When Joe Manzella opened a third TAPS Fish House & Brewery in 2015, one thing was missing: a brewery.

The Irvine restaurant was too small, so Manzella’s brewpubs in Brea and Corona wound up supplying Irvine with its housemade suds. Brewing capacity was maxed out, forcing Manzella to abandon outside distribution of TAPS’ core beers — once found at top bars around Southern California.

It was a restaurateur’s nightmare: Turning away big bucks during the craft beer boom.

“They are trying to hand you money, and you can’t hand them any beer,” Manzella said. Soon, he won’t be crushed by his own success.

He’s sealed a deal to open an 19,000-square foot production brewery and taproom in Tustin. TAPS Brewery & Barrel Room is expected to open in January with a $1.8 million European brewing system capable of pumping out 25,000 barrels a year.

The brewery will have a 1,900 square foot tasting room, a dedicated food truck, pinball games and plenty of parking — up to 155 spaces.

“This will be a modern, comfortable space for beer lovers with everything under one roof and an emphasis on the casual, fun and hip,” Manzella said.

David Huls, director of brewery operations, will lead a brew crew team that includesKyle Manns, brewery operations manager; Jonathan Chiusano, head brewer; Max Jones, cellar man; and Eric Elliott, line cleaner/distribution. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

TAPS Brewery & Barrel Room is expected to open in January with a European brewing system that has the capacity to produce up to 25,000 barrels a year. (Rendering Courtesy TAPS)

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TAPS Brewery & Barrel Room is expected to open in January with a European brewing system that has the capacity to produce up to 25,000 barrels a year. (Rendering Courtesy TAPS)

The original TAPS is credited with jump-starting the now-vibrant Brea Downtown dining and entertainment district and was among the first on the O.C. brewing scene when it opened in 1999. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Bad Ambre, center, is a malty lager with caramel notes and restrained bitterness at TAPS’ in Irvine. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)



TAPS at The Market Place in Irvine. The restaurant opened without a brewery on site, which put a strain on the company’s distribution abilities. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Amend This! is poured from a long line of taps at TAPS in Irvine. TAPS uses the finest ingredients, processes and water filtration system to create world class beer. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The TAPS team, left to right: Kyle Manns, brewery operations manager; Chris Snyder, TAPS President; David Huls, director of brewery operations; and TAPS founder/proprietor Joe Manzella.

TAPS founder Joe Manzella shows us where he plans to remove a wall to make room for a 20-seat L-shaped bar. Before landing the Tustin space, he said he looked at brewery locations in Anaheim, Irvine, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. He didn’t want a typical industrial space like other brewers. This corner spot is near The Distrct shopping center off a busy road that runs paralell to the 55 freeway. I didnt want the rusty railroad tracks behind our back fence,” Manzella said. (Nancy Luna, Orange County Register/SCNG)

TAPS Brewery & Barrel Room, at 15501 Red Hill Ave., will be the company’s first large scale production facility for its award winning lagers and ales. The tasting room is at the corner of Red Hill and Edinger, near The Tustin District shopping center. (Nancy Luna, Orange County Register/SCNG)



Kyle Manns, brewery operations manager at TAPS, stumbled upon the empty Tustin warehouse in March 2017. Within a few months, TAPS founder and proprietor Joe Manzella made a deal to take over a portion of the 32,000 square foot building. (Nancy Luna, Orange County Register, SCNG)

TAPS Brewery & Barrel Room is moving into a portion of a 32,000 square foot warehouse in Tustin. It will feature 16 beers on tap, plus bottled selections, along with four to six planned wine selections. The tasting room, bar and patio will accommodate a combined total of 84 guests. Draft beers (including TAPS specialty brews) will range from $5 to $9. Barrel-aged selections will run $15 and up. It is expected to open in early 2018. (Nancy Luna, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Brewing from Brea to Disneyland

Opening the brewery is a major milestone for the company, whose restaurants include TAPS locations in Brea, Irvine and Corona, The Catch in Anaheim and Lillie’s Q (temporarily closed) in Brea.

Manzella opened the first TAPS in downtown Brea in 1999 with the goal of pairing upscale seafood and steak with house-made craft beer. Over the years, TAPS has won nearly 100 medals at artisanal beer contests including a silver two weeks ago at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver for its pilsner, Bohemian TAPSody.

David Huls and Kyle Manns will lead the Tustin brewery operations. The team is sparing no time in rebooting its distribution arm. In November, TAPS’ beers will be poured at holiday festivities at Disneyland California Adventure and at BlizzCon at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Nabbing both deals is a coup with perfect timing. It allows TAPS to showcase its new branding inside two tourist-packed events filled with millennials and young families.

The only problem: the brewery is not operational yet, so they’re relying on restaurants in Corona and Brea to get the job done.

“We’re squeezing blood out of a rock,” quips Manzella.

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But given the chance to jump start a new business, he can’t say no.

“These are relationships that are critical to the overall success of the production facility,” Manzella said.

No train tracks, please

Before landing the Tustin space, Manzella said he looked for brewery locations in Anaheim, Irvine, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.

He was adamant about his vision. He wanted nothing to do with the grungy industrial spaces typical of most fledgling breweries.

I didnt want rusty railroad tracks behind our back fence,” he said

In March, Manns spotted the Tustin warehouse on a real estate website and immediately alerted Manzella about the location near The District shopping center on Red Hill Avenue.

Within a few months, Manzella struck a deal to take a portion of the 32,000-square-foot building, which was previously occupied by a micro-processing firm. Another bonus: The building is wired with enough power to support the brewery’s electrical needs.

Once he stepped into the building, he saw it was a good fit. The facility will be Tustin’s third brewery and second with a public tasting room.

“We felt this could be really good,” he said. “We moved really quickly.”

A premium tasting room experience

In its first year, TAPS Brewery & Barrel Room will churn out 5,000 barrels, in up to 40 styles — from their classic lagers and ales to barrel-aged small batch beers.

By 2019, capacity will increase to about 10,000 barrels.

Most of the production will be earmarked for distribution to entertainment venues, bars, restaurants, grocers, and the tasting room.

Once the brewery opens, the TAPS restaurants, with the exception of Irvine and The Catch, will be self-sustaining. The restaurants in Brea and Corona will brew for themselves and the other restaurants.

In the tasting room, beer aficionados will find core beers, as well as experimental batches not found at the other Manzella-owned restaurants.

TAPS president Chris Snyder said the Tustin tasting room will embody the same qualities of TAPS’ premium dining restaurants. It will have comfortable seating, a 2,000-square-foot patio with a 12-seat fire pit, multiple TVs, video games and top quality food and service.

“We want it to become a destination,” Snyder said.

Unlike other scrappy brewery startups with zero hospitality experience, food won’t be an afterthought at the Tustin barrel room.

A TAPS food truck will be permanently parked outside serving 12 to 14 items created by Roman Jimenez, previously the chef at Macallans in Brea Downtown.

The diverse menu includes Nuclear Masa Fries (crispy handmade masa fries, bulgogi beef, kimchi, pico de gallo, gochujang crema, lime), Bahn Mi-Mexi Dog (a bacon wrapped pork sausage topped with pickled vegetables in an artisan roll) and Philimanti Cheese Steak (smoked ribeye topped with red ale pimiento cheese whiz).

“It’s fun and whimsical,” Manzella said.

Price will range from $8 to $18.

Customers will order food from a kiosk station near the truck or from their phones. Bartenders will also take food orders at the 20-seat bar. A digital screen, set up above the food truck, will notify guests when their order will be ready.

Snyder said he wants to avoid the chaotic gridlock found at most breweries by creating an assembly line style system. The L-shaped bar will have two ordering areas at each end of the counter. Once the order is taken, a second barkeep will fill the order a few steps down the line.

The 16 taps will also be front facing so bartenders need not turn their backs on customers as they pour. Everything is designed for hospitality, efficiency and speed.

The main tasting room will be separated by arched brick floor-to-ceiling windows that peek into the 10-tank brewing and bottling system. Draft and barrel-aged beers will range from $5 to $15. Merchandise, crowlers and growlers will also be available for takeout.

Besides Huls and Manns, the brew crew includes Jonathan Chiusano, head brewer; Max Jones, cellar man; and Eric Elliott, line cleaner/distribution.

The brewery is at 15501 Red Hill Ave.

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TAPS joins the wave of large scale craft brew facilities opening across the country. In 2016, craft beer claimed 12.3 percent of the overall market share by volume in the U.S, according to the Brewers Association. Craft brew sales grew 10 percent to $23.5 billion last year.

Orange County is home to more than 30 craft breweries with a large cluster in Anaheim, Placentia and Fullerton. Over the last two years, several new breweries have opened, while others have expanded operations here including Karl Strauss Brewing in Anaheim, Stereo in Placentia, Lost Winds Brewing in San Clemente, Docent in San Juan Capistrano, Unsung in Anaheim, Chapman Crafted in Orange, Green Cheek Beer in Orange, Towne Park Brewery in Anaheim, Gunwhale Ales in Costa Mesa and Asylum in Anaheim.