Ebullition bubbles in to Vista

Ebullition Brew Works soft-opened in Vista at the beginning of July. Nearly two months later, the brewery has yet to announce a grand-opening date but has been keeping regular hours and served nine different beers in a spacious dog- and family-friendly tasting room loaded with board games, puzzles, and brain-teasers.

It's a brewery that seems comfortable taking a methodic approach. The Reader first reported it as being in the works in San Marcos as of July 2014, and during a recent episode of the locally produced craft-beer TV series What's on Draft, cofounder Jesse Richardson suggested initial planning goes back as many as five years.

Ebullition had debuted nine beers by the time I visited at the end of August. Standouts included Brown is the New Red (a brown ale with toffee-like amaretto overtones) and a hazy IPA with subdued bitterness and sweet tropical notes. Another popular first beer, the coffee-infused General Coffee Stout, had apparently been quick to sell out before I made it by.

My early favorite was the Deli Rye Pilsner, which was kegged off a chilled tank where it's still cold-lagering beyond its initial six-week fermentation. The refreshing light beer benefited from the inclusion of caraway seeds to add nuances that complement the rye grain without overwhelming its finish. There's a space behind the tasting-room bar designated for an incoming quality-control lab, so it's clear the brewers will eventually test away any lingering issues as they adapt to their system.

Elsewhere in the tasting room, a mural offers a dictionary definition of the term “ebullition,” described as both the brewing stage of "boiling wort and hops together" and "a sudden burst or display of passion and energy." Ebullition has accomplished the former, even if its burst onto the Vista beer scene has proved less than sudden.

Ebullition becomes Vista's 18th brewhouse, adding to Vista's status as one of the most craft-brewery-dense cities in the nation. It looks as if that number will exceed 20 in the near future: the city's director of economic development, Kevin Ham, says 4 other Vista brewery startups are in planning stages.