Customers to get a say in the suds

Thousand Oaks is finally hopping on the brewery bandwagon.

As craft breweries have bloomed in surrounding towns in recent years, T.O. has watched from the sidelines while an old zoning ordinance turned away would-be brewers.

Now that city officials have cleared the way, a group of T.O. natives plans to open the city’s first brewpub, dubbed Tarantula Hill Brewing Co., in late 2018 on Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

Ali Zia, founder and CEO of the future brewery, has been gauging the Conejo Valley’s taste for craft beer in the three years since he launched the Bottle & Pint shop and taproom in Newbury Park.

He said the goal for Tarantula Hill Brewing Co. is to give the community a say in their suds.

“You guys tell us what you want to drink, we’ll brew it,” Zia said.

City limits

Since Ladyface Ale Companie poured its first pint in Agoura in late 2009, numerous craft breweries have sprouted up in and around the Conejo Valley.

The local lineup includes Figueroa Mountain, Five Threads, Westlake Brewing, and 14 Cannons in Westlake Village; The Lab and Ladyface in Agoura; Enegren in Moorpark; and Institution in Camarillo.

The area is not alone in the boom of specialty beer makers. According to trade group the Brewers Association, the number of craft breweries operating in California more than doubled over the past five years, from 270 in 2011 to 623 in 2016.

But not one has taken root in Thousand Oaks.

Until recently, the city’s zoning regulations limited the brewing of alcohol to a small industrial area in Newbury Park. That deterred some prospective beer makers, including the T.O. location of BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse—which was barred from brewing onsite—and Five Threads founder Tim Kazules, who has said he originally planned to open his brewery in T.O.

The regulations were changed in 2016 when the City Council voted to allow breweries along Thousand Oaks Boulevard, exactly where Zia and his fellow investors intend to open.

Local roots

The five guys behind Tarantula Hill Brewing Co. grew up together in Thousand Oaks and graduated from Thousand Oaks High School in 1991. Joining Zia in the venture are childhood friends John Edney, Nick Brown, Ken O’Connor and Shane May.

Along with craft beer, the establishment will serve wood-fired Neapolitan pizza and handmade ice cream.

The brewpub is named after Thousand Oaks’ tallest point, Tarantula Hill. Zia said the beers they create will also take on local monikers.

“One might be called Paradise Falls. One might be called Mount Boney.”

At Bottle & Pint, Zia has seen a local penchant for hoppy IPAs (India pale ales), but he said Tarantula Hill’s yet-to-be-named master brewer will concoct an ever-changing variety of beers.

“I want flexibility—a brewer that can brew as many different styles as possible,” Zia said.

Brown, a professional artist who now lives in the Highland Park area of Los Angeles, will help with brand development and will create artwork to illustrate the beers’ themes. He created the THBC emblem (shown above), which features the towering land mass off Gainsborough Road beneath a purple sky, its single distinct oak faintly visible.

Edney, who now lives in Loyola Village near LAX, will run the restaurant and the ice cream operation. The super-premium (think thick and rich) cream mix will come from Edney’s father’s Hawaii-based Tropical Dreams Ice Cream Co., but the end product will be manufactured at the brewery and tailored to the community.

“(We’ll have) basically a little ice cream factory inside,” Edney said, noting that they plan to use some local ingredients, like Oxnard strawberries, and find pairings for ice cream flavors and beer.

On the boulevard

While the future site of Tarantula Hill Brewing Co. has been pegged to Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Zia said he can’t yet reveal the precise location. The plan is to begin the build-out in May and open the doors in December.

Beyond launching the city’s first brewery, the Tarantula Hill team said they aim to create a gathering place where kids and even pets are welcome.

“It’s definitely going to be a family vibe,” Edney said, “not just a bar where you get beer.”