{"id":21634,"date":"2019-01-15T08:21:19","date_gmt":"2019-01-15T16:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/?p=21634"},"modified":"2019-01-15T08:52:16","modified_gmt":"2019-01-15T16:52:16","slug":"a-tale-of-three-igniters-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/2019\/01\/15\/a-tale-of-three-igniters-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tale of Three Igniters \u2013 Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, we began a poll of veteran tenants of lease-to-brew units at H.G. Fenton<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s trio of Brewery Igniter<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0campuses in Miramar, North Park and Carlsbad. The focus of that piece was Eppig Brewing<\/strong><\/a>, which has operated out of the North Park Brewery Igniter for more than two years and is actively seeking a long-term home that will allow them to grow beyond their current capacity without resorting to contract brewing. While they both want and need a larger, more traditional facility, they noted the many plusses their affiliation with H.G. Fenton has afforded them.<\/p>\n

Eppig\u2019s next-door neighbors at Pariah Brewing<\/strong><\/a> echo that sentiment. \u201cWe\u2019re happy that Brewery Igniter exists, because that allowed us to get our start without having millions of dollars behind us,\u201d says owner and head brewer Brian Mitchell<\/strong>, \u201cbut it\u2019s not sustainable. Pariah grew by 15% in its second year, but that meant we maxed out our space. Not the brew system itself, but the space won\u2019t allow for any more growth without acquiring off-site storage, which is just another expense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Going into Pariah\u2019s third year and being halfway through his lease with H.G. Fenton, Mitchell knows it\u2019s imperative to have an idea for his next move, but there is much to consider. He is currently negotiating with two out-of-state distributors that are interested in Pariah\u2019s beers, but that presents a host of logistical challenges. Throw in the uncertainties of today\u2019s beer market and it has Mitchell in wait-and-see mode.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re cautiously watching the climate and trying to make the best decision for the team,\u201d he says. \u201cAll the layoffs and unfortunate closures have us leaning away from a mid- to large-scale production facility to focus on a comparable, modest-sized system we have here, but including a restaurant or really digging our heels into a neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly two years into his interest’s existence but not as pressed to define the next step, Rouleur Brewing<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0owner Rawley Macias<\/strong> is in a similarly undecided state. The first tenant to set up shop in the Carlsbad Brewery Igniter back in 2017, Macias has made a name for his company, primarily among North County beer fans, while finding a second revenue stream serving as a second-party pilot-brewing facility for Port Brewing<\/strong><\/a> \/ The Lost Abbey<\/strong><\/a>. He\u2019s in a good place, but uncertain how long he\u2019ll remain with Brewery Igniter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are renewing for another year in February,\u201d he says. \u201cWe had the plan to open a satellite tasting room before proceeding on funding our own brewery. We were serious and very close to signing a deal for a 2,000-square-foot tasting room in San Marcos\u2019 San Elijo community, but decided to pull out. San Elijo is fairly landlocked and has a pretty expensive lease rate. That move would have made or sank us; too big a risk for my liking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Macias is still interested in pursuing viable satellite tasting room options, but says he\u2019s not in a hurry. He believes too many local breweries are overextending themselves and, like Mitchell, feels it\u2019s important to tread water while keeping an eye peeled on the industry as a whole. \u201cI have a strong feeling that we will see a good amount of closures over 2019, and spaces and equipment will be on the market,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a sad thing to say, but in my opinion, it\u2019s going to get worse before it gets better. It\u2019s smart to have a plan, but it\u2019s also smart to remain agile and keep our options open, especially in a dynamic climate like we are seeing now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, we began a poll of veteran tenants of lease-to-brew units at H.G. Fenton\u2019s trio of Brewery Igniter\u00a0campuses in Miramar, North Park and Carlsbad. The focus of that piece was Eppig Brewing, which has operated out of the North Park Brewery Igniter for more than two years and is actively seeking a long-term home […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":21635,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":[368,1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21634","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-beer-news","8":"category-san-diego-beer-beverage-news","9":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/pariah01.jpg?fit=1000%2C473&ssl=1","wps_subtitle":"Feeling out current and future plans for Brewery Igniter tenants","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdtr4y-5CW","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21634","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=21634"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21641,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21634\/revisions\/21641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}