Groundswell moves to Santee after failed Twisted Manzanita Brewing

By
Mike Allen
-
WEBBrewery.jpg

Grantville-based Groundswell Brewing Co., only three years old and a minor player in San Diego’s booming craft beer industry, stepped up its game recently by buying most of the assets of failed Twisted Manzanita Brewing Co.

While President Kevin Rhodes declined to reveal the price paid for Twisted Manzanita’s beer making equipment, he was definitely thrilled about the prospects of greatly expanding his brewery’s operations.

Grantville-based Groundswell Brewing Co., only three years old and a minor player in San Diego’s booming craft beer industry, stepped up its game recently by buying most of the assets of failed Twisted Manzanita Brewing Co.

While President Kevin Rhodes declined to reveal the price paid for Twisted Manzanita’s beer making equipment, he was definitely thrilled about the prospects of greatly expanding his brewery’s operations.

“This was an opportunity that came up that is going to push (its growth) a lot faster,” he said.

From his company’s modest production of nearly 1,000 barrels this year, because of the expanded capacity he estimated next year’s level should come in between 2,500 and 3,000 barrels, he said. Also in the cards for the facility at 10151 Prospect Ave. is selling his beer in cans, and expanding sales beyond San Diego.

“Our one to two year plan is to go into Southern California, and maybe push into Central California, and possibly Arizona,” Rhodes said.

Rhodes was already familiar with Twisted Manzanita, having brewed 70 to 80 percent of his beer there, essentially leasing their tanks. Yet he never saw any inkling that things were going downhill, he said.

According to its Chapter 7 filing in federal bankruptcy court, Twisted Manzanita Ales Co., owned by Jeffrey Trevaskis of Jamul, listed total assets of nearly $230,000, but had total liabilities of $892,000. It had 91 unsecured creditors who filed claims totaling $511,000.

The brewery, whose bottles and cans could be purchased at many local outlets, reported generating gross revenue of $1.4 million last year, up from $1.3 million in 2014, according to its April bankruptcy filing.

Along with the increased production he gets, Rhodes said he would expand his staff by five to seven workers to bring the total to at least 15. The new positions include a brewer, two cellar workers, an operations and events position, and a tasting room person.

The brewery will maintain its tasting room at 6304 Riverdale Street in Grantville but brew all its beer at the Santee location.

While most of the renovations to the Santee brewery are cosmetic, visitors will see a distinct change when it reopens in mid-January, said Christianne Penunuri, Rhodes’ wife.

For one thing, the tasting area will be much lighter, and inviting, especially to women and, families, she said. “It’s important to me as a woman that our tasting rooms are comfortable, that they’re family friendly, dog-friendly, that everyone, including women, feel comfortable,” Penunuri said.  

To that end, Rhodes is getting rid of a smoking area outside the brewery, converting it into a garden. There will also be loads of games, including a giant Jenga set to keep folks engaged. “We want to create a place that families can bring their kids, and where they can hang out,” he said.

The expanded tanks (it will have six) gives Rhodes and his new head brewer Callaway Ryan, formerly of Stone Brewing, more room to get creative with beer styles. Groundswell’s flagship beers are Hubba Hubba Double IPA, and Undulation White IPA but it has six core beers including a Hefeweizen, Rhodes said.

Eventually, Groundswell will also get into the making of spirits, which was a side business of Twisted Manzanita. Currently Rhodes is in the process of obtaining the proper licenses for that business.

Rhodes said the company had to borrow funds to complete the brewery purchase, but he’s seeking investors to help him grow at a quicker pace. He plans to sell 10 to 15 percent of the company’s equity to raise between $500,000 to $600,000, which would value Groundswell at least $5 million.

Twisted Manzanita’s failure wasn’t the only brewery contraction this year. El Cajon’s URBN St Brewing stopped its brewing but continues as a restaurant. Recently, Stone Brewing, the area’s largest by far and with more than 1,000 employees, laid off 60 workers, prompting the obvious question as to whether the local industry has reached over saturation.

Rhodes says no and that there’s plenty of room to grow.

“I believe there will be more consolidation but that’s part of every industry,” he said. “The interesting thing is that there’s only been about two to three recent closures. If you look at the restaurant industry, there are consolidations and closures happening all the time.”

In a related Santee beer story, the big Karl Strauss project that was supposed to be underway at the corner of Cuyamaca Street and Town Center Parkway by this time still hasn’t broken ground.

Yet the company must be serious since it purchased the 10-acre site for $5.4 million in January. According to Santee senior planner John O’Donnell, the brewer is talking with Preserve Wild Santee about concerns the environmental group has with the project.

Plans revealed by Karl Strauss last year show three buildings at the site, including a brewing house, a tasting room, a restaurant, office space, and a warehouse building. Initial employment at the company’s planned headquarters was estimated at 100 to 150 people, but would eventually grow to about 300, according to co-founder Matt Rattner who spoke to the Santee City Council about a year ago.

Rattner did not return a request for comment for this story.

Karl Strauss has been in an aggressive expansion mode in recent months, opening breweries/ brewpubs in downtown Anaheim and Los Angeles. It now has 10 breweries/ restaurants including five in San Diego County. Last year it was ranked the 46th largest craft brewer in the nation with sales of about $50 million.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

106 COMMENTS

  1. I rarely create comments,
    I rarely create comments, however i did some searching and wound up here Groundswell moves to Santee
    after failed Twisted Manzanita Brewing ECC – East County
    Californian. And I do have 2 questions for you if it’s allright.

    Could it be just me or does it appear like some of these comments appear as if they are left by brain dead
    visitors? 😛 And, if you are writing at additional social sites, I’d like to
    follow everything fresh you have to post. Would you make a list of the complete urls of all your communal sites
    like your twitter feed, Facebook page or linkedin profile? https://www.cds.caltech.edu/sae/index.php?title=Adding_Inches_To_Your_Manhood_Uncomplicated_-_Why_Not_Try_Natural_Growth

  2. I rarely create comments,
    I rarely create comments, however i did some searching and wound up
    here Groundswell moves to Santee after failed Twisted Manzanita Brewing ECC – East County Californian. And I do have 2 questions for you if it’s allright.
    Could it be just me or does it appear like some of these comments appear as if they are
    left by brain dead visitors? 😛 And, if you are writing at additional social sites,
    I’d like to follow everything fresh you have to post.

    Would you make a list of the complete urls of all your communal sites like your twitter feed,
    Facebook page or linkedin profile? https://www.cds.caltech.edu/sae/index.php?title=Adding_Inches_To_Your_Manhood_Uncomplicated_-_Why_Not_Try_Natural_Growth

  36. Hi I am so happy I found your
    Hi I am so happy I found your webpage, I really found you
    by mistake, while I was researching on Bing for something else, Anyways I am here now and would just like
    to say thanks for a tremendous post and a all round interesting blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t
    have time to read through it all at the minute but
    I have book-marked it and also included your RSS
    feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read a lot more,
    Please do keep up the superb job. https://jimfano.com/index.php/Increase_The_Penis_Size_By_4_Inches_Without_Surgical_Procedures

  37. Hi I am so happy I found your
    Hi I am so happy I found your webpage, I really found you by mistake, while I was researching on Bing for
    something else, Anyways I am here now and would just like to say thanks for a
    tremendous post and a all round interesting blog (I also love the theme/design), I
    don’t have time to read through it all at the minute but I have book-marked it and also included
    your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read a lot
    more, Please do keep up the superb job. https://jimfano.com/index.php/Increase_The_Penis_Size_By_4_Inches_Without_Surgical_Procedures

  42. Greetings I am so delighted I
    Greetings I am so delighted I found your
    blog, I really found you by mistake, while I was searching on Google
    for something else, Regardless I am here now and would just like to say cheers for
    a marvelous post and a all round entertaining blog (I also love the
    theme/design), I don’t have time to read through it all at the
    minute but I have book-marked it and also included your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be
    back to read much more, Please do keep up the fantastic work. http://genderpunk360.com/wiki/index.php/How_Let_Me_Make_My_Penis_Made_Bigger_Answer_That_Now

  43. Greetings I am so delighted I
    Greetings I am so delighted I found your blog, I really found you by mistake, while I was searching on Google for something else, Regardless I am here now and
    would just like to say cheers for a marvelous post and a all round entertaining blog (I
    also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to read
    through it all at the minute but I have book-marked it and also included your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will
    be back to read much more, Please do keep up the fantastic work. http://genderpunk360.com/wiki/index.php/How_Let_Me_Make_My_Penis_Made_Bigger_Answer_That_Now

  46. I just wanted to thank you
    I just wanted to thank you once again for the
    amazing website you have built here. It is full of useful tips for
    those who are truly interested in that subject, in particular this very post.
    You’re really all so sweet in addition to thoughtful of
    others and reading your site posts is a fantastic delight with me.
    And exactly what a generous surprise! Jeff and I really have pleasure making use of
    your points in what we need to do next week. Our collection of ideas is a kilometer long which
    means your tips will certainly be put to excellent use. http://www.sapphiceroticapassword.com/go/casw

  47. I just wanted to thank you
    I just wanted to thank you once again for the amazing website you have built here.

    It is full of useful tips for those who are truly interested in that subject, in particular this very
    post. You’re really all so sweet in addition to thoughtful of others and reading your
    site posts is a fantastic delight with me.
    And exactly what a generous surprise! Jeff and
    I really have pleasure making use of your points in what we
    need to do next week. Our collection of ideas is a kilometer long which means your
    tips will certainly be put to excellent use. http://www.sapphiceroticapassword.com/go/casw

  62. Hi! I understand this is sort
    Hi! I understand this is sort of off-topic but I had to
    ask. Does operating a well-established website such as yours take
    a lot of work? I’m completely new to writing a blog
    but I do write in my journal on a daily basis. I’d like to start a blog
    so I can share my own experience and views online. Please let me know if you have any ideas or tips for new aspiring blog owners.
    Appreciate it! http://darencapacio.com/q2a/index.php?qa=90184&qa_1=how-generate-your-eyelashes-grow-naturally

  63. Hi! I understand this is sort
    Hi! I understand this is sort of off-topic but I had to ask.
    Does operating a well-established website such as yours take a lot of work?

    I’m completely new to writing a blog but I do write in my journal on a daily basis.
    I’d like to start a blog so I can share my own experience and views online.
    Please let me know if you have any ideas or tips for new aspiring blog owners.
    Appreciate it! http://darencapacio.com/q2a/index.php?qa=90184&qa_1=how-generate-your-eyelashes-grow-naturally

  64. A lot of thanks for each of
    A lot of thanks for each of your work on this web site.

    My aunt delights in working on investigations and it’s really simple to grasp why.
    My partner and i learn all about the dynamic mode you offer
    sensible items on the blog and in addition recommend participation from other people on the issue then our girl has always been discovering a lot.
    Enjoy the rest of the year. You are always carrying out
    a remarkable job.[X-N-E-W-L-I-N-S-P-I-N-X]I am really impressed together with your writing skills and also with the format on your blog.
    Is that this a paid topic or did you customize it your self?
    Either way keep up the nice high quality writing, it is
    uncommon to peer a great blog like this one these days. https://8abel.com/groups/skin-care-info-sustain-healthy-pores/

  65. A lot of thanks for each of
    A lot of thanks for each of your work on this web site.
    My aunt delights in working on investigations and it’s really simple to grasp
    why. My partner and i learn all about the dynamic mode you
    offer sensible items on the blog and in addition recommend participation from other people on the issue
    then our girl has always been discovering a lot. Enjoy the rest
    of the year. You are always carrying out a remarkable job.[X-N-E-W-L-I-N-S-P-I-N-X]I am really impressed together with your writing skills and also
    with the format on your blog. Is that this a paid topic or did you customize it your self?
    Either way keep up the nice high quality writing, it is uncommon to peer a great blog
    like this one these days. https://8abel.com/groups/skin-care-info-sustain-healthy-pores/

Comments are closed.