Last week, we reported Eppig Brewing‘s ownership team had spent the past two years searching San Diego County for a spot to house a brewery. In doing so, they had spent much of their time in North County, seeking an industrial-use space that would allow them to surpass the production capabilities of their current lease-to-brew facility in North Park’s Brewery Igniter building. After touring dozens of sites, they recently found a spot to their liking and, on Monday, signed a lease, assuring they will be brewing in Vista by the end of the year.
Located at 1347 Keystone Way, Suite C, just off Palomar Airport Road, Eppig’s future home is brand-new construction that will come in at nearly 16,000 square feet. There will be plenty of room for the three-vessel, 30-barrel Deutsche steam brewhouse they recently acquired. That system will allow Eppig to initially triple its production to 3,500 barrels annually, but with high ceilings and room to grow its cellar capacity, they don’t plan on stopping there.
“It’s exciting to find someplace that fits all of our needs, including having a phenomenal tasting room. Finding the exact mix wasn’t easy,” says co-owner Stephanie Eppig, who notes that the vacancy rate for commercial industrial space in San Diego is less than five percent, and even lower once the needs of a brewery production facility are factored in. “In particular, our Special Lager has been a big, runaway hit, and an unexpected one at that. Now we can hopefully brew enough to meet demand.”
Until now, Eppig had been supplementing the beers produced at its Brewery Igniter space with contract-brewed products. Now they will be able to produce as much beer as they need to on their own, and have enough space at the new facility for bottling and canning using mobile vendors.
“This move helps us share more beer with more people in the greater San Diego area,” says co-owner and brewer Clayton LeBlanc. “We can increase supply consistency and quality-control measures ensuring Eppig beer is always at its best.”
As for that “phenomenal” tasting room, it will come in at 1,500 square feet, with a mezzanine area that will be phased in over the next two years. Additionally, the new Eppig facility will feature a 1,000-square-foot patio for outdoor imbibing, something that has proven a valuable asset at the company’s waterfront tasting room in Point Loma, which will remain open. Back at North Park, Eppig says that she and her team are still evaluating their time frame for exiting their current facility, based on several scenarios, including the ongoing government shutdown, which is impacting TTB approvals. But it will get done eventually and she and her ownership team are excited to move forward.
“Up until now, we’ve had so many limitations,” says Eppig. “Wait until everybody sees what we can do without limitations.”
