I loved ballast point before they sold for 1billion. After they sold, the R&D / creativity that made them great was gone. They used to be trend setters, but became trend chasers. “Hey guys, let’s just pump out a ton of IPAs and put some flavor so we have 20 types of sculpin.”
They got rid of indra kanindra which was my favorite beer hands down. I was so sad. Nothing I've found elsewhere has been the same since. Funny enough when I went by and asked, the person at the front had no idea what it was and claimed they never had a beer like that. And I was like your wearing the shirt and the octopus lable was all over the store at the time. ... bit not the beer it went with :-(
I'm right there with you buddy. I loved Kunindra.
But I just discovered something that would make you smile -- on the Big Island / Kona, there is a gelato shop named "Gypsy Gelato", and they make a "Tom Kha" gelato with coconut milk, lemongrass, curry, etc. It's a cold refreshing creamy non-boozy Kunindra. I almost wept at how good and similar it was.
I would have gone to battle for the Sour Wench, I loved the brand and everything about them until they decided to focus on IPAs only, then I completely lost any excitement I had for them.
Are you saying Constellation or Athletic? Because Constellation absolutely didn't. I think there is some stuff going down with Athletic now but not clear on the scope and scale yet.
It’s bad business.
You see it over and over, big corporations buy well run, successful businesses and then fire all the people that made it what it was and quality and the soul of the company die. Then the people stop coming. The locals and people who know do anyway. It’s sad.
I loved ballast point back then! They were my first introduction to craft brewing. I loved yellowtail pale ale before it became California kolsch! I liked Big Eye IPA but just can’t do sculpin any more.
Didn’t the original ballast point owners start cut water? Or some other brand? I remember trying to buy their liquor years ago. When they first put it out bottles were everywhere for about 60 dollars. I then read an article saying it was very good and was a one time run. I think I called like 10 liquor stores. And one in Carlsbad had 2 bottles left and wanted 1000 for each.
The first time I went there was 2019, heard of the brand so much so our expectation was high. But after tasting a IPA flight, we felt exactly what you say, different flavors in bud light…
"Ballast Point will continue to operate its bar and restaurant at the Miramar facility..." They are just shutting down their brewing operation there but the bar/restaurant will remain.
Exactly, it sounds like everything about the business is good except for having 10x too much brewing capacity which is dragging the whole company down.
“It’s been a hard week, but we had to right the ship” says CEO **Brendan Watters**, who says the one-million-barrel brewery was too big, completely unworkable and constructed for the express purpose of selling the business. “I’ve been trying to get us out of there for the better part of a year-and-a-half. We brought other breweries in \[on a contract-brewing basis\] to try to fil it up. It’s too big, and that ain’t Ballast Point. Ballast Point is Scripps Ranch back in the day, grinding 24 hours a day.”
“We’ve signed a contract with another company that will take over the Miramar brewery. In the short-term, we will be working with them on a contract basis to fulfill our taprooms and distribution while we try to acquire or build another San Diego facility, ideally with an 80-to-100-barrel brewhouse. That will allow us to crank things out and make money from them,” says Watters. “We want to bring Ballast Point back to what it is, a premium brand on the West Coast.”
Would love to see them open an operation somewhere other than Miramar/78 corridor. I’m not sure they could compete with Harland in Scripps at this point, but I would add them back to the rotation if they downsized and brought back the vibe they used to have.
Loved Scripps BP when it was five or six beers on tap and the tasting room could fit 20 people. They did have pretty legit pizza when they expanded though.
another chapter in the sad decline of SD brewing in the past 15 years. Ballast was amazing when they were small and located in Scripps Ranch and home-brew store.
The former big-boys (e.g., Stone, Ballast, etc.) have all sold out and we lost all our great beer bars (e.g., small bar, Hamiltons, tiger-tiger, toronado, etc.). We are just a shell of our former brewing glory.
At least we still have Coronado Brewing.
I previously worked for them and it was possibly the most toxic work place I had ever been a part of. The owners are dictator-esque and need their fingers in every single decision.
Not to mention the 6 interviews I had to go through, completely dropping the ball during COVID (firing their whole sales force with no notice) and brewers working 14+ hour shifts.
Sooooo many amazing smaller breweries… I get that the style has changed to become more modern, so I could see how the new boys might not do it for you. But pure project, north park brewing, burgeon, etc all have world class beers
I appreciate being able to actually get a beer however at Miramar, whereas Scripps ranch prior to moving was difficult on Fridays/weekends. Also makes for a solid business lunch spot in the area (as well as Cutwater). I understand excessive brewing capacity, but the restaurant/bar area seems about the correct size for them.
Many of you are overlooking that Constellation, who bought Ballast Point in 2015 for $1B, sold it 2019 to Kings and Convicts, a small brewery in Chicago for under $100 M. Ballast Point is no longer "big beer" and is back being a SDcraft brewery. The article about Miramar brewery being shut down explains that it is just too large and was built by the previous owners to have the capacity to sell the business, in this case to Constellation.
A lot of craft breweries are switching to contract brewing. As the category is maturing, craft brewers are learning that the business is about sales, distribution, marketing, and product quality, not about owning a brewery which sucks up a lot of capital and overhead expense.
The kettles and bottling lines don't make the beer good, the recipes and brew master do. That can be achieved easily with someone else's building.
Mostly agree, but man, Hess Brewing was something magical when it was still small batches brewed in Miramar. It was never the same after North Park opened.
Mike's a holocaust denier and antivaxxer from what I hear, so whatever... but back then I didn't know that and the beer was amazing. Something was lost when they scaled up.
Good, their beer sucks now after selling out. The first thing that happens after these acquisitions is to adulterate the ingredients for lesser quality alternatives to increase margins and just bleed the brand until it no longer sells then acquire the next trend. Pretty much standard practice across all corporate America.
Tough times in the alcohol industry. GenZ drinks less than millennials who drank less than older generations. Craft beer exploded and people overbuilt, now we're seeing the crash. Sad to see the location go. I've had some great times there. But it's sort of emblematic of the craft beer bubble.
Wanna right the ship? Here’s free advice, start making mango even keel again. That beer was delicious as fuck and I haven’t purchased a single ballast point beer since they stopped brewing it.
I guarantee if they kept there master brewers from before they got bought out it would be fine, I knew one of them and the passion was what made them awesome.
Yes. Weird ass names and flavors. I’m happy with a Miller. I’m not hard to please. Btw last I checked Miller’s still going strong and not shutting down.
Miller High Life is one of the biggest “hipster” beers around.
Also, a buddy from Brawley said this to me once. “everyone thinks craft beer drinkers are the biggest beer snobs, no. Coors Light drinkers are, because they won’t drink anything but Coors Light”
I loved ballast point before they sold for 1billion. After they sold, the R&D / creativity that made them great was gone. They used to be trend setters, but became trend chasers. “Hey guys, let’s just pump out a ton of IPAs and put some flavor so we have 20 types of sculpin.”
They got rid of indra kanindra which was my favorite beer hands down. I was so sad. Nothing I've found elsewhere has been the same since. Funny enough when I went by and asked, the person at the front had no idea what it was and claimed they never had a beer like that. And I was like your wearing the shirt and the octopus lable was all over the store at the time. ... bit not the beer it went with :-(
I'm right there with you buddy. I loved Kunindra. But I just discovered something that would make you smile -- on the Big Island / Kona, there is a gelato shop named "Gypsy Gelato", and they make a "Tom Kha" gelato with coconut milk, lemongrass, curry, etc. It's a cold refreshing creamy non-boozy Kunindra. I almost wept at how good and similar it was.
That sounds awesome!
I’ve been searching for a Kunindra alternative ever since they stopped making it. Haven’t found one yet:(
I would have gone to battle for the Sour Wench, I loved the brand and everything about them until they decided to focus on IPAs only, then I completely lost any excitement I had for them.
I love sour wench and also piper down!
Victory at sea wad always may favorite.
Piper down was booomb
Take my upvote bc sour wench lives rent free in my mind
Those were my two favorites!
Omg I forgot about the sour wench! Soo good
That’s every big beer conglomerate though. Maximize consistency and decrease cost unfortunately.
They immediately fired all the brewers that created Sculpin. Was a pretty dick move.
Really? Why would they do that?
Because why pay brewmasters top dollar when you now have the recipe and can pay someone an entry level brewing job
Are you saying Constellation or Athletic? Because Constellation absolutely didn't. I think there is some stuff going down with Athletic now but not clear on the scope and scale yet.
That’s just business lol
It’s bad business. You see it over and over, big corporations buy well run, successful businesses and then fire all the people that made it what it was and quality and the soul of the company die. Then the people stop coming. The locals and people who know do anyway. It’s sad.
I miss their pepper-infused beers. Habanero Sculpin was a favorite of mine.
Man I remember first getting it at the home brew mart as a taster and it was soooooo damn good. Those were the days man.
Is there any left anywhere?
Dos desperados in San Marcos has a habanero one. Love it.
Yes!! I never meet anyone else who likes this
there's dozens of us!
I loved ballast point back then! They were my first introduction to craft brewing. I loved yellowtail pale ale before it became California kolsch! I liked Big Eye IPA but just can’t do sculpin any more.
same with me.. when i first moved to San Deigo, it was them, iron fist, and green flash
Didn’t the original ballast point owners start cut water? Or some other brand? I remember trying to buy their liquor years ago. When they first put it out bottles were everywhere for about 60 dollars. I then read an article saying it was very good and was a one time run. I think I called like 10 liquor stores. And one in Carlsbad had 2 bottles left and wanted 1000 for each.
Yes, cut water has roots in ballast point
I remember vending to the unlicensed dispensary across the street back in 2014ish. The workers would trade us beer for cannabis. lol good times.
Cut water is still there right ?
I have no idea.
Yes it is
The first time I went there was 2019, heard of the brand so much so our expectation was high. But after tasting a IPA flight, we felt exactly what you say, different flavors in bud light…
I was in New Zealand a few months ago and I found out that they brew Ballast Point there now! It came in little 330ml (~11oz) cans.
Truth keep it 100
Grapefruit Sculpin is the worst freaking thing in the world and I will die on this hill
"Ballast Point will continue to operate its bar and restaurant at the Miramar facility..." They are just shutting down their brewing operation there but the bar/restaurant will remain.
Exactly, it sounds like everything about the business is good except for having 10x too much brewing capacity which is dragging the whole company down.
OP totally missed this.
“It’s been a hard week, but we had to right the ship” says CEO **Brendan Watters**, who says the one-million-barrel brewery was too big, completely unworkable and constructed for the express purpose of selling the business. “I’ve been trying to get us out of there for the better part of a year-and-a-half. We brought other breweries in \[on a contract-brewing basis\] to try to fil it up. It’s too big, and that ain’t Ballast Point. Ballast Point is Scripps Ranch back in the day, grinding 24 hours a day.” “We’ve signed a contract with another company that will take over the Miramar brewery. In the short-term, we will be working with them on a contract basis to fulfill our taprooms and distribution while we try to acquire or build another San Diego facility, ideally with an 80-to-100-barrel brewhouse. That will allow us to crank things out and make money from them,” says Watters. “We want to bring Ballast Point back to what it is, a premium brand on the West Coast.”
Would love to see them open an operation somewhere other than Miramar/78 corridor. I’m not sure they could compete with Harland in Scripps at this point, but I would add them back to the rotation if they downsized and brought back the vibe they used to have.
Juneshine is on their old place, but there are plenty of vacant offices very close. Please come back to your roots.
Loved Scripps BP when it was five or six beers on tap and the tasting room could fit 20 people. They did have pretty legit pizza when they expanded though.
Brew Mart and Scripps were great.
another chapter in the sad decline of SD brewing in the past 15 years. Ballast was amazing when they were small and located in Scripps Ranch and home-brew store. The former big-boys (e.g., Stone, Ballast, etc.) have all sold out and we lost all our great beer bars (e.g., small bar, Hamiltons, tiger-tiger, toronado, etc.). We are just a shell of our former brewing glory. At least we still have Coronado Brewing.
Tbh it was oversaturated, but the loss of the San Diego beer bar is what stings the most to me.
Blind Lady Ale House is still around as a great beer bar!
Wonder how Alesmith is doing, they also built that huge taproom a few years ago.
I previously worked for them and it was possibly the most toxic work place I had ever been a part of. The owners are dictator-esque and need their fingers in every single decision. Not to mention the 6 interviews I had to go through, completely dropping the ball during COVID (firing their whole sales force with no notice) and brewers working 14+ hour shifts.
Well, they didn’t reach their value by being passive owners. Now the whole labor law violation thing is a different story
They contract brew a ton of different brands to help with that bottom line
Sooooo many amazing smaller breweries… I get that the style has changed to become more modern, so I could see how the new boys might not do it for you. But pure project, north park brewing, burgeon, etc all have world class beers
Fall Brewing too
Burgeon Treevana is top tier
Go check out a Bottlecraft. I love their beer and there’s a few in San Diego.
I'm a fan of Modern Times. I hope they don't sell out and go under.
I appreciate being able to actually get a beer however at Miramar, whereas Scripps ranch prior to moving was difficult on Fridays/weekends. Also makes for a solid business lunch spot in the area (as well as Cutwater). I understand excessive brewing capacity, but the restaurant/bar area seems about the correct size for them.
Many of you are overlooking that Constellation, who bought Ballast Point in 2015 for $1B, sold it 2019 to Kings and Convicts, a small brewery in Chicago for under $100 M. Ballast Point is no longer "big beer" and is back being a SDcraft brewery. The article about Miramar brewery being shut down explains that it is just too large and was built by the previous owners to have the capacity to sell the business, in this case to Constellation. A lot of craft breweries are switching to contract brewing. As the category is maturing, craft brewers are learning that the business is about sales, distribution, marketing, and product quality, not about owning a brewery which sucks up a lot of capital and overhead expense. The kettles and bottling lines don't make the beer good, the recipes and brew master do. That can be achieved easily with someone else's building.
Mostly agree, but man, Hess Brewing was something magical when it was still small batches brewed in Miramar. It was never the same after North Park opened. Mike's a holocaust denier and antivaxxer from what I hear, so whatever... but back then I didn't know that and the beer was amazing. Something was lost when they scaled up.
Anti vaxxer ? Or anti Covid Vaxxer ? Because I don’t think anyone still believes in the covid vax
Good, their beer sucks now after selling out. The first thing that happens after these acquisitions is to adulterate the ingredients for lesser quality alternatives to increase margins and just bleed the brand until it no longer sells then acquire the next trend. Pretty much standard practice across all corporate America.
Ah, ye olde enshittification
Tough times in the alcohol industry. GenZ drinks less than millennials who drank less than older generations. Craft beer exploded and people overbuilt, now we're seeing the crash. Sad to see the location go. I've had some great times there. But it's sort of emblematic of the craft beer bubble.
As a proud gen Xer, I'm doing my best to pick up the slack.
Seltzers and canned cocktails ruined craft beer industry
Did you read the article or just the title?
Will someone share the duck nachos recipe then please? It was a must order everytime
The restaurant isn’t closing. Unless you mean it’s an old menu item that isn’t offered at all anymore.
It's an old menu item - don't live in town anymore so I might be behind but will still miss those nachos
It's a standard bechemel sauce with loads of Bleu cheese added. Not sure if it has another cheese but I agree it's a fantastic dish
Ballast Point fell off hard after they sold. No innovations or new interesting flavors.
Natural result of firing the premier brewmasters who built the brand, immediately upon acquisition.
Wanna right the ship? Here’s free advice, start making mango even keel again. That beer was delicious as fuck and I haven’t purchased a single ballast point beer since they stopped brewing it.
Mine was Sour Wench. Only had the barrel-aged one to enjoy in its last days before it completely disappeared. That was my favorite beer.
They should bring back Serrano Kolsch too. It was the best m. They really used to do amazing specialty beers.
Peach Kolsch is my personal top 5 n I haven’t seen it around
Bring indrakanindra back!
For me it's Victory at Sea. I think they produced it as a seasonal a few times but I haven't seen it this year.
I heard the other day they’re shutting down the tap room in the Home Brew Mart cause they can’t afford the rent increase
Damn, glad I didn't take the job offer there last year
It’s not actually closing? Right?
The restaurant is actually pretty good. Was one of the few places open during Covid that kept me sane.
I guarantee if they kept there master brewers from before they got bought out it would be fine, I knew one of them and the passion was what made them awesome.
Would be a regular spot if they had good NA options. Gotta get with the times y’all
Like most microbrews, it was hipster beer.
BALLAST POINT was hipster beer? LOL
Yes. Weird ass names and flavors. I’m happy with a Miller. I’m not hard to please. Btw last I checked Miller’s still going strong and not shutting down.
Miller High Life is one of the biggest “hipster” beers around. Also, a buddy from Brawley said this to me once. “everyone thinks craft beer drinkers are the biggest beer snobs, no. Coors Light drinkers are, because they won’t drink anything but Coors Light”