Terry Little is in the middle of expanding the nanobrewery he built in the back of his homebrew shop, Bear Roots Brewing (1213 South Santa Fe Avenue, Vista), into a larger operation. That means going from a one-and-a-half-barrel system to a six-barrel brewery and outfitting his cellar with six-barrel fermentation tanks. In addition to this sizable undertaking, he’s recently taken on a new job…as director of brewer operations for another brewery altogether.
That operation is Black Plague Brewing Company (2550 Jason Court, Oceanside) a work-in-progress slated to open later this year in North County. We originally reported on this upcoming business last February, citing Vista as its prospective location and Philip Vieira as the business’ head brewer, but outside obligations have forced Vieira to back out of the brewhouse and Black Plague has since settled in a 12,945-square-foot facility in O-side. The company’s ownership saw securing Little as a way to better ensure brewing goes as well as it can early on.
It started with the Black Plague team (which includes pro skateboarder Jordan Hoffart) simply asking brewing-oriented questions of Little, who, in the spirit of San Diego brewer camaraderie, was happy to share whatever he could. Eventually, they found his assistance so helpful they made him an offer to oversee their brewing program as well as test out their prototype beers on Bear Roots’ system versus Black Plague’s 20-barrel system.
The first of those test-beers, an India pale ale called 1347, was on-tap during last weekend’s first-anniversary festivities. The beer is a cross between a West Coast and East Coast IPA that was hazy and big on fruit character. The palate presented flavors of guava, peach and orange, with the slightest bit of toastiness and a lasting resinous quality in the finish. It was very enjoyable and made this reporter excited for future beers from Black Plague.