Fast growing Modern Times Beer of San Diego yesterday announced plans to open a pilot brewery, restaurant, and specialty coffee shop in Los Angeles sometime in 2016.
Specific details were scant in the surprise notice posted to Facebook, but the company said customers can expect “crazy one-off beers, decadent vegan food, & mind-blowing espressos, pour-overs, & cold brew” at the new facility.
Reached by Brewbound, company founder Jacob McKean declined to divulge further information as far as how it’s financing the project, its size, or whether the company has secured a location for it, as the announcement came earlier than he anticipated. He did say, however, that the project is “part of an overall approach to our growth that includes both capacity expansion and additional locations.”
The news comes a little more than a month after the company detailed a multi-million dollar expansion in its hometown that would double its annual capacity to 47,000 barrels, while also streamlining its packaging, storage, and quality testing capabilities.
At the time of that announcement, McKean told Brewbound the company is forecasting sales of around 16,000 barrels this year, up from the 6,543 it sold in 2014. The company opened in July 2013, selling 2,000 barrels in its first six months.
Modern Times is the fourth notable California craft brewery to expand in the LA area. Lagunitas, Golden Road, and Firestone Walker have all recently detailed plans to establish secondary brewing outposts throughout southern California.
In June, Lagunitas said it would build a third large-scale production facility in Azusa, Calif., just 25 miles east of downtown LA In February, LA’s Golden Road Brewing — which yesterday was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev — announced plans to build a brewery and restaurant in nearby Anaheim. The company is also work towards opening a small 20-tap growler station inside of downtown LA’s Grand Central Market. Firestone Walker is also in the midst of building out a “mini brewery” in Venice, a space the company hopes to open in December.