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“We opened in the middle of the pandemic for some crazy reason.”
This is the beginning of the story of Craft Coast Beer & Tacos in Oceanside. However, it’s only the next chapter in Blake Masoner’s training.
“Everyone was thinking, ‘Why don’t you wait with all the uncertainty?’” Masoner recalled as he stood in the restaurant and brewery he co-founded and opened in August 2020 in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Craft Coast vision was to be a place where community, friends and family could come together,” he smiled.
It was the connecting part that was difficult. Masoner couldn’t have guests inside. Luckily, he had patio seating and a kitchen that allowed Craft Coast to roll in with the pandemic strikes.
“We just have these really crazy people who keep coming back over and over again,” he said as he sipped the Moonstone Pale Ales he brewed.
Masoner said he studied at Pizza Port in Carlsbad’s Bressi Ranch community for six years. Craft Coast was his first solo stint as a businessman in a global industry dominated by San Diego breweries.
“It shows the number of medals San Diego has received in competitions,” he said proudly.
So imagine his surprise when the San Diego Brewers Guild asked him to partner with longtime brewers like Societe and Ballast Point on this year’s Capital of Craft IPA. It’s the flagship beer during the annual San Diego Beer Week, which runs through Sunday.
“I think that’s a cool honor,” said Masoner.
San Diego Beer Week was a little derailed by the pandemic in 2020, but Masoner says it’s a lot better this year. However, he is very much looking forward to 2022, when craft beer fans can also toast the next Capital of Craft IPA.
“I’m really looking forward to next year,” he smiled.
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