I was on my way back to my hotel after checking out a couple potential dealers in the Orange County area near Anaheim and decided to find a place for lunch. A quick look for brewpubs in the area came up with one that wasn't that far away from where I was and it had a number of very positive reviews. Moments later I pulled up in front the Tustin Brewing Company in Tustin, CA.
Jason Jeralds was on the ground floor of the craft beer scene in Southern California when he was working at the Huntington Beach Beer Company in the early 1990's. Jeralds did a little bit of everything at the brewery from running the front of the house to being a brewer's assistant. Wearing multiple hats he learned that the key to running a brewpub was good beer, affordable food in a nice place people were comfortable coming to, and a place that people would want to come back to.
Jeralds worked on getting investors for his dream. Not that people were lining up to throw money at a start-up business, but it was at that point in the mid-90's into the 2000's when banks and capital investment companies were more receptive to putting money in brewpubs given the larger margins on the making and selling beer. Once Jeralds got his capital in place, he found a corner spot in a strip mall in Tustin that was big enough to make 750 barrels of beer annually. After procuring a brewmaster and assistants, along with front of house help, Tustin Brewing Company opened in the summer of 1996.
Brewmasters came and went, but in 2009 brewmaster Jonathan Porter won a Gold medal at the renown Great American Beer Festival in Denver for Tustin Brewing Company's Golden Spike Light Ale. A year later, Porter got a Bronze medal for Tustin Brewing Company's Blimp Hangar Porter (named after the nearby Tustin blimp hangar). In all, Tustin Brewing Company's brewmasters have won over two dozen awards in various beer judging contests.
It was just before 2 p.m. when I pulled into the parking lot of Tustin Brewing Company located in a strip mall near the corner of Newport Ave. and Irvine Ave., not far from the California Highway 55 Freeway and Interstate 5. (see map) The tall turret in the corner attached to the building was prominent in the parking lot. Even though it was well past the lunch rush, the parking lot serving the brewpub and other businesses was nearly full. Thankfully, a car pulled out of a spot near Tustin Brewing Company's entrance.
Upon entering Tustin Brewing Company, a number of their awards hung on the curved wall of the vestibule. In addition to awards won at the Great American Beer Festival, Tustin Brewing has also won awards at the World Beer Cup that is held annually in Indianapolis, and the local, yet prestigious L.A. I.P.A. Fest.
The vestibule opened into the large dining area. Exposed brick walls were on one side of the room with an open kitchen area in the back. The beer menu hung on the brick wall and they had a number of flat screen televisions on the walls throughout the dining space.
The bar was off to the side of the dining area with a small half-shelf made with reclaimed barn boards bordered the bar area. The bar, itself, was also made out of barn boards with a somewhat narrow wood top. It was a full bar with not only the beers on tap made by Tustin Brewing, but a line-up of liquor for mixed drinks.
Behind the bar were the large vessel tanks Tustin Brewing uses during their brewing process. The brewery expanded a few years ago to a capacity of about 1250 barrels of beer annually. Half-kegs were stacked next to the tanks and there was the faint smell of hops in the air. The brewery had a very rustic atmosphere. And on top of all that, classic rock music from the 70's played in the background while I was there.
There is also an outdoor beer garden at Tustin Brewing Company. Part of the outdoor patio was cover while the rest was covered with fabric sheets that allowed some sunlight to come into the area. Faux veneer table tops with metal chairs were interspersed throughout the patio area.
I ended up taking a seat at a table along the brick wall opposite the bar. A replay of a Dodgers game was on one of the four televisions in a quadrangle in the corner. I understand that Tustin Brewing Company is a hopping place on Sunday's in the fall as they have the NFL Sunday Ticket package that has access to all the league's games.
I was seated for over five minutes when I started to get a little twitch that maybe this was a bad idea. But it turned out that they had just one server - a guy named José - who was taking care of the smattering of people in the dining area as well as out on the patio. When José finally did acknowledge me, he turned out to be a great guy. "Sorry for the wait, boss," he said as he sat down a food menu in front of me. "Can I get you something to drink?"
I turned toward the bar and tried to look at the beer menu they had behind the bar. Then José pointed up behind me and said, "Here's the beer list, boss." It was a huge beer list that I didn't see originally. (My wife says I'm not very observant.) They had a couple hazy IPA's on the menu, so I took the one with less alcoholic content - the Riwaka Wacka Wacka that they had on tap.
The food menu turned out to be pretty interesting. Appetizers included a shredded short rib quesadilla; chicken kebabs; Korean-smoked St. Louis ribs; and ahi poke served with a miso dressing with sliced avocado, onions, cucumbers. There were seven different salads on the menu along with clam chowder and their "People's Choice" award-winning chili that was topped with chopped tomatoes and onions, along with cilantro and shredded cheese.
Entrees included battered fish tacos (a hard no for me - grilled only, please); baked salmon with steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes; pesto shrimp pasta; grilled chicken with penne pasta tossed in a spicy cream sauce; and a sausage platter with a tri-pepper sausage link, kielbasa and Bratwurst. They had a couple burgers to choose from along with a rib-eye steak sandwich; a pulled pork sandwich with barbecue sauce; a pork carnitas sandwich (that got my attention); and a Cajun-grilled ahi tuna sandwich.
I contemplated getting a burger, but I had one the day before. I ended up getting the short rib grilled cheese sandwich - shredded beef short rib topped with a combination of Monterey jack, cheddar and mixed cheeses, finished with caramelized onions and Sriracha sauce served on toasted sourdough bread. For my side, I got tots, naturally. And they had Cholula that I could put directly on my tots! That was a plus in my book!
The sandwich was simply delectable. The toasted sourdough bread held together very well with the juicy short rib beef and all the cheesy goodness that was on top of it. The tots had a crunchy outer shell with that wonderful flaky potato inner core. Combined with the tasty hazy IPA, this was a spot-hitter of a lunch.
About the only set back to the meal was that José was a little slow on his watch. But I chalked that up to the fact that he was the only server for both the inside dining room and the outside patio. However, the lunch I had was outstanding - the grilled shredded beef short rib with a mixture of cheeses was wonderful. And the tots were a great side dish - especially since they had Cholula to go with them. Tustin Brewing Company was a great place to have lunch, and their menu items showed a flair with pasta and seafood dishes. This was a good find during my trip to Southern California.
Comments