Ballast Point Brewing’s New Brewpub, San Francisco, US

Ballast Point Brewing, an American craft brewer and distiller owned by Kings & Convicts Brewing, is developing a new brewpub in San Francisco’s Mission Bay District in the US to expand its California operations.

Originally announced in 2018, the plans for the project were halted by the brewing company’s previous owner Constellation Brands before the sale of Ballast Point to Chicago craft brewery Kings & Convicts in 2019.

Expected to open by the end of 2021, Ballast Point San Francisco will join the craft brewery’s five Southern California locations in San Diego, Long Beach and Anaheim.

Ballast Point Brewing’s new brewpub location

The new brewing facility is located at a walkable distance of the SF Giants’ AT&T Park and the new Chase Arena, home of the Golden State Warriors. The surrounding neighbourhood of the new brewing facility is a mix of residential and commercial retail amenities near the 280 Freeway and Muni’s T-line light rail. The facility is also situated in close proximity to Potrero Hill, the Mission District and Dogpatch.

Ballast Point San Francisco brewpub details

The Ballast Point San Francisco facility will include a three-barrel research and development (R&D) brewhouse with four fermenters and two brite tanks sized at three barrels. They will be enclosed in glass for clear visibility to the guests.

The taproom and kitchen will occupy an area of 12,000ft², including 1,500ft² of outdoor patio space. The facility will also include a retail area for packaging beer.

The brewpub will produce Ballast Point draught beers and R&D releases to be sold in the San Francisco market, as well as a full menu and wine list, growler and crowler fills.

Sustainability features implemented by Ballast Point Brewing

Ballast Point’s sustainability practices include the implementation of water reduction initiatives such as the reuse of reverse osmosis (RO) concentrate into a water tower and the clean-in-place (CIP) rinse water into pre-rinse tanks, as well as the reuse of cooling water into hot water tanks.

In March 2017, Ballast Point released Padre Dam Pilsner, a beer brewed with purified and recycled wastewater from Padre Dam.

The brewing company installed LED and solar lights with zones and sensors at its Miramar brewery. Ballast Point Brewing has been working with the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) to develop a condenser for increasing water reductions.

Product portfolio

The product portfolio offered by the company includes three different categories, year-round, seasonal and limited. The year-round product range includes Sculpin, Fathom IPA, Manta Ray Double IPA, Aloha Sculpin Hazy IPA, Grapefruit Sculpin, Longfin Lager and Passing Haze.

The seasonal category covers Victory at Seax while the limited category consists of High West Barrel Aged Victory at Sea, Legion Lager, and Swingin’ Friar Ale.

Ballast Point Brewing added Big Gus and Wee Gus to the year-round portfolio in February 2021.

Marketing commentary on Ballast Point Brewing

Established by a small group of homebrewers in San Diego in 1996, Ballast Point Brewing has become an internationally recognised leader in the industry. The firm opened its first production brewery in Scripps Ranch, San Diego, in 2006 and currently owns five taproom locations in California.

The company brews more than 50 styles of beers while focussing on R&D and innovation. In 2010, Ballast Point Brewing was awarded Champion Small Brewery at the World Beer Cup®. It joined the Constellation Brands family in 2015.

In December 2019, Constellation Brands signed an agreement for the sale of Ballast Point Brewing to Chicagoland-based Kings & Convicts Brewing, which was completed on 6 March 2020.

Kings & Convicts Brewing is a privately held company with headquarters in Highwood, Illinois, on the north shore of Chicago. The company began brewing for the public in 2017 and celebrated 25 years of craft beer innovation in San Diego in February 2021.