(Courtesy Ballast Point)

It’s been quite a journey for Ballast Point Brewing, the once high-flying brewery, that was sold to Constellation Brands for a mind-boggling  $1 billion dollars in 2015.

The Miramar brewery itself was originally home to Saint Archer Brewing. Saint Archer was founded in 2013 and acquired in 2015 by Molson Coors at the height of craft beer’s second emergence. And when the mega-brewer shut down that brand, Kings & Convicts, which is based out of Chicago, took over that expansive brewery as well as its  1,200-square-foot taproom in Leucadia, Calif.

Kings & Convicts said at the time that the was committed to revitalizing the Ballast Point brand and taking it to new heights…

Then came Covid-19 which put an end to many a brewery’s expectations. Ballast Point solod its expansive production facility =in Miramar and turned to contract brewing to keep the brand alive

Describing the current situation, Watters explained…

 “We’ve signed a contract with another company that will take over the Miramar brewery. In the short-term, we will be working with them on a contract basis while we try to acquire or build another San Diego facility, ideally with an 80-to-100-barrel brewhouse. That will allow us to crank things out and make money from them.”

But now Ballast Point, which currently owns the Miramar taproom  attached to a production  facility, that is now owned by Athletic Brewing, as well as another venue in Little Italy, has announced that a group of hometown backers has stepped in to stabilize operations and keep the brand rooted in the city where it began.

This from Ballast Point’s August 13^th announcement…

Ballast Point has accepted a new majority investment by fellow longtime San Diego-based nightlife and hospitality operators, RMD Group. RMD Group joins multi-strategy investment firm Cypress Ascendant in guiding the future growth and development of Ballast Point alongside its current leadership, bringing decades of experience in managing some of the most energetic and impressive restaurant, nightlife, and hospitality concepts in Southern California to the forefront.  

“We’re tremendously excited about the new energy and expertise RMD Group and Cypress Ascendant are bringing to Ballast Point,” said Brendan Watters, co-founder and CEO of Kings & Convicts Brewing Co.. Both RMD and Cypress Ascendant have been behind-the-scenes collaborators of ours for years, and now that we’ve formally brought them into the Ballast Point family, the sky’s the limit on what we hope to achieve together as we take Ballast Point to the next level.

 “I loved my original partners dearly, but none of us knew COVID was going to hit. It came and we suddenly had to do what we had to do to survive,”  Watters added. “Now, we have new people who love this company. They understand Ballast Point and San Diego, and together we can focus on running and growing the business. It’s a new and exciting energy. The sky’s the limit on what we hope to achieve together as we take Ballast Point to the next level.”

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