USA, CA: Long Shot Brewery slated to open in Visalia in mid-August

Opening up Long Shot Brewery has been something Jesse Jurado has wanted to do for the past 25 years. And the journey he took to open the Visalia watering hole is one he says lives up to its namesake, The Business Journal reported on July 30.

Long Shot Brewery is slated to open mid-August and will have 12 taps featuring his beers as well as beer from recently closed brewery Rocky Hill Brewing in Exeter.

Work is nearly complete on the 1,200 square-foot space at 706 E. Acequia Ave. and Jurado has his brewery licenses.

Jurado calls Long Shot the “accidental brewery.”

When he first applied with the City of Visalia, he wanted to open as a taproom, featuring not only his own beer but also guest beers as well. After reading about the regulations he would have to comply with he found out opening a brewery would be far easier — the only difference being a few restrictions on guest taps.

There at the site plan review, Jurado said he made the switch and became a brewery.

This was in 2019. The original hope was to open mid-2020. He was even preparing his debut for Irish Fest at then-Rawhide Stadium, now Valley Strong Ballpark. Not only did Covid restrictions affect his ability to open, but also the number of contractors available to do work dried up.

So when he needed to rehabilitate the former appliance warehouse built in 1945, Jurado had to do the work himself.

In order to fit the brewing equipment, he had to extend some walls as well as an interior tower.

He purchased the equipment via auction. He was sad to see breweries closing last year, but that also provided opportunities for startup breweries in need of equipment.

He learned how to frame and lay concrete. He put up his own hip-style roof, and after all his own work, “it still passed code,” he said.

Jurado brews a little bit of everything — IPAs, stouts, porters, red ales as well as seasonal beers and sours.

“IPAs keep the lights on,” he said.

Of the dozen taps, three or four will be experimental while the rest will be his regular brews.

What gets him really excited is his purchase of the recipes for Rocky Hill Brewing. He said a lot of the regulars were excited to be able to drink those beers again. The owner of the brewery, Ben Litwack, even offered to pour beers as a way to keep up with former customers, Jurado said.

Rocky Hill Brewing closed its Exeter and Fresno locations in October 2020.

Jurado has owned and operated Tulare Lake Irrigation for 15 years, which he will keep operating. But his brewery was a way to do what he loved.

He is worried about the renewed cases of Covid shutting down the economy again, but he’s hopeful the brand takes off.

“Hence the name, ‘Long Shot,’” he says.

03 August, 2021