Since opening in 2011, Enegren Brewing Company has grown from a 3 barrel brewery to a 15 barrel brewery in Moorpark, CA.
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50 Campfires caught up with Brew Chief Joe Nascenzi, Captain of Operations Chris Enegren, and Commander of Finance Matt Enegren to chat about what sets their brews apart, and how Joe and brothers Chris and Matt turned a hobby into a successful commercial brewery.
50 CAMPFIRES: Tell us a little about your brewery, the types of beers that you brew, and what you feel makes your brewery unique.
ENEGREN BREWING: We believe there is a beer for every occasion, and occasion for every beer – so we don’t pigeon hole ourselves into brewing one particular style. We brew everything from hoppy American IPAs to German style lagers to barrel aged stouts.
50 CAMPFIRES: What is your most popular/flagship beer? What makes it great?
ENEGREN BREWING: Our most popular beer is Valkyrie – it’s a German style altbier, which is basically a German brown ale. It’s one of the three year-round beers we produce right now along with our Lunch Pale XPA, and Protector IPA (close runner up for most popular). Valkyrie is unique in that it provides a little bit of everything – it is malty, its moderately hoppy, it’s dark but drinks and tastes lighter than it looks – it’s just a great well rounded easy drinking flavorful beer.
50 CAMPFIRES: We love hearing stories about how breweries got their start. What’s the history behind yours?
ENEGREN BREWING: It all started back in college at Loyola Marymount University. I started brewing with a friend of mine who I played lacrosse with my senior year. He and his brother had started brewing ahead of me. After my first brew with them I got hooked and pretty much brewed with them every single batch they made.
After graduating college Chris and Matt (the two brothers) moved back home to Moorpark. Chris built up a home brewery in his parents garage and we started brewing. And then we started brewing more and more – to the point where we were brewing pretty much every weekend. At that point we decided we either had to tone down our hobby, or turn it into a commercial brewery. And clearly, we chose to go commercial and haven’t looked back since.
50 CAMPFIRES: We love meeting people who share our passion for the outdoors. Tell us a bit about the folks involved with Enegren Brewery, and what they enjoy doing outdoors.
ENEGREN BREWING: Speaking for myself, pretty much whenever I have a day off of the brewery (which is rare these days) I go hiking with my fiancee. In fact, I proposed to her while hiking the Panorama trail in Yosemite this past June (2015). I also try to sneak in a day of snowboarding whenever possible during the winter/spring.
Matt and Chris both enjoy skiing and mountain biking – but similar to me it’s hard to get time off from the brewery right now to enjoy it.
50 CAMPFIRES: Is your beer available in cans?
ENEGREN BREWING: Yes, we sell 32oz cans of our beer at the brewery – it is called a crowler (can + growler). We fill them on-demand at the tasting room and seal the lids behind the bar. We will get into canning 4- or 6-packs in the near future.
50 CAMPFIRES: Where can we find your beer?
ENEGREN BREWING: Currently our beer is available from Santa Barbara CA to Orange County CA – with the majority of our beer sold in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
50 CAMPFIRES: If people want more info about your Enegren Brewery, where can they go?
ENEGREN BREWING: Our website – www.enegrenbrewing.com. Or, if they are in the area, stop on by the brewery, grab a beer and ask for a tour and we’ll show you around.
