Yesterday morning, members of the Vista Brewers Guild met at Barrel Harbor, the newest brewing company in the area. Vista’s Economic Development Director Kevin Ham was also in attendance. He discussed how the newly-approved cabaret licenses, which will allow live music one night a week at the breweries, are a sign that “the City has seen this industry as something that’s great to support.”
We spoke with representatives from the nine existing breweries, all of whom will be pouring at the 2nd Annual Rhythm & Brews Musical Festival on October 5.
Aztec: Coming up September 28 is an Oktoberfest event with Swieners: pick your favorite Swiener and Aztec beer for a keep-the-pint special. No advance tickets required.
Backstreet: Brewer Chris Gort has created “MC’s IPA” for the Rhythm & Brews Fest in honor of Matthew Courtright, who he trained at Stone for about a year.
Barrel Harbor: Vista’s newest brewery will celebrate their grand opening on October 26 with a bagpipe band and more. They’re brewing on a 10-BBL Premier Stainless system.
Belching Beaver: Two 30-BBL fermentors are now online, increasing production by 80%. Brewer Troy Smith is set to fly to Washington to train on a new bottling line, with product expected next month.
Indian Joe: Averaging 22 beers on tap at a time, Indian Joe will soon expand into a new 21,000 sq. ft. space with a 30 BBL brewhouse; expect 4-packs, 6-packs and bombers in 2014.
Iron Fist: As of two days ago, only 92 tickets were left for their third anniversary party on October 12. On Monday, the brewery packaged 4-packs of Nelson The Impaler American Pale Ale.
Latitude 33: October 5 is the Dry Hump (dry-hopped Camel Corps) release, with Humptoberfest set for October 19; expect Wet Hump (fresh-hopped Camel Corps) plus five more IPAs.
Mother Earth: The final brew on their current system is Saturday, with breakdown on Sunday, before the oversized 20-BBL Premier Stainless system arrives Monday to expand production threefold.
Prohibition: The northern most of the group is planning to expand into the adjacent suite. They’ve been brewing on a 10-BBL system for about six months, and will provide beer for Oceanside Harbor Days September 28-29.
Booze Brothers, a yet-to-open brewery with representation at the meeting, is hoping to debut in a month with a 10-BBL system, two 20-BBL fermentors, a 7-BBL fermentor, and one 20-BBL brite.
Other breweries-in-planning include Project X (aka URGE Craft Alley), Full Body Brewing and Toolbox.