Couple of articles in the local paper regarding the growing beer scene in Ventura County.
New openings and expansions
http://www.vcstar.com/business/local/craft-breweries-ready-to-multiply-in-around-ventura-county_53105711
Craft breweries ready to multiply in, around Ventura County
By: Lisa McKinnon
Posted: 12:16 PM, Jul 4, 2015 Updated: 12:52 PM, Jul 4, 2015
Here’s a guide to craft breweries scheduled to expand and/or open in and around Ventura County within the next year:
CANTARA BREWING: Mike and Chris Brown of Cantara Cellars in Camarillo expanded their existing winery into a neighboring, 3,500-square-foot space last summer with an eye toward adding a single-barrel pilot brewery to the premises. It could be up and running as soon as January, said Mike Brown. In preparation, the Browns also are expanding the capabilities of the on-site kitchen, and on July 18 will launch a monthly, family-style dining and wine-pairing series called Eatin’ Or Ya Ain’t? (http://www.cantaracellars.com)
FIVE THREADS BREWING CO.: Construction started a few weeks ago on what will be a seven-barrel brewery in Westlake Village. A Kickstarter campaign to help fund finishing touches to the tasting room will launch this month, followed by a hoped-for opening in late summer. Until then, co-founder Neil Shirley and co-founder and brewer Tim Kazules are pouring sneak-preview tastes at private and charitable events like the launch party for Slow Food Ventura County and the Conejo Food & Wine Fest. (http://www.fivethreadsbrewing.com)
INSTITUTION ALE CO.: Already open in a Camarillo industrial park, the family-owned brewery will relocate in late summer or early fall to a 12,800-square-foot building near the Camarillo Ranch House. Zoning codes were modified for the project, which was approved by the city’s planning commission in May. Permits came through in June for construction, which will start this month, said co-owner Shaun Smith. The move will increase Institution’s capacity from a three-barrel system to a 15-barrel system — and will add outdoor seating courtesy of an 800-square-foot patio. (http://institutionales.com)
MADEWEST BREWING CO.: California natives Seth Gibson and Mike Morrison, who also serves as brewer, are the primary forces behind this microbrewery and tasting room devoted to “good beer, good design and overall good life experiences.” The project will start construction this month at a 14,000-square-foot industrial space on Donlon Street in Ventura. You can’t buy the beers yet, but hats and T-shirts bearing the brewery’s logo are available on its website. (http://www.madewest.com)
RED TANDEM BREWERY: Described as a nanobrewery that will offer six to eight ales made on-site, this project is under construction in a 1,200-square-foot space in the Oxnard Shores Shopping Center in Oxnard. It is flanked by Heavenly Cakes and The Pizza Co., setting the stage for sweet and savory food pairings. Owner Mark Caviezel also plans to offer house-made ginger ale. (http://www.redtandembrewery.com)
SMOKE MOUNTAIN BREWERY: The high-above-the-Ventura-coastline location that includes this future brewery is open to the public on the first Sunday of the month — and even then is open only for bring-your-own-meat barbecues and live-jazz sessions organized by Randy Siple of the West Coast Traditional Jass Club. Son Darren Siple is brewmaster and daughter-in-law Jill Siple is a co-owner in the brewery, scheduled to launch in August as a beer club offering quarterly shipments that will start in the fall. Plans include opening a tasting room for club members and brewing estate beers with hops and grains grown on site, said Jill Siple. Prospective beer-club members can join the interest list by submitting their names via a form on the website. (http://www.smokemountainbrewery.com)
VENTURA COAST BREWING CO.: The vacant My Florist/Blu Orkid building in downtown Ventura is the future home for this brewery and taproom slated to open in early 2016, said owner Kyle Thille. Born in Santa Paula and raised in Ventura, Thille is back in town after earning a degree in computer science at UC Davis, where he also studied brewing and mechanical engineering. The brewery will offer blonde ales, IPAs and German-style lagers “with a Southern California twist,” said Thille, who hopes to start a sour-beers program. The existing kitchen will be dismantled to make room for the 15-barrel brewhouse, so food trucks and delivery from nearby restaurants will help keep patrons fed. (Website in progress.)
WESTLAKE BREWING CO.: This project by the owners of the already-open Aldabella Custom Crush Winery & Storage in Westlake Village is expected to open late this year or early next. The space also is used by Half Pint Ciders for the making of its California 101 Cider House brand for off-site sales. (http://www.aldabellawinery.com).
Lisa McKinnon is a staff writer for The Ventura CountyStar. Her Cafe Society column appears in the Sunday Life section. For between-column updates, follow 805foodie on Twitter and Instagram and “like” the Facebook page VCS Eats. Please send email to lisa.mckinnon@vcstar.com.
Topa Topa brewing opens
http://www.vcstar.com/business/local/topa-topa-brewing-co-opens-in-ventura-has-heart-set-on-ojai-too_55469443
By: Lisa McKinnon
Posted: 12:16 PM, Jul 4, 2015 Updated: 12:52 PM, Jul 4, 2015
VENTURA, Calif. - The original plans for Topa Topa Brewing Co. called for opening just a few blocks from downtown Ojai, within view of the mountain range that inspired the microbrewery’s name. But when the project hit a series of snags involving the proposed site — a long-vacant wooden building so rustic that birds have taken to roosting inside — the brewery’s partners looked elsewhere. “We were at the point of just needing to get the business started,” said Jack Dyer, co-owner of the brewery with Kyle Thompson and head brewer Casey Harris, formerly of Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido. They found a home in what is shaping up to be Ventura County’s answer to the craft-beer scene in San Diego County: downtown Ventura. Specifically, they found the former C&R Blueprint building at 104 E. Thompson St. After using paper cutouts to determine whether the brewery’s initial 15-barrel brew house, four 30-barrel fermenters, single 15-barrel fermenter and reverse osmosis water system would fit into the 4,300-square-foot space, they signed the lease.
“The high ceiling was the catalyst for making this work. Fermenters don’t get wider, they just get taller,” said Dyer. Visible through the front windows, the brewery is in the portion of the building that is closest to the street. The 430-square-foot taproom is near the back, under a partial second floor that is used for storage. Outdoor patios add another 450 square feet of space for patrons.
Open to the public since June 6, the new brewery is just around the corner from the former Santa Clara Street location of Shields Brewing Co., in operation in the 1990s. It is within walking distance to Anacapa Brewing Co., open since 2000, and to Barrelhouse 101, a restaurant with 101 craft beers on tap.
Topa Topa joins a wave of recent craft-brewery debuts and expansions in the region. Poseidon Brewing Co. opened near the Ventura Auto Center in August, Enegren Brewing Co. moved to its nearly five-times-larger space in Moorpark in January, and Oxnard-based Casa Agria Specialty Ales launched its inaugural bottle-membership campaign in April. The memberships quickly sold out at $300 each.
The owners of at least eight more breweries hope to open or expand in and around Ventura County over the next year. They include Kyle Thille, who is pushing for an early 2016 debut for Ventura Coast Brewing Co. at the former My Florist / Blu Orkid building in downtown Ventura. The more the merrier, said Harris, who grew up in Solvang and left Stone Brewing Co. in part to return to his childhood area code. “This area is ready for all kinds of craft beer. We’re happy to get in here while the market is still so young,” Harris said. The market is clearly thirsty. After two busy weeks capped by a Father’s Day that included Sunday brunch and a whole-hog pig roast by chef Tim Kilcoyne of Scratch food truck, Topa Topa closed its doors until the following Friday to regroup. The anticipated arrival later this summer of two additional 30-barrel fermenters will help keep up with the demand, Dyer said. During construction, the arrival of the brewery’s initial shipment of equipment from Brazil was held up for nearly three months because of stalled contract negotiations between shipping companies and dockworkers at ports on the West Coast.
The delay gave Dyer, Thompson and Harris time to focus on details they might not have otherwise considered. Among them: etching the brewery’s diamond-shaped logo — designed by partner Ryan Jacobs — onto the inside bottom surface of every glass destined for the taproom. “It looks cool, for one thing. For another, it works the way bubbles do in Champagne. They rise up from the etching, which is good for head retention and contributes to the aroma,” Dyer said. Jacobs also designed the California bear that is painted on one of the brewery’s roll-up doors, creating a semiofficial spot to take selfies.
Despite its location just a few blocks from the beach, Topa Topa offers several reminders of the Ojai Valley. Beers on tap include Chief Peak, an IPA named for the highest summit in the Topa Topa range. Canning jars filled with papery Matilija poppies decorate the tap room flooded with light from roll-up doors. Sampler trays fashioned from reclaimed wood by Matilija Canyon artist Ryan Lang include metal backs shaped like the mountain range. “The Ojai Valley holds a special place in my heart,” said Dyer, who moved to Ojai from San Diego with his family about three years ago. He now serves on the board of the Ojai Valley Defense Fund.
Thompson, a longtime friend and fellow surfer and home brewer, also lives in Ojai with his family. Harris, 26, prefers the vibe of Santa Barbara.
Jacobs, a graphic designer who runs his own studio, is the lone San Diego County holdout, but he’s wavering: On a recent afternoon, he and Dyer were overheard talking about hiking trails in and around the Ojai Valley.
The team hasn’t given up on opening a space in Ojai. “We still hope to be at the location that got us thinking about this brewery in the first place,” said Dyer. “It’s still a possibility.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Topa Topa Brewing Co.
WHERE: 104 E. Thompson Blvd., Ventura.
WHEN: The taproom is open from noon to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, noon to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays.
ON TAP: Opening-month options include Chief Peak IPA (7 percent alcohol), Flatlands saison (6 percent), Weekender session IPA made with Lemondrop and other hops (4.7 percent), Gadabout oatmeal stout (5.4 percent) and Gadabout with Centri Coffee, an oatmeal stout made with an extract of cold-brew New Guinea from the Ventura-based roaster (5.4 percent). Most brews are $2 for a taster or $6 for a pint. Growlers are $20; a refill is $18.
FOOD: Tables are available indoors and out for bring-your-own snacks. Local food trucks appear on selected days. Scratch offers brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. most Sundays.
INFORMATION: Call 805-628-9255 or http://www.topatopabrewingco.com.
Lisa McKinnon is a staff writer for The Ventura County Star. Her Cafe Society column appears in the Sunday Life section. For between-column updates, follow 805foodie on Twitter and Instagram and “like” the Facebook page VCS Eats. Please send email to lisa.mckinnon@vcstar.com.
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