Best beer futures: Part I

Per San Diego Beer News tradition, I’m closing out the year by taking a look back at some of the best 2014 had to offer, while keeping an eye trained on what 2015 holds. In the case of the latter, that means examining the upcoming brewery projects that hold the most promise. The following are the first five of the dozen works-in-progress that I am excited to see come to fruition.

1. AleSmith Brewing Company, Miramar: Be it ever so humble, AleSmith Brewing Company’s industrial park slice of heaven is a beer geek Mecca behind beers of incredible quality. So, imagine how popular they’ll be when they complete the move-in at their new 100,000-plus square foot shrine to to-style brewing, which will include a much larger public tasting space and lots more beer with which to stock an increased number of taps. As a special value-add, owner and brewmaster Peter Zien will finally have a place to craft his artisanal fromage via upcoming venture, Cheesesmith, located right on-site. This is the project craft fans have their beer goggles trained on right now. Read More | ETA: Spring 2015.

2. South Park Brewing Company, South Park: When it comes to new breweries, nothing sells me pre-opening like the inclusion of a proven brewer. That’s what this brewpub, sharing a wall with its sister operation, Hamilton’s Tavern, brings to the table. Award-winning fermentation specialist Cosimo Sorrentino of the East Village’s Monkey Paw Pub & Brewery will have a big hand in producing a stock of beers that’s slightly more predictable than the merry-go-round of styles at his original brewhouse, but stand to be every bit as good. Throw in a creative seafood menu and there’s plenty to look forward to here. Read More | ETA: Winter 2015.

3. Second Chance Brewing Company, Rancho Bernardo: Going back to the proven commodity well, another award-winner—one with an extensive tenure of crafting solid beers in San Diego—recently left his long-time post to build his own future. That skilled brewmaster is Marty Mendiola, who regularly medaled at the Great American Beer Festival while brewing at Rock Bottom’s La Jolla brewpub. From here on out, he’ll call his own shots and it’ll be fun to see which direction he aims. Read More | ETA: Spring 2015.

4. The Hop Concept, San Marcos: With archetypal India pale ales and unique spins on Belgian ales, the hydra-like double-domed beast that is Port Brewing Company and The Lost Abbey was already plenty formidable. Soon, they’ll add a third line of quarterly released small-batch beers meant to celebrate experimental hops and new hop combinations. Given all the gold, silver, and bronze hoppy Port beers have amassed over the years, this is about as close to a sure thing as a brew project gets. Read More | ETA: February 2015.

5. Green Flash Brewing Company, Poway: Considering Green Flash Brewing Company’s upcoming northeastern facility will mostly consist of a warehouse outfitted with a tasting room, one may wonder why that merits so much excitement. It’s the fact that storage facility will house an expanding stock of oak barrels used for aging high-octane, booze-laden, sour, and otherwise interesting beers, which will find their way to the taps in the sampling space. Read More | ETA: Spring 2015.

Seven more intriguing local brewery-owned projects are in Part II.