Observant local beer drinkers will have noticed that 10 Barrel is making its way onto store shelves and into keg rooms and upcoming beer festival lineups.
And based on the information printed (or not printed) on the label, the vast majority of consumers would never know that 10 Barrel is owned by ABI — which is what Stone’s Greg Koch is referring to when he repeats the word “obfuscation.” This is also the crux of comments sent to the downtown planning group before last week’s neighborhood use permit hearing on a now-likely 10 Barrel brewpub in the East Village.
In a Fortune article, San Diego Brewers Guild president emeritus Kevin Hopkins furthered those thoughts, accusing 10 Barrel of seeking “to deceptively communicate itself as being part of the locally grown marketplace” as well as leveraging “its resource as a corporation to compete against and ultimately harm the true local brewers and disrupt the market.”
Long-time beer writer Jay Brooks remarked that “this is setting up to be an interesting battle” in his Brookston Beer Bulletin. Brooks appeared intrigued that the press release from ABI included mentions of opposition that the corporation is facing. He also included the official San Diego Brewers Guild statement:
“The acquisitions that transacted last year and the news of AB-InBev’s intentions to open up in San Diego through 10 Barrel highlights the fact that San Diego is truly a world-class brewing center. That reputation is due to the hard work of locally-owned breweries and the San Diego Brewers Guild. Historically, it has been independent brewers who have built the thriving beer community that San Diego is now known for around the world. The risk underlying the acquisition of breweries by large, international corporations and the risk of businesses like the proposed 10 Barrel brewpub in San Diego is that beer drinkers here may think that when they patronize these businesses, and buy and drink beer, that they are supporting the local brewing community. That is not the case. Should the 10 Barrel project open in San Diego as proposed, consumers need to know that it is owned by Anheuser-Busch and not a local craft brewery or a craft brewery in general. Now more than ever, with the introduction of non-craft breweries to San Diego’s craft landscape, it is important to continue to support locally owned and operated San Diego breweries, like the brewer members in the San Diego Brewers Guild.”
Others, like Scot Blair, whose Monkey Paw brewpub sits a block away from 10 Barrel’s site, decided to not object to the permit at last week’s hearing, but he instead shifted attention to the folks in charge of Makers Quarter, which includes 1501 E Street.
“These guys orchestrated getting 10 Barrel into this spotlight, because they knew ABI could spend all this money to renovate the site and increase the property values,” he told West Coaster. “Would any of the local breweries have been able to pay what they’re asking?”
When reached for comment, Michael Burton, the commercial broker for the bindery building and its property owner, told us that “the property was publicly marketed, and 10 Barrel was the only brewery to show interest in the location.”
Meanwhile, a local brewer’s “open forum” for conversation regarding the changing craft landscape, meant to include brands like Ballast Point, Saint Archer, and 10 Barrel in the discussion, is tentatively scheduled for March 6.
For their part, 10 Barrel founder Garrett Wales told Eater SD that the new location’s head brewer will be a native San Diegan who has brewed with the company for several years. These expansion plans, which have reportedly been in the works since before their sale to ABI, include a 20 BBL brewhouse. 10 Barrel also has a Denver brewpub in the works.