Locals Only! – San Diego Brew Project Set to Open With 28 Taps of all Locally Brewed Craft Beer (Includes Photo Gallery!)

San Diego Brew Project will soon be the first and only current craft beer bar to serve nothing but beer brewed right here in America’s Finest City. While partnering with 57 Degrees Wine Bar, they plan to become the premiere location for San Diego crafts, from breweries of all sizes. Step inside to learn all about San Diego Brew Project in our interview with Beau Schmitt and Kyle Chaykowski.

 

 
Once upon a time, local craft beer lovers Beau Schmitt and Kyle Chaykowski found themselves sitting front row center to a long line of beer taps at a San Diego bar. They noticed many heavy hitters from the San Diego craft beer scene, Stone, Green Flash, Ol’ Karl. But they asked themselves, “Where are all the smaller, local breweries?” All of a sudden, the proverbial idea light bulb appeared above both of their heads, glowing the color of a golden pale ale. This was the birth of the San Diego Brew Project.

San Diego Brew Project is the idea of Beau Schmitt and Kyle Chaykowski, which will soon become the first and only San Diego bar that exclusively serves locally brewed craft beer. Their goal is to have a bar dedicated solely to creating more growth and exposure for San Diego breweries, while becoming a launching point for new and emerging craft brewers.

San Diego Brew Project is located right inside of the already established Mission Hills wine bar, 57 Degrees. Looking to open their all-local craft bar in the ever-expanding East Village, Schmitt and Chaykowski realized the price and timeline that would come from this business plan. Not long after they approached 57 Degrees owner Russ Kindom about joining forces, and the rest is history. 57 Degrees and San Diego Brew Project will now both be located at 1735 Hancock Street San Diego, CA 92101.

The large building, clocking in at right around 10k square feet, will be a complete collaboration between SDBP and 57 Degrees. Both utilizing the center bar area that was already in place and sharing the expansive floor plan that will not be dedicated to wine, art and local craft beer poured from 31 installed taps. SDBP will also serve from an extensive locally brewed bottle list from their bottle service counter and full sized pool tables. Beyond the pool tables will be a walk up food window which will be run by 57 Degrees and is a work in progress. Until then, SDBP intends to invite local food truck favorites to sling grub.

The current back wall of the building is set to be removed for rolling doors which will be opened to expose the city views, where guests can watch planes descend and touch down just across the train tracks from SDBP’s back door. The building also offers a patio area set up with comfortable outdoor seating options, where guests can enjoy the wonderful San Diego weather while taking in the great view. Craft beer fans will be able to sample old favorites and new gems in local brewing, all while soaking in some fine scenery including the Gaslamp Quarter and Lindbergh Field.

Some of the local beer you can expect to see when SDBP officially opens include AleSmith, Coronado, Port Brewing and will feature at least two constant IPA’s. Ballast Point Sculpin and an IPA from Stone Brewing. Of course, expect some smaller local breweries like Hess, Societe, Helm’s and Hillcrest Brewing Companies. The opening day tap list has yet to be released, but stay tuned for updates on the San Diego Brew Project website.

Enjoy our interview with Beau Schmitt and Kyle Chaykowski of San Diego Brew Project.
 

 
When did you first come up with the idea for San Diego Brew Project?

We were sitting at a bar, about a year ago, staring down a line of taps. Stone, Ballast Point and Coronado were on draft, which we love, but we wanted to try some lesser known local breweries. We were also familiar with tap-takeovers and liked the concept of an all-San Diego tap list. However we couldn’t find a bar with a San Diego-only concept. We joked for a month or so about opening our own bar, and began spending hours and hours researching and working on the project – and soon enough the San Diego Brew Project concept was solidified.

With so many craft breweries now working within the U.S., what made you decide to serve San Diego craft beer exclusively?

There are now 63 licensed and operational breweries in San Diego County, and San Diego has been named America’s Craft Beer Capital. The craft beer coming out of San Diego is second-to-none. While we enjoy drinking craft beer from other out-of-San-Diego breweries, the San Diego Brew Project concept will be easily supported by the great beer produced by our local breweries.

How did the collaboration come about with 57 Degrees? How will 57 Degrees and San Diego Brew Project share the space?

We originally wanted to open a small San Diego-only beer bar in the East Village area. After meeting with the city and other organizations, we discovered that the first business model could take years (with permits, build-out, licensing, etc…)
We approached Russ Kindom, owner of 57 Degrees, almost 8 months ago. We pitched him our concept and he loved the idea. The venue at 57 Degrees is beautiful and expansive, almost 10,000 sqft., and we immediately saw the bar’s potential with beer taps. We have been working with Russ and Carly (events manager) for the past 8 months and have created a very friendly partnership. Basically, they will run the wine side and we will run the beer side. 57 Degrees and SDBP will operate as one venue and one bar. We have positioned the San Diego Brew Project as a collaboration within 57 Degrees. As far as how we share the space, you will just have to come in for a beer and check it out!

Word has it that you have also partnered with a food catering company. What can you tell us about this partnership? What are some of the plans for the partnership? Food that will be served? Beer/Food pairings?

The food aspect of the business is being run through 57 Degrees. All we can really say is that while the kitchen is being built out (possibly in June/July 2013), and we will be working with Food Trucks and Food Vendors (Swieners!).

What are some of the first local beers lined up for the opening days?

Haha, we have an idea of 90% of the opening draft list, but things are still changing. When we finalize the menu, we will release the list, but it’s looking pretty awesome so far. We want to ensure we don’t burden the smaller breweries that need beer for their tasting rooms. For that reason, we’ve had to make a couple last minute draft list changes.

When did you first find yourself falling in love with local craft beer?

Personally, when I (Beau) was in college, Stone IPA and Ballast Point Sculpin were my first introductions to craft beer. It’s a pretty big step when you start spending $10 on a 6-pack vs. $10 on a 24-pack that will last you all weekend.

What are some of both of your favorite local crafts?

I, Beau, enjoy IPAs and Stouts more, and Kyle enjoys Belgians and Hefeweizens more. So, it’s safe to say we’ve had some arguments on our opening draft list.

Please finish this sentence… San Diego Brew Project…

only serves craft beer, brewed locally in San Diego County. The San Diego Brew Project is dedicated to creating more growth and exposure for local San Diego breweries. Cheers!

 

 
Special thanks to Beau Schmitt and Kyle Chaykowski of San Diego Brew Project. Keep up to date on news on their website, Facebook and Twitter accounts. All photos by Three B Zine.

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