The Kearny Mesa taproom of Ataraxia Aleworks, including a mural by artist Melanie Atesalp

To follow through on their plan to open a brewery, Daren Rudy and Alex Kim were prepared to move to Reno, Nevada. “It’s a growing population, annually,” explains Kim, “and also a growing craft beer community.”

On top of that, there are only two dozen breweries in the area to compete with — compared to more than 150 here — and significantly cheaper real estate. The longtime friends and neighbors started seriously looking a couple years ago, aiming to build a brewhouse in the 10-barrel range. The idea was to establish a brand, and grow their resources to the point they could expand back into their hometown. “We always had the dream of coming back to San Diego,” says Kim.

In that sense, Ataraxia Aleworks opened ahead of schedule when it debuted Memorial Day weekend in Kearny Mesa.

But the duo never made it to Reno. The arrival of covid-19 had put their search on hiatus when, in late 2020, an opportunity presented itself: Circle 9 Brewing adjacent to Convoy Street went on the market as a turnkey brewery, listed for an unbeatable price.

The 3.5-barrel brewhouse is smaller than their original plans called for, and a whole lot smaller than what head brewer Rudy is accustomed to. Until about two weeks ago, the beer vet’s ten-year career had been spent brewing for Ballast Point Brewing. “That was making more in one brew day than we can do here in a whole year,” he says.

The difference is so drastic, he approaches Ataraxia’s equipment more as a large homebrew setup than a small commercial system. Which works out for his brews, mostly composed of his tried and true homebrew recipes. That includes Ataraxia’s flagship helles lager, called Harambe, and the Supremo pale ale. A couple of newer beers have been top sellers so far: the hop forward Pale McPaleface pale ale, and Cow Bell IPA. In the future, fans can expect a version of the latter dubbed More Cow Bell double IPA.

Rudy’s brews owe their clean drinking appeal mainly to his years of experience, and partly due to a focus on water formulation. The turnkey brewery came outfitted with a reverse osmosis filter, allowing Rudy to strip down city tapwater, then add back whatever ratio of minerals best serves a particular beer style. So the helles lager is made with the softer profile found in Czech and German styles, while hoppier ales benefit from harder mineral content that help define San Diego style IPAs.

Opening a very small brewery means Ataraxia’s revised business model relies less on packaging, and more on serving beers directly to customers in Ataraxia’s taproom. That would have looked like a lousy bet less than a year ago, but with Ataraxia opening just ahead of the state’s June 15 reopening, the new business is primed to benefit from a maskless return to normal. Given it’s just Kim and Rudy tending their bar, the experience offers local craft fans a throwback to a time when drinking at a San Diego brewery meant being served directly by a brewery owner.

The brand itself suggests an embrace of the post-pandemic life we all crave. The name Ataraxia is taken from Ancient Greek philosophy, referring to a state of mind free of stress or anxiety. In other words, Ataraxia jibes perfectly with San Diego’s “no worries” lifestyle.