Following the announcement of a handful of changes in ownership, Ballast Point Brewing has made clear its plans moving forward.
The local brewery has had a busy year already, having divested its 107,000-square-foot headquarters in Miramar and sold the site to a yet-to-be-announced company in late April. While the company plans to eventually relocate within San Diego County to construct a smaller yet still sizable new headquarters, hopefully with an 80-to-100-barrel brewhouse, Ballast Point will brew its lagers and ales on a contract basis by the entity that purchased the Miramar facility, located at 9045 Carroll Way.
“We’ve sold the production facility to a group that can utilize the scale of that site while Ballast Point simply focuses on brewing our own beer,” Ballast Point recently announced on its social media. “This change will allow Ballast Point to focus on high-quality production of our core brands through our partners, innovation in our taproom restaurants, and planning for a sustainable brewery footprint as we seek a local site that we can develop into a more nimble brewery similar to our original Scripps Ranch site.”
Kings & Convicts, the parent company of Ballast Point, led by Chris Bradley and Brendan Watters, will continue to operate its Miramar bar and restaurant for at least another 18 months while the company moves forward, according to San Diego Beer News. During this time, Bradley and Watters are looking for not only a replacement for that venue but also locations where it can build additional taprooms and restaurants under the Ballast Point brand. Several potential sites have already been identified.
Another significant change for the company came just last month when the company decided to sell its 32-year-old Home Brew Mart to Jim Johnson, a former Ballast Point employee, previously reported by What Now San Diego. The new team plans to reopen the location in the coming weeks following slight renovations.
“So it is with pride that we have shared that, while Ballast Point will be exiting that location, the baton will be passing to a former employee who will continue to operate the homebrew supply store, with plans for even more to come,” the announcement continues. “Our mission continues to be focused on serving our loyal customers, ardent supporters, and industry partners through the continued development of great products at our existing California breweries and taprooms. We look forward to charting the next exciting voyage for Ballast Point.”
