Things keep moving at a fast pace in the San Diego beer industry, so here are some quick-hit items from the county’s suds scene.
Following a friends-and-family soft-opening yesterday, Helia Brewing will debut to the public on Saturday, October 13. Located at 1250 Keystone Way in Vista, the brewery was originally called White Fence Brewing, but ownership decided to adopt the handle of the Greek goddess of the sun instead. The grand opening event will take place from 4 to 10 p.m. and will include music from “beach-funk Americana” group The Ha, and food from Bottaro Wood-Fired Pizza. As of Saturday, Helia will be the fourth local brewery to open in the past 16 days, joining Embarcadero Brewing & Supply in National City (September 27), Attitude Brewing in Barrio Logan (September 28) and Creative Creature Brewing in El Cajon (October 5).
While the majority of new breweries are settling in underserved communities, Vista keeps getting richer. It is currently home to 19 brewery-owned venues and, in addition to Helia, it will soon welcome a satellite tasting room from Carlsbad-based Guadalupe Brewery. The owners of that small operation, which is housed on the back end of a homebrew-supply store, have been hard at work on their second space for well over a year. It was originally projected to open last month and is located at 631 South Santa Fe Avenue, not far from the city’s popular old-town downtown area.
Back in San Diego proper, Temecula’s Black Market Brewing is looking to expand with a brewpub not far from San Diego State University. Located at 4800 Art Street in the building that formerly housed Social Tap American Eatery, the space will be equipped with a 10-barrel brewing system and produce beers that go beyond the Riverside interest’s core line-up.