Burgeon Beer Company Founders Bring Their Passion For The Craft To Carlsbad
Burgeon Beer Company – one of the newest and most interesting San Diego-area breweries – is now open for business in Carlsbad.
Burgeon means to grow, flourish and expand quickly – which is exactly what the ambitious founders of Burgeon hope to do.
ThereSanDiego recently met up with Matthew Zirpolo, partner and the business end of Burgeon, to discuss the future of the sure-to-be North County staple.
Along with head brewer, Anthony Tallman (Stone, Rough Draft, Backstreet), and partner Deric Van Leeuwen, the trio has overseen every aspect of launching this business over the past three years. From building their own bar wares, to welding, plumbing and participating in numerous craftsmanships necessary for a brewery, they have done everything from the ground-up – always learning.
All three of Burgeon’s partners attended LCC and are proud to call North County home. While one could imagine that the competitive nature of the San Diego craft beer scene could prove treacherous, for these guys it has been anything but so. Starting out, the guys at Burgeon got hops, yeast, coolers, etc., from several big breweries such as: Pizza Port, Modern Times, St. Archer and Mother Earth.
“It has been such a cohesive group of people,” says founder Zirpolo. “I believe that these companies champion the progression of smaller, craft breweries and kind of view the older, lager-esque beers as the competition.”
Initially looking to open in their hometown of Encinitas, Burgeon Brewing Company was unable to secure a manufacturing permit due to stricter policies along the 101 and in general. At their 10,000 square foot location in Carlsbad, they have most certainly secured their home. Boasting a 2,000 foot tasting room, they will expand as the clientele intends so.
The first things to strike a patron’s eye are the gorgeous, Western Red Cedar bar and countertops, as well as the naturally-sourced boulder seats.
“We salvaged and milled all of the Red Cedar that had withstood a forest fire in Julian,” said Zirpolo. “That’s truly our goal here – as seen in our name. We want to create an organically-minded environment for everyone to enjoy a beer just for them.”
Leading up to Burgeon’s opening, they carefully curated the process of four separate brews: a rye amber, “Cali common,” nut brown ale and an I.P.A. Eventually, the brewery will have a double I.P.A., milk stout, and countless others to suit “America’s Finest Beer City.”
The people of Burgeon are passionate about the quality of their product and contributing to their customers’ love of good craft beer.
“I spoke with a 21-year-old kid the other day,” said Zirpolo.” And he swears that he has never drank a cheap lager in his life. Only craft beers. That’s crazy, but such a tremendous shift. We want to educate people about what is good beer, and find what they enjoy.”
Continuing with their theme of burgeoning, these fellows are going to maintain a live bookshelf on their interior wall, as well as bring down a whole 20-foot-plus tree from Julian. While quite a logistical feat in itself, this will truly provide for quite the “indoor-outdoor” biergarden.
Keep your eyes peeled for this growing brewery, as their current manufacturing permit will allow for six ancillary tasting rooms. We bet they are going to need them!
