Those who’ve sampled beer within its friendly confines know that Home Brewing Company (2911 El Cajon Boulevard, North Park) has a lot going for it. Simple in its construct and easygoing in mood, it effectively accomplishes its mission—exposing Home’s clientele to a plethora of exploratory beer styles and, in the best of cases, sparking an interest in taking up brewing. The latter is a bonus and, while converting imbibers to recreational fermentationists certainly benefits owner George Thornton—Home Brewing is connected to next-door parent business, The Homebrewer—the brewery and tasting room are a product of passion versus capitalist aspirations. And the space feels that way, but Thornton has wanted to change it for some time and that day is drawing nigh.
Come June, construction is scheduled to start on an expansion of the tasting room that’s been in the works for three years. (A lack of funds kept it from happening sooner (so maybe Thornton would benefit from employing a little more capitalism.) The goal of the project is to make Home even more homey, opening up the space and make it evocative of a living room or reading room. Bookshelves stocked with accessible written materials and framed photos will be installed to convey that, but rather than make things too domestic, Thornton will balance out those design elements with the bar and what’s positioned behind it.
Jet-black quartz counter-tops will be installed over the existing bar, and give way to a “shrine-like” tap-wall with a bronze, tinted mirror behind it. The goal is to create a sense of transition between production space, a shrine to process and a living area, all within Home Brewing’s humble, 500-square-foot space. Adding a patio area with a fold-up door opening onto El Cajon Boulevard will expand the space by 150 square feet and free up interior space. With any luck, the project will be completed before summer is up.