USA, CA: Ballast Point scraps plans for San Francisco brewery

Plans for a huge restaurant and brewery complex near the Golden State Warriors’ Chase Center in Mission Bay have been scrapped, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on April 17.

The project, backed by San Diego’s Ballast Point, had been slated to showcase a three-barrel research and development brewery.

But Ballast Point has recently been retrenching in California. Company representatives confirmed the closures of its 80,000-square-foot sour beer and barrel-aging facility in San Diego, which opened in 2017, as well as a brewpub in Temecula (Riverside County), which opened in 2016.

Warriors fans need not despair: Other new beer operations are still headed to Mission Bay, however. Little Creatures, an Australian brewing company, plans to open a restaurant and brewery in a 6,300-square-foot space in the neighborhood. San Francisco’s Seven Stills has an 18,000-square-foot bar and distillery in the works as well.

Ballast Point’s parent company, Constellation Brands, did not comment on whether the jettisoned venture would take shape elsewhere in the Bay Area.

“Consumers can continue to access Ballast Point products in on and off-premise establishments throughout Northern California and across the country,” Stephanie McGuane, a spokeswoman for Constellation Brands, said via email.

Constellation Brands also owns Corona and Modelo. Ballast Point came under its umbrella in 2015 and grew quickly. The San Francisco project would have been Ballast Point’s first Northern California foray.

As Ballast Point scales back in California, Constellation Brands remains active on deals. This year it invested $4 billion in a Canadian cannabis company and paid for a minority stake in El Silencio Holdings, Inc., the Los Angeles parent firm of Mezcal El Silencio. This month, Constellation announced plans to sell 30 of its wine and spirits brands, in addition to six wine production facilities, to Gallo for $1.7 billion.

17 April, 2019