In February, I introduced the world to business-in-planning, Black Plague Brewing. At the time, co-founders John Kilby, Jordan Hoffart, Jarred Doss and Philip Vieira were about to close on a space in Vista in which to house a 15-barrel brewhouse and serve patrons from a tasting room as well as a 2,000-square-foot patio. The selection of Vista seemed sensible given the fact that city is home to more breweries than any municipality in the county other than San Diego. But as it turns out, Black Plague won’t become Vista’s thirteenth brewery. Instead, the business is headed to the city with the fastest-growing brewing scene of any municipality in the county other than San Diego—Oceanside.
Black Plague will be installed in a 12,945-square-foot facility in the Jason Court Business Park on the east side of town halfway between State Routes 76 and 78. But that’s not all that’s changed. Now, the owners are looking to go with a 20-barrel brewing system straight out of the gate. Once that is operative, Vieira will serve as brewmaster and immediately get to work producing the company’s Black IPA and Golden Rye, both of which will be pushed to market in 22-ounce bottles as quickly as possible. Back at Black Plague’s taproom, roughly a dozen beers will be available.
In the past six months, four breweries have opened in Oceanside (Belching Beaver Brewery, Mason Ale Works, Midnight Jack Brewing Company and Oceanside Brewing Company), bringing the community’s total to eight. Black Plague figures to come in as number 9 or 10, depending on when fellow work-in-progress Northern Pine Brewing selects its site and opens. Currently, Black Plague is scheduled to begin producing beer around the end of 2016 or the start of 2017.