When Wild Barrel Brewing opened in 2017, its ownership group knew they wanted to be headquartered in San Marcos, but operate numerous satellite tasting rooms. At 3 p.m. tomorrow, the first of those venues will debut when Wild Barrel opens the doors to its new sampling space in Temecula. Located at 41493 Margarita Road, Suite 106-A, it is part of the Promenade Mall and comes in at 2,500 square feet, enough space to fit 138 customers.
“Our plan has always been to open multiple tasting rooms while doing limited self-distribution, with some international sales. We have focused the bulk of our Southern California distribution in San Diego County for ergonomic [sic] reasons,” says co-founder Bill Sysak. “We have always been firm believers—although we seem to be in the minority—of not opening multiple tasting rooms where the majority of our accounts are and becoming direct competition with the accounts that have chosen to support us. So, no new tasting rooms in San Diego County for the foreseeable future.”
So if not locally, where might the next Wild Barrel satellite find its orbit? Sysak says the current plan is to touch down somewhere in Orange County, though the exact city and time frame have yet to be determined. Back in Temecula, Wild Barrel will soon be joined by an in-mall brewery-owned contemporary when 3 Local Brothers Restaurant Group opens a second iteration of its San Marcos concept, Urge Common House, which will serve the beers of 3LB’s Mason Ale Works. That project is expected to debut in the first half of 2020.
Wild Barrel’s Temecula tasting room will initially be open Monday through Wednesday from 3 to 9 p.m. Thursdays from 3 to 10 p.m., Fridays from 2 to 11 p.m., Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sundays from 11 to 9 p.m. As part of tomorrow’s opening, the company will release cans of a hazy IPA dry-hopped with Galaxy and Azacca hops called Cosmic Haze Hunter as well as an edition of its fruited Berliner weisse, Vice, flavored with nectarines and cherries.