New Brewery Preps for Landing in Barrio Logan

Bread & Salt, the dynamic art gallery and community hub in Barrio Logan, will soon share space with a new brewery, Alta Brewing Company. It seems only fitting, as the 40,000-square-foot site was formerly a bread factory and beer has been referred to as “liquid bread”. Alta Brewing is the first ownership venture for longtime local brewer Brett Stampf, who worked with Stone, Green Flash and Rough Draft and was the original head brewer at La Jolla Brewing Company; through the La Jolla Brewing project, Stampf met local contractor John Bull, who became one of Alta Brewing’s main partners.

The brewery was initially going to take up a larger footprint but Stampf and his partners have decided to focus on retail sales through a tasting room model versus a more resource-heavy production facility. Alta Brewing Company’s 2,000-square-foot space contains as a five barrel brewhouse, with room for more fermenters, and an indoor/outdoor tasting room, decorated with a mural by artist Gloria Muriel, that will hold 60 guests.

Stampf started brewing in Barrio Logan earlier this summer, and the brewery, which is in the final inspection phase, could open any day now. The core beer lineup includes variations on the popular pale ale and dry Irish stout from his La Jolla Brewing days as well as an English-hybrid brown ale and a golden ale that will also be available on nitro. A line of Belgian beers is also in the cards. Stampf and Bull tell Eater that they’re planning on opening more tasting rooms, with a eye towards neighborhoods that haven’t yet been saturated by craft beer.