fall brewing
San Diegans know their brews. We can tell you a bit about fish tacos, endless sunshine, and bioluminescence. But we really know our brews. Rob Soltys and David Lively are included in this mix, but they’ve done more than laugh over a few lagers. The two co-own Fall Brewing, everyone’s favorite rock-scene brewery in North Park, which is going big. They just signed on to take over the 32,000-square-foot brewery in Miramar that’s housed a few big craft beer names—most notably Saint Archer and Kings & Convicts.
Soltys founded Premier Stainless Systems out in Escondido some two-plus decades ago. You know those striking, metallic, streak-free structures that tower over you at breweries? Premier Stainless makes those. Lively is a graphic designer by trade whose credits include being the art director for Saint Archer (2010-2012), designing album cover art for some of the music world’s bigger artists (Dave asked us not to say which artists, but it’s on his LinkedIn page, so we’ll just say past clients included names that rhyme with Back Bonson and Right Tripes), and leading his design firm, Lively & Sons.
The North Park location (opened in 2014) naturally became a hangout for the city’s creative set, people who like art and music that hurt gentler ears. It feels like drinking beer in an auto shop because that’s exactly what it used to be—open, airy, artsy with pops of grunge—a few blocks off the main North Park drag. Their Golden Rhino Room in South Park—a tasting-room outpost with the gilded bust of the coolest animal in the Serengeti—cemented their status as sort of the Casbah of San Diego craft beers.
For their expansive new Miramar home, they’ll operate in roughly 32,000 of the 57,000-square-foot available at the former Kings & Convicts warehouse. It’s enough space for the brand to increase can output and meet the demand for summertime lagers without diluting the feeling of being a local brand. “We want to remain a local brand” Lively emphasizes. “Yes we are growing, but our focus is meeting the demand for San Diego, and perhaps some surrounding areas.”
The decor will resemble the fun, punk rock-ish vibes we love in North and South Park with barstools and high-top tables staged throughout. Lively doesn’t want to spoil everything, but vague allusions to car shows and live music provide insight as to what’s on the agenda for Fall Brewing.
While there’s no word on a specific opening date, Lively says they hope to welcome guests with open arms (and lots of IPAs) this June or July.
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