I’m typically for the underdog.
I love going to tiny, local places, where the owner/brewers have sunk everything they have into a few tanks and a small bar, and are thrilled to see you and share their creations.
Larger players with a national, even world-wide reach? Generally, a pass.
But I was excited to visit Stone Brewing’s new Napa brewery and taproom. I’ve dug pretty much everything they’ve done since my first Arrogant Bastard, and I was eager to try their special Napa-brewed releases.
And the added bonus? I love historic buildings, and therefore was really interested to see how they rehabbed their new Napa home, which dates back to the late 19th century.
A History of Saving History
Stone Liberty Station is part of the former San Diego Naval Training Station. Their specific building, the mess hall, was one of a handful of existing buildings when the station was dedicated in 1923.
Liberty Station (as it was later known) was decommissioned in the early ‘90s due to military downsizing. The site is now a sprawling complex of retail shops, restaurants, hotels, art galleries and studios, fitness centers, and medial practices.
Stone Berlin is the site of a former gasworks complex built in 1901. The campus includes a 43,000 square-foot main building housing the brewery as well as restaurants, event spaces, and a store.
As for Stone Napa…
Felix Borreo, an immigrant from Genoa, Italy, constructed the building in 1877, assembling foot-thick walls of native stone quarried from nearby Soda Canyon.
While Borreo ran his grocery business on the main floor until ultimately selling the building in 1908, he leased the second floor to a succession of tenants, including a carriage shop, feed store, boat house, and shirt factory.
The 20th century saw a revolving roster of businesses, including a cellar for a local winery, a library, a yacht club, a motorcycle repair shop, and, from the ‘30s though the ‘50s, an Oldsmobile dealership. Its last tenant was a moving and storage company, and the building had been vacant for many years prior to Stone’s arrival.
Give Me a Sign
Because of the parcel’s isolated nature (bordered on two sides by the Napa River), the parking lot is a couple of blocks away, across Soscol Avenue beyond the Wine Train tracks. There’s only a short driveway next to the building for drop-offs and deliveries.
And that driveway’s your only real clue how to enter the building. As is the case with most Stone locations, there’s no signage. They expect patrons to do their homework and seek them out. Just a sandwich board in front of two large side doors indicates the entrance.
Once inside, past the host station, the glassed-in brewery is to the right. Next to that, plenty of swag for purchase. Straight ahead, large doors lead out to the patio overlooking the Napa River.
To the left is a bar with a wall of taps and two giant video boards above scrolling a dizzying array of selections. And bonus points for multiple sizes — everything’s offered in 5-, 10-, or 16-ounces, ideal for sampling.
Since I was only there to sample and didn’t plan on eating, I ordered a small pour of the Zubin Pilsner (brewed on-site) and handed over my card. I figured I could run a tab there and just pop into the restaurant to take a look.
The server came back with my beer, my card, and a receipt for $3.50. I asked to start a tab, and that’s when they explained I’d need to go the restaurant upstairs to do that.
Would have been nice to know that.
There was a stairway past the bar, but I only saw staff using it, so I thought it was the kitchen entrance.
When I asked if I could bring my beer upstairs, they said certainly, and pointed to that stairway.
That was my only real beef with my experience. The layout is not very intuitive, and first-timers like myself could use a little help with navigation. A little directional signage would be helpful.
Let There Be … Garage Doors!
Once you get upstairs, the space is, magnificent. Most of the original windows were either kept or replicated. The spacious u-shaped bar sits in the middle of the space, surrounded by tables. Both bars, upstairs and down, were fashioned from timber salvaged during the renovation.
An alcove at one end features a fireplace (with a giant Stone logo above) with plenty of chairs and couches. A lively game of charades was taking place while I was there.
The entire scene is capped by a gorgeous arched wooden roof. Again, old wood timbers are ingeniously used as light-fixtures. Original stone walls were kept exposed wherever possible.
For most of its early history, the building was at the east end of a row of buildings. Since other buildings directly abutted it, no windows were possible along its western wall.
Those buildings burned in the mid-‘40s, leaving the Borreo building alone on the parcel.
Stone took advantage of the exposed wall by carving out two massive openings, framed by large roll-up garage doors, one of which was wide open to take advantage of a feature the building never had before — sweeping views of the Napa river and downtown.
In spite of the large doors, this brand-new restaurant has an instant sense of history. The wood-plank floors, dark wood tables, and comfy Spanish-style chairs add warmth and echo the wood beams in the ceiling. Rusted copper and metal cage pendant lights lend an industrial edge.
The food menu was still fairly limited as of my visit, although they did offer a salad, a poke bowl, several sandwiches, and a few starters, including a $15 meat-and-cheese board that was more than enough for the couple next to me. If you can feed two people for $15 in downtown Napa, you’re doing something.
The beer selection, however, was NOT limited.
Freedom of Choice … is What You Want
The menu is helpfully divided into “regions” — the core-lineup from World Headquarters in Escondido, five Napa-brewed beers, and one each from Liberty Station, Richmond (Virginia), and, yes, Berlin.
Stone made their bones on IPA, and the beer list reflected that. Fully 13 of the 20 taps were various strengths and styles of lupulin juice, not counting two pale ales and the Arrogant Bastard.
But those whose palates aren’t hop-focused weren’t ignored — two sours, a pilsner, a stout, and a Berliner Weisse (from Berlin, duh) were also on tap.
After sampling, um, several 5-ounce pours (the highlight of which was a DAMNED tasty Skedaddler IPA, a collaboration with Societe Brewing, also of San Diego), I ventured back downstairs for a couple of crowlers.
I’m not a whale hunter. I don’t need to run to a nearby (or not-so nearby) place for whatever-release-day. There’s so much already there on store shelves and in those tiny local taprooms, there isn’t need.
But I gotta say, having a couple of crowlers of limited-release, locally-produced brews with Stone’s logo on it is pretty freakin’ cool.
I’ll definitely be back.