Today we’d like to introduce you to Tomme Arthur.
Tomme, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey was founded in 2006. At that time, Stone Brewing was moving from San Marcos to Escondido. They wanted someone to take over their original brewery location and we determined that fit our needs. Originally conceived as a two-brand brewery, the Port Brewing beers would be West Coast versions (hop forward) of styles and The Lost Abbey was imagined as an homage to Belgian Ales and Experimental flavor forward brewing. Since our inception, we have been known for our extensive collection of oak barrels which we age beer in and now sits at more than 1000 units.
In 2007, we were named Small Brewing Company of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival. We followed up the award at the 2008 World Beer Cup earning the same Small Brewing Company of the Year award. Our brewery has also garnered Best of Show at the San Diego International Beer Fest (twice) as well as The Festival of Barrel Aged Beers in Chicago.
The brewery remains committed to making exceptional beers and now has added The Hop Concept and Tiny Bubbles branded beers to the lineup. In the fall of 2019, we opened our second satellite tasting room and now operate hospitality centers in San Marcos (2) and one in Cardiff by the Sea. 2020 has been a very tough year but we feel we are poised to continue to deliver great beers and experiences to our customers.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
We definitely have had our challenges. When we started, we were underfunded like so many breweries. We didn’t turn a profit our first four years. Growing the business was very expensive. It felt for many of the early years that we were always in expansion mode trying to gain the necessary space and equipment we needed to grow the business. Today, we have slowed the expansion and it feels for the first time that we have enough space and operations to grow the business at a manageable pace.
We’d love to hear more about the business.
I would say the depth of beers and flavors we are producing is quite exceptional. From the lightest lager styles to heavily influenced oak and sour beers, we make it all. IPA style beers definitely pay the bills but we are known for wild, sour and oak aged beers like Cable Car, Duck breweries? Gooze and our Veritas line of blended fruited beers.
We’re known globally as an amazing producer and blender of specialty beers. Many of our most sought-after beers are traded and sold on the secondary beer market and are prized for their ability to be stored in cellars for many years.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I think we would have benefited from a better cash strategy at the outset. Ideally, we would have been able to tap a line of credit sooner. This would have freed up some capital (vs. buying everything in cash). If we have enabled this method of spending, it’s my feeling we could have deployed that money in other areas and the returns would have been twofold.
Contact Info:
- Address: 155 Mata Way
San Marcos, CA. 92069 - Website: www.lostabbey.com
- Email: info@lostabbey.com
- Instagram: @lostabbey, @drinktiny, @thehopconcept
- Facebook: Lost Abbey
Image Credit:
Lost Abbey
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