Fat Cat expanding through contraction

Last November, I was watching a morning news segment featuring a handful of brewing companies from around San Diego. The first five were operations I knew well. Then came the last in the line-up, Fat Cat Beer Company. In many years of covering the local beer scene, I had yet to come across this feline moniker.

Naturally, I paid attention to what their spokesperson had to say, then went straight to the trusty Internet to see what more I could unearth. It appeared Fat Cat had been in business for some time, but despite having business offices in La Jolla, they had yet to enter the San Diego market or brew beer within the county. But that’s about to change.

Fat Cat has signed a deal with Latitude 33 Brewing Company to have its beer brewed on a contract basis at the Vista brewery. This will allow Fat Cat to broaden its footprint. Currently, its beers are available in cans, but the beer brewed in Vista will give the company kegged beer to put on at draft accounts.

It will also make it possible for Fat Cat to introduce small batch creations going beyond its core line of session beers. The first of the new creations will be a 5.2% alcohol-by-volume Czech-styled pilsner called Bro-ceanography Pils. Additionally, a portion of money earned from sales of Fat Cat’s small batch beers will be donated to local charities. Bro-ceanography’s funds will go to Surfrider Foundation.

Latitude 33 partner and head brewer Kevin Buckley says he has been approached by other breweries about contract brewing. The potential of entering into agreements with those operations, which include other North County businesses, are all being considered.