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

Plenty brewing in Oceanside

Three barrels and no shortage of creativity

The Oceanside Brewing Company tasting room was built by its founding brewers using reclaimed wood, including a 12-foot-long bar top plucked from the Pacific Ocean.
The Oceanside Brewing Company tasting room was built by its founding brewers using reclaimed wood, including a 12-foot-long bar top plucked from the Pacific Ocean.

Miramar, Vista, North Park. Now, up in the northwest corner of the county, Oceanside has become San Diego's latest craft beer epicenter. Oceanside Ale Works kicked the whole thing off ten years ago this month, and four breweries were serving beer in the coastal town when last year came to a close. Already in 2016 that number has doubled, including Mason Ale Works, Belching Beaver's new production brewery, and a new operation called Midnight Jack.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Place

Oceanside Brewing Company

312 Via del Norte, Oceanside

Oceanside Brewing Company opened in the middle of April, but it's been a longtime coming. Partners Greg Distefano and Tomas Bryant spent a year building out their three-barrel brewhouse and tasting room. They spent a year before that searching for a breezy and spacious, yet affordable location. And 25-year homebrewer Distefano has owned the name Oceanside Brewing since the '90s.

A local artist helped make the branded copper tap handles of Oceanside Brewing Company.

With decades of combined brewing experience, a long list of recipes, and all that time time to plan, the nanobrewery opened with a full complement of 18 beers on draught and several others on deck. "We brew our butts off," is how Bryant puts it, noting that each beer is made in small batches, with freshly inoculated yeast from neighboring business Real Brewers Yeast. They aim to use organic ingredients whenever possible, often using whole hop cones, fresh foods, and absolutely no extracts. "It's all very handcrafted," Bryant adds.

Family friends Bryant and Distefano have been brewing together about five years and liken their creative partnership to making music. And since they're working in small quantities, they're open to riffing a little when customers look for the rare beer style that's not already on their tasting room's menu. "When we get a request we try to brew it that week and have it on the board in a couple of weeks," Bryant says. Such is already the case with a perle hopped cream ale they devised to serve a customer accustomed to drinking Coors Light but interested in embracing craft beer styles.

The goal is to serve six flagship beers ranging from porter and hefeweizen — using correct grains and yeast to style — and 12 others that allow for exploration and experimentation. The variety's aimed at serving a community of diverse palates, but that includes Distefano himself. "When I go out on a Friday night," he says, "I want something new and different. Variety is the spice of life. So every weekend when you come in here there will be at least one new beer on tap. And by the end of the weekend there's probably one or two other ones."

Their large tasting room and patio can hold a large number of customers, and the owners plan to feature local artists and musicians in celebration of Oceanside's unique community. They also intend it to be a fresh-beer destination for marines stationed at nearby Camp Pendleton. "It's always military appreciation day here," Distefano pledges, "So all active military get a dollar off of everything we sell, always."

The latest copy of the Reader

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

San Diego Holiday Experiences

As soon as Halloween is over, it's Christmas time in my mind
Next Article

La Clochette brings croissants—and cassoulet—to Mission Valley

Whatever's going on with this bakery business, Civita Park residents get a decent meal
The Oceanside Brewing Company tasting room was built by its founding brewers using reclaimed wood, including a 12-foot-long bar top plucked from the Pacific Ocean.
The Oceanside Brewing Company tasting room was built by its founding brewers using reclaimed wood, including a 12-foot-long bar top plucked from the Pacific Ocean.

Miramar, Vista, North Park. Now, up in the northwest corner of the county, Oceanside has become San Diego's latest craft beer epicenter. Oceanside Ale Works kicked the whole thing off ten years ago this month, and four breweries were serving beer in the coastal town when last year came to a close. Already in 2016 that number has doubled, including Mason Ale Works, Belching Beaver's new production brewery, and a new operation called Midnight Jack.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Place

Oceanside Brewing Company

312 Via del Norte, Oceanside

Oceanside Brewing Company opened in the middle of April, but it's been a longtime coming. Partners Greg Distefano and Tomas Bryant spent a year building out their three-barrel brewhouse and tasting room. They spent a year before that searching for a breezy and spacious, yet affordable location. And 25-year homebrewer Distefano has owned the name Oceanside Brewing since the '90s.

A local artist helped make the branded copper tap handles of Oceanside Brewing Company.

With decades of combined brewing experience, a long list of recipes, and all that time time to plan, the nanobrewery opened with a full complement of 18 beers on draught and several others on deck. "We brew our butts off," is how Bryant puts it, noting that each beer is made in small batches, with freshly inoculated yeast from neighboring business Real Brewers Yeast. They aim to use organic ingredients whenever possible, often using whole hop cones, fresh foods, and absolutely no extracts. "It's all very handcrafted," Bryant adds.

Family friends Bryant and Distefano have been brewing together about five years and liken their creative partnership to making music. And since they're working in small quantities, they're open to riffing a little when customers look for the rare beer style that's not already on their tasting room's menu. "When we get a request we try to brew it that week and have it on the board in a couple of weeks," Bryant says. Such is already the case with a perle hopped cream ale they devised to serve a customer accustomed to drinking Coors Light but interested in embracing craft beer styles.

The goal is to serve six flagship beers ranging from porter and hefeweizen — using correct grains and yeast to style — and 12 others that allow for exploration and experimentation. The variety's aimed at serving a community of diverse palates, but that includes Distefano himself. "When I go out on a Friday night," he says, "I want something new and different. Variety is the spice of life. So every weekend when you come in here there will be at least one new beer on tap. And by the end of the weekend there's probably one or two other ones."

Their large tasting room and patio can hold a large number of customers, and the owners plan to feature local artists and musicians in celebration of Oceanside's unique community. They also intend it to be a fresh-beer destination for marines stationed at nearby Camp Pendleton. "It's always military appreciation day here," Distefano pledges, "So all active military get a dollar off of everything we sell, always."

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

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

Successor to Lillian Hellman and Carson McCullers

Crossword puzzles need headline
Next Article

O’side Tree Lighting & Gift Market, Holiday Lights at the Museum, The Elovaters and Little Stranger

Events December 5-December 6, 2024
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.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader