Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Rincon Band launches SR76 Beerworks at its casino

The house beer always wins

The feel of a casino lounge but without gambling machines and video screens
The feel of a casino lounge but without gambling machines and video screens

The Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians has added a brewery component to its gambling interests. The sovereign tribe owns the Harrah's casino on its reservation near Valley Center, and on November 5th it opened a 15-barrel brewhouse on the property.

Place

SR76 Beerworks

777 Harrah's Rincon Way, Valley Center

Dubbed SR76 Beerworks, the new brewery sits to the left of the resort's main hotel entrance. Although stainless steel brewing vessels are visible from the spacious tasting room, its decor more closely resembles that of a Vegas lounge than a craft microbrewery. There are no gambling machines or televisions, but there are modern style lines and plush furniture, even chaise sofas.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Making the beer is brewmaster Brian Scott, who first connected with the Rincon Band during his tenure as president of the San Diego Brewers Guild in 2012. The former Karl Strauss brewer has been working the past three years with the tribe's economic development corporation, REDCO, to develop a concept that acknowledged the brewery's tribal origins.

The beers take their names from local landmarks such as Hellhole Canyon, or from the Luiseño language — the word for "sun" is given to the Temet kolsch. Scott points out even the name SR76, which refers to the casino's location off State Route 76, is a nod to local history: "That route was the footpath for the tribe that lived out here to move between here and the coast."

Scott launched the brewery with four approachable core beers: the kolsch, a saison, wheat beer, and pale ale. While he'll be filling out the four remaining taps with bolder styles, he aims to appeal to a diverse clientele that's been wandering into the unique tasting-room location — casual beer drinkers, as well as the educated palates of San Diego's beer community.

"There's been a good mix," Scott observes. "A lot of residents who live in Valley Center and guests at the resort. But, yeah, we've had our fair share of people who are craft-beer enthusiasts come specifically for us.... It has taken on that neighborhoodish sort of feel because everyone interacts with each other."

And that's part of what the 13-year brewery veteran is looking for with this business. "It gives the resort and the tribe a nice showpiece brewery," Scott says. "For me, a big driver is interaction…. A lot of times, as you work through your career as a brewer, you tend to end up in places where you become less and less visible to the people drinking your product."

Conversely, Scott frequently works the bar during the tasting room's regular Wednesday-through Sunday hours. "Because of our relationship with the resort, I'm able to produce a lot of world class beers," he explains, "But still able to have this opportunity to talk to the people who are enjoying them… Most breweries this size don't always get to have that luxury."

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Taco Taco Poway still has 99-cent fish tacos

Tacotopia prizewinner is well known among Powegians
Next Article

Taco Taco Poway still has 99-cent fish tacos

Tacotopia prizewinner is well known among Powegians
The feel of a casino lounge but without gambling machines and video screens
The feel of a casino lounge but without gambling machines and video screens

The Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians has added a brewery component to its gambling interests. The sovereign tribe owns the Harrah's casino on its reservation near Valley Center, and on November 5th it opened a 15-barrel brewhouse on the property.

Place

SR76 Beerworks

777 Harrah's Rincon Way, Valley Center

Dubbed SR76 Beerworks, the new brewery sits to the left of the resort's main hotel entrance. Although stainless steel brewing vessels are visible from the spacious tasting room, its decor more closely resembles that of a Vegas lounge than a craft microbrewery. There are no gambling machines or televisions, but there are modern style lines and plush furniture, even chaise sofas.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Making the beer is brewmaster Brian Scott, who first connected with the Rincon Band during his tenure as president of the San Diego Brewers Guild in 2012. The former Karl Strauss brewer has been working the past three years with the tribe's economic development corporation, REDCO, to develop a concept that acknowledged the brewery's tribal origins.

The beers take their names from local landmarks such as Hellhole Canyon, or from the Luiseño language — the word for "sun" is given to the Temet kolsch. Scott points out even the name SR76, which refers to the casino's location off State Route 76, is a nod to local history: "That route was the footpath for the tribe that lived out here to move between here and the coast."

Scott launched the brewery with four approachable core beers: the kolsch, a saison, wheat beer, and pale ale. While he'll be filling out the four remaining taps with bolder styles, he aims to appeal to a diverse clientele that's been wandering into the unique tasting-room location — casual beer drinkers, as well as the educated palates of San Diego's beer community.

"There's been a good mix," Scott observes. "A lot of residents who live in Valley Center and guests at the resort. But, yeah, we've had our fair share of people who are craft-beer enthusiasts come specifically for us.... It has taken on that neighborhoodish sort of feel because everyone interacts with each other."

And that's part of what the 13-year brewery veteran is looking for with this business. "It gives the resort and the tribe a nice showpiece brewery," Scott says. "For me, a big driver is interaction…. A lot of times, as you work through your career as a brewer, you tend to end up in places where you become less and less visible to the people drinking your product."

Conversely, Scott frequently works the bar during the tasting room's regular Wednesday-through Sunday hours. "Because of our relationship with the resort, I'm able to produce a lot of world class beers," he explains, "But still able to have this opportunity to talk to the people who are enjoying them… Most breweries this size don't always get to have that luxury."

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Pet pig perches in pocket

Escondido doula gets a taste of celebrity
Next Article

Gilbert Castellanos, Buddha Trixie, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Shane Hall, Brian Jones Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival

Grand Socials, gigs, and record releases in Del Mar, City Heights, Solana Beach, Little Italy, and Ocean Beach
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.