White Labs Brewing Company will soon roll out a new menu at their Miramar-area taproom on Candida Street. Following in the footsteps of their Asheville, North Carolina Kitchen and Tap, they’re introducing a smaller concept in San Diego focused on pizzas and shareable items.
What Now San Diego spoke with Head of Education & Craft Hospitality at White Labs, Erik Fowler, about their San Diego kitchen. “What we wanted to do, just like on the beer production side, is we’re taking something that’s accessible and using it to showcase yeast and fermentation,” explains Fowler. What’s more accessible than pizza?
“Our pizza dough is unique to us, it utilizes brewer’s yeast as the sole organism,” shares Fowler. However, this isn’t your Grandma’s brewer’s yeast.
“Everyone uses dry, commercial grade yeast, which is bred for efficiency. As beer and bread became more mass-produced, the artisanal aspect was kind of lost.” Much like the growth of yeast strains used for craft beer, allowing us a wide variety of flavors, the White Labs strains give a subtle but unique characteristic to their dough.
While the new menu is still being finalized, not all items run with the full fermentation theme. Beyond pizza, we can expect cheese boards and small bites like yeasty garlic knots with gourmet dipping sauces.
Dedicated Head Brewer Craig Tump is leading the charge in their taproom expansion. In addition to their new food menu, they’ve made changes to their draft system, and added a 30-seat shaded patio.
Tours of their brewing facility and yeast production laboratory have resumed on Fridays and Saturdays with reservations. The new White Labs Kitchen is expected to debut in early February. Keep updated by following White Labs Brewing Company on Instagram.
