Award Winning Oceanside Ale Works Opens Brewery

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By Sean the Beverage Connoisseur

Anyone driving within a mile of the Pacific Coast Highway has gotten a whiff of the new brewery in beautiful Oceanside, California. A local teacher and a firefighter founded Oceanside's first brewery a year ago in the heart of the city. It is one of the few manual brew houses in America, crafting European brewing traditions and committed to innovations inspired by venerated West Coast brewers. Their ales have won many awards across the country, and locally at the San Diego County Fair. The joyous public often sees the dark red and brown concoctions foaming into plastic cups and into happy mouths as they walk by.

Oceanside Ale Works has been brewing award-winning ales in the first microbrewery to find a home in this scenic ocean community. The teacher and firefighter families, nearly legend in these parts, have been spearheading the creation of the frothy beverage since 2005. Using the freshest hops and finest malted barley, their ales are hand-crafted to exacting standards, ensuring a tasty experience you are sure to remember.

“When I tasted some of their featured products,” says Darrell Issa (local congressman) “I was especially impressed with the San Luis Rey Red,” named for the king of the missions in Oceanside. It is an exquisite red ale with just the right amount of body that beer lovers are sure to enjoy. Other tasty treats include Pier View Pale, a classic, Surfrider Stout, a yummy dark adult beverage, American Strong Ale, for only the strong at heart, and the touted Brewmaster Special Ale, a secret brew just for you. Right now you can taste their products at several local eating and drinking establishments across the County including: Carlsbad Pizza Port, Chili's Grill and Bar, Oceanside Johnny Manana's, Tom Giblin's Irish Pub, Carlsbad Lamppost Pizza, Back Street Brewery, the Fish Joint in Vista, Hill Street Cafe, That Pizza Place, and Carlsbad’s Arena Sports Bar.

In the early 2000’s, Mark had the idea to begin brewing beer in his garage with a sensibility and knowledge about beer that is as complex as any like-minded wine expert. “If it isn’t Turley, Rafanelli, or Silver Oak, then it has got to be beer!” he would exclaim! Thus began the creation of Oceanside’s first brewery, Oceanside Ale Works. The result has been simply the most successful regional beer ever produced in northern San Diego County. Taking a cue from the European and more specifically the English tradition of brewing beer that’s fresh and in limited supply because it is made by hand, the Works has consistently won award after award for the quality of their product. Most recently, the World Beer Cup held in San Diego, voted Oceanside Ale Works champion of the small-sized brewing company category.

“It’s extraordinary,” said Karen, Mark’s lovely wife, laughingly. “I questioned it initially—I didn’t know what it really meant.” Further review, however of the announcement had Mark’s head in the clouds. “There were over 1300 breweries represented and 562 of those were in the United States. Out of all of those, the judges voted Mark the best. In addition, Oceanside’s head brewer was voted champion brewer. I couldn’t believe it! I had to go and have a glass of wine!”

“When you go to beer competitions with Mark, it’s like hanging out with Pete Townshend and Roger Waters,” explained Scott, his business partner. “People crowd in over your shoulder to get a word with him. It’s truly amazing. It’s almost as fun as a “Six-Alarm” fire to see him coddle the hops and sip out from underneath the brew kettle.”

If you’ve not availed yourself of Oceanside’s beers, you need to. But, like all good things, supplies of the stuff are limited and you probably won’t find bottles of Oceanside Pier View Pale in Pennsylvania grocery stores. However, the beers can be found all over the northern San Diego, “within about a 100 mile radius,” says Scott.

The most popular beer the company produces is San Luis Rey Red Ale. Originally named “Rudy’s Red” after Mark’s boxer, it is the first beer the company brewed and it has a strong, malt-flavored presence, not one that is sharp or fruity. “The hops are blended well and the result is a true English style ale with a full-bodied, well-rounded taste,” said Certified Beer Judge Scott Wolfe. “It’s got a lot of flavor.” Wolfe’s comments obviously reflect those of other judges like the ones at the World Beer Cup.

“Really, we’re the only regional brewer in north San Diego County servicing some five to ten thousand people, which is extraordinary. We don’t have any aspirations to be a million barrel brewery. We have sort of found our niche here,” said Mark. “I don’t have aspirations to take on Sierra Nevada, and what kind of food would I serve at a restaurant anyway?”

That niche is really about more than just the beer. The taproom in Oceanside was literally that, an empty warehouse room, from the time it opened around President’s Day until now; serving nothing but Oceanside ales, pretzels and mustard, sausage, and frozen pizzas. The taproom is a true destination rather than simply a local attraction. It has tapped into local culture, local fare and local pride. Scott, in a previous interview, maintained that most of the brewers don’t really consider each other competition. “We learn a lot from each other,” he said. “It’s a pretty tight community.”

Oceanside Ale is currently producing seasonal ales made from the Old World recipes brewed with a Southern California interpretation. Oktoberfest Alert! Oktoberfest Alert! Yes, three new seasonal brews are on tap now, including Munich Dunkel and "Imperial" Octoberfest/Marzen. Mark told us that “Dan Gordon and restaurateur Dean Biersch stopped by last Friday. They couldn’t believe how close it tasted to their Marzen and said it was truly a spectacular and crisp selection.

"Of course we're thrilled with the new brewery," says Greg Koch, Stone Brewing's CEO. “They meet quality, taste and standards of consistency, which is a promise of integrity that only an owner and brewer can make. I would love to see more people drinking microbrew than Budweiser. Arrogant Bastard and Surfrider Stout can drink together any time!” If you'd like to see your favorite beer at your favorite watering hole, Oceanside would be glad to drop off a growler. I wonder if Oceanside would drop off a growler at the office?

Oceanside Ale is committed to crafting fine regional ales of great quality, character and taste. The appeal is indeed local with a concentration on the local wines, local ingredients for food, and of course, local beer. The taproom has maintained a reputation as the place to buy, not only the Pier View Pale, but porter, stout and other specialty beers that can be paired with food as easily as any wine. “We’ve come a long way it seems,” says Mark. The gift for understatement is clear, Oceanside Ale Works is off leash, left on free range, on a roll and the taps are left open every Friday and Saturday.

Please see side-bar for the Oceanside Ale Works website for tours, visitation, OAW memorabilia and hours.

Sean the Beverage Connoisseur is a freelance writer and food and wine columnist for the Washington Times. He has written for the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Beer Today and many others. He may be contacted at needabeer@beer.net