Later today, National City will celebrate the arrival of its first-ever professional brewery, Embarcadero Brewing. There’ll be no ribbon-cutting, no speeches from government officials or proclamations, but it’s going to be a very exciting affair for the owners, who’ve worked hard to become the municipality’s first fermentation operation and are thrilled to share their beer with their community.
Embarcadero Brewing started as a home-brewing supply store. That component remains and still sells pre-milled grains, hops, yeast, sanitation chemicals, conical fermenters and other recreational brewing equipment. Now there is a tasting room decorated to convey the rustic feel of an old shipping dock via stained woods and lighting that dims come night-time. The current tap list includes an amber ale (5.2%), strawberry blonde ale (5.6%), Pale Ale (5.5%), English-style IPA (6%) and American IPA (5.8%).
“The major challenges [of getting to this point] have been money and time. My partners and I all have families and work full-time. On top of that, the City didn’t really know how to deal with us since we’re the first tasting room in National City, but it all worked out in the end,” says Embarcadero Brewing co-owner Marco Pena. “We have all worked hard to fine-tune our recipes, run the South Bay’s first homebrew supply store and create something new in National City.”
Embarcadero Brewing is located at 340 West 26th Street, Suite D. Its hours of operation are 11:30 a.m to 10 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, and 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays. An official grand-opening event will likely take place in mid-October. Says Pena, “It’ll be a big party for sure.”