This is the second in a four-part series of weekly roundups listing the most promising work-in-progress, brewery-owned projects in San Diego County. Over the past two weeks, we have taken a look at the North County. This time around, we are focusing on East County.
Council Brewing: Brewery owners Liz and Curtis Chism are returning to the community they once called home, reconfiguring the former home of Finest Made Ales (and before that, Twisted Manzanita Ales) to meet their needs. This second facility will provide significantly increased capacity for production of the clean beers in their portfolio (they are also known for their barrel- and fouder-aged ales), plus a spacious tasting room for customers to sample them. The latter soft-opens this Wednesday, May 9 at 2 p.m., exactly four years to the day and hour that their original Kearny Mesa tasting room opened to the public. | 9962 Prospect Avenue, Suite E, Santee
Julian Beer Co.: Pizza Port co-founder Vince Marsaglia is in the home stretch after overhauling his brewpub. In doing so, he’ll keep key attributes, including delicious barbecue, a barn offering live music performances, and an in-house brewery. The latter has upgraded equipment and will now specialize in farmhouse-style ales, some of which will be made using ingredients grown on-site. The food program is also being expanded to include pizza and sandwiches. Marsaglia expects to open the doors to getawayville visitors next month. | 2315 Main Street, Julian
Creative Creature Brewing: El Cajon has had a rough go of it where breweries are concerned. Its first, the namesake El Cajon Brewing, failed miserably. Though that space was taken over by the successful URBN Pizza, the restaurant group knew nothing about running a brewery, leading them to shut it down. Now, a quartet of homebrewers have the keys to a small-but-capable spot, from which they are looking to craft beers both traditional and avant-garde, hopefully giving the city something it’s never had—a hometown brewpub it can depend on. Check back tomorrow for an article all about these newcomers. | 110 Magnolia Avenue, El Cajon
Picks Last Time Around: Fourpenny House, La Mesa (open); 13 Point Brewing, Lemon Grove (work in progress); Depot Springs Beer Co., La Mesa (project scrapped)