In 2013, Chuck McLaughlin and his family opened Fallbrook Brewing (136 North Main Avenue, Fallbrook), giving its namesake upper North County community its first beer-production interest since 1987, when it housed San Diego County’s first post-Prohibition ale manufacturer, Bolt Brewery (a brand revived in La Mesa in 2014). A quaint, brewery-attached tasting room was replete with Fallbrook- and Americana-inspired design elements, and drew good crowds on live music nights, but had trouble pulling in enough business to soldier on, prompting McLaughlin’s decision to close the business on Sunday, April 15.
Much of Fallbrook Brewing’s struggles have to do with the geography and the nature of its local clientele. Fallbrook is less than 10 miles from Riverside County’s southern border, with the closest San Diego County brewery (Escondido’s Stone Brewing) a full 27 miles south. It’s a trek for out-of-towners who are more likely to frequent any of the other 150-plus breweries located much closer to anywhere they might reside. On top of that, McLaughlin notes most locals leave town on weekends, leaving little clientele to be had within Fallbrook, leaving him with an unsustainable business.
But before shutting his company down, McLaughlin wants to celebrate the past half-decade with a pair of last-hurrah events, starting with the release of a collaboration oatmeal pale ale with tangelos called Tangerine Speedo that was brewed with members of Pizza Port San Clemente and Beer Savage. That will take place on Friday, April 6. Then, on April 15, Fallbrook Brewing will take part in the town’s annual Avocado Festival before locking the doors for good.
When asked what he liked most about five years of owning his own brewery and brewing the beers he wanted to make, McLaughlin replied, “The best thing about it has been all of the amazing people we’ve met and the friendships that we’ve made.”