer Competition and a Bronze winner at the San Diego International Beer Competition.