{"id":17560,"date":"2017-07-11T08:00:22","date_gmt":"2017-07-11T15:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/?p=17560"},"modified":"2017-07-11T16:25:27","modified_gmt":"2017-07-11T23:25:27","slug":"first-look-viewpoint-brewing-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/2017\/07\/11\/first-look-viewpoint-brewing-company\/","title":{"rendered":"First Look: Viewpoint Brewing Company"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Photo by William Perls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Back in March, we introduced you to key personnel from Viewpoint Brewing Company <\/strong><\/a>(2201 San Dieguito Drive, Del Mar)<\/em>, Charles Koll<\/strong> and Gunnar Plantar<\/strong>. The former conceptualized the business and brought on the latter to lead the kitchen, but both are chefs with white-linen backgrounds. Over the past four months, they\u2019ve been busy putting finishing touches on their brewpub (Del Mar\u2019s first-ever beer manufacturer), which included hiring a head brewer. Not surprisingly, that individual, Moe Katomski<\/strong>, amassed years of chef experience before transitioning to the fermentation industry via a job with Vista\u2019s Bear Roots Brewing<\/strong><\/a>. As soon as next week, the general public will be able to see what this trio of toques has been working on when Viewpoint opens its doors.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo by William Perls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The opening has been a long time coming\u2014more than three years, in fact. Having recently toured the space, that time was put to good use. Viewpoint is in a simultaneously great and not-ideal location. Located across the San Dieguito Lagoon from the Del Mar Fairgrounds, it is highly visible and should receive plenty of patronage, not only from San Diego County Fair and Del Mar Racetrack visitors, but Del Mar residents, in general, and walkers on the trail abutting Viewpoint\u2019s shaded outdoor patio. The latter area is outfitted in a mixture of concrete and artificial turf, with live-edge, wooden communal tables and banquettes with tabletop fire features, as well as large, open, globe-shaped swings and corn-hole setups. These contemporary SoCal environs are particularly inviting and will surely inspire would-be exercisers to sit a spell and shift from calorie-burning to consumption.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo by William Perls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Those dropping in by car might find themselves a little less enamored rolling into a parking lot that, with Viewpoint\u2019s industrial roots fully exposed (perhaps to too great an extent, aesthetically), doesn\u2019t appear to house a restaurant. The front door is small and inauspicious, but upon stepping through it, guests figure to be glad they did. While not as luxurious as the patio, the main dining room is neatly situated and comfortable. A zig-zagging bar gives way to two high-top communal tables and additional bar-seating bordering Viewpoint\u2019s fermenter tanks. Roll-up garage-style doors provide access to the outdoor area as well as a pair of Skee Ball tables, further increasing the family-friendly aspect.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo by William Perls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Viewpoint\u2019s license allows for sale of guest beers to supplement a selection of house brews currently coming in at five. Katomski\u2019s wares include a single-malt-and-single-hop (SMASH) beer made with Maris Otter and Chinook hops, a rye IPA with Red X malt that lends a chocolate-like character washed away by a dank finish, and a light-bodied Belgian-style saison that\u2019s herbaceous and lemony with a hint of bubble gum. There is also a pair of pale ales. The first, Pleasant Surprise, was the initial beer run through Viewpoint\u2019s 15-barrel system and didn\u2019t turn out exactly as planned, but is not without its charms. Built on a K\u00f6lsch-recipe base with minimal infusion of Chinook hops for bittering, it may actually be a big hit with Del Martians. The second go at that beer is big on citrusy Mandarina Bavaria hops and a much more successful iteration in Katomski\u2019s opinion. That recipe is now set in stone.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo by William Perls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Drinkability and approachability were strived for and achieved with Viewpoint\u2019s first beers, but Katomski also plans to follow some suggestions from Plantar, who regularly turns him on to exotic ingredients from the culinary world. For now, he\u2019s fighting the urge to get \u201ctoo crazy\u201d and that seems a good game-plan for a community that has yet to have much exposure to craft beer.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo by William Perls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With so many cooks in the kitchen, one might expect a for-chefs-by-chefs menu that\u2019s overly extensive and out of control. Viewpoint\u2019s is relatively brief but offers variety, including an assortment of appetizers that includes riffs on poutine and Jidori chicken wings served by the dozen with house sauces, charcuterie, salads, sandwiches, entr\u00e9es (steak frites, salmon) and desserts. Beer and its ingredients make it into accoutrements such as a hop vinaigrette and milk stout demi-glace. Then there\u2019s a rare first for the local beer scene, a beer-and-food flight wherein three of Viewpoint\u2019s beers are served with a trio of pretzel bao buns stuffed with ingredients selected to match their liquid counterparts.<\/p>\n

Following its debut, Viewpoint will be open seven days a week<\/strong>. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.<\/strong>\u00a0it will operate as a tasting room offering light bites, before converting to a full-on restaurant from 4 to 11 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back in March, we introduced you to key personnel from Viewpoint Brewing Company (2201 San Dieguito Drive, Del Mar), Charles Koll and Gunnar Plantar. The former conceptualized the business and brought on the latter to lead the kitchen, but both are chefs with white-linen backgrounds. Over the past four months, they\u2019ve been busy putting finishing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":17568,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[368,369,371,1],"tags":[1353,2086,376,442,1447,2233,3621,3990,4055,391,804,1535,3941,1659,4049,2483,4056,49,4051,4052,4050,2052,4058,3583,4053,1439,803,3907,3618,4054,2958,4057,4048,3613,44,1637],"class_list":{"0":"post-17560","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-beer-news","8":"category-beer-styles","9":"category-brewing-ingredients","10":"category-san-diego-beer-beverage-news","11":"tag-sdbeer","12":"tag-bear-roots","13":"tag-beer","14":"tag-brandon-hernandez","15":"tag-brewpub","16":"tag-charcuterie","17":"tag-charles-koll","18":"tag-chinook","19":"tag-cornhole","20":"tag-craftbeer","21":"tag-del-mar","22":"tag-del-mar-fair","23":"tag-del-mar-fairgrounds","24":"tag-del-mar-racetrack","25":"tag-gunnar-plantar","26":"tag-indiebeer","27":"tag-jidori-chicken","28":"tag-kolsch","29":"tag-mandarina-bavaria","30":"tag-marris-otter","31":"tag-moe-katomski","32":"tag-pale-ale","33":"tag-poutine","34":"tag-red-ipa","35":"tag-red-x","36":"tag-san-diego","37":"tag-san-diego-county-fair","38":"tag-san-dieguito","39":"tag-san-dieguito-lagoon","40":"tag-skee-ball","41":"tag-smash-beer","42":"tag-steak-frites","43":"tag-viewpoint-brewery","44":"tag-viewpoint-brewing","45":"tag-vista","46":"tag-west-coaster","47":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/050_DSC05319.jpg?fit=3000%2C2001&ssl=1","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdtr4y-4ze","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}