Eppig Brewing

Eppig hits the beach

“As soon as we saw the space,” recalls Eppig Brewing co-founder Todd Warshaw, “we knew it was ideal for a new Eppig tasting room: proximity to La Jolla Cove, neighboring some of the best restaurants and views in town, solid local and tourist traffic, and a virtual beer desert of local craft beer locations in the area,” He’s talking about the brewery’s decision to open a new tasting room at 1273 Prospect Street, and he has a point: the La Jolla Cove area has been one of the few neighborhoods in town without a local brewery presence since Karl Strauss closed its brewpub there back in early 2021.

Eppig Brewing La Jolla Cove, located in a former art gallery space across the street from Eddie V’s, is set to open imminently. Warshaw continues, “We’ve completed the ABC licensing, and are just waiting on furniture to arrive while putting the finishing touches on décor. I’m confident we can say ‘by the end of August.’” The brewery’s third location features an intimate patio and views of La Jolla’s coastline, but unlike real estate, in the craft beer world, location isn’t everything. There’s also the beer to consider. That being the case, Eppig has a few new releases for guests to sample when checking out the new locale.

One recent release, Elegant Solution Rosé Ale, seems like an ideal fit for the Prospect Street crowd: a light, easy sipper meant to be reminiscent of a rosé wine. The 4.5% ABV ale achieves its lightness by starting with a Kölsch base and adding wheat, then fermenting with raspberries and stone fruit. The result is crisp, with a slight tang and plum notes on the nose.

Eppig has a slate of new releases

Eppig Brewing

Eppig La Jolla Bierhaus is ready to pour

Eppig Brewing

Two recent IPAs will also be on tap: Rise Together and Just the Facts. Rise Together might seem familiar to fans of Eppig’s popular 10:45 to Denver IPA, as it features a similar malt bill. However, the 6.3% IPA is Citra dry-hopped to elicit a light resinous dankness along with notes of passionfruit, plum, and honeydew. The release celebrates women’s equality, and sales benefit women’s charities. The other new IPA, Just the Facts, is a hoppy 6.5% IPA brewed with Strata, Mosaic, and Citra hops. It features the strong citrus and tropical fruit profile beer lovers have come to expect from local IPAs.

Finally, Eppig’s biggest seasonal release, Festbier, will also be ready for the La Jolla opening after just hitting the taps on August 23. Each year, Eppig’s annual Oktoberfest release is one of its most popular. Warshaw notes, “Our Principal Brewer Nate Stephens has put a lot of effort into our Festbier recipe to make it authentic to the Weisn style (not to be confused with weisse) that Germans currently drink at Oktoberfest in Munich, so the beer shouldn’t change much year to year. We use a blend of Weyermann Pilsner, Vienna, and Munich malt with German noble hops to create a beer that’s lighter than a marzen, but more complex than a pilsner.”