The Brewery Project: Mission Brewery Plaza

Every time I drive past Mission Brewery Plaza I think about the rich brewing history of the San Diego historical landmark.  I posted this back in 2010 as New English Brewing Co. was getting ready to move in, revitalizing the building after years of sitting empty.  Shortly thereafter, 5 Points Brewing Co. cohabited the space, brewing their own beer and contract brewing for others.  New English outgrew the space and moved into a larger location in January of this year.  I decided to pay the brewery a visit to see how things were going since New English moved out.  What I found, sadly, was an abandoned brewery.  Apparently 5 Points slipped away without anyone taking notice.  I could find no mention online about the brewery closing, just a couple of disconnected phone numbers and their old website address, clearly not featuring beer anymore.  It saddens me when a local brewery closes its door, and I always wonder what went wrong.  It saddens me even more to see this wonderful building, with a full production brewery sitting inside, going to waste.  Perhaps another brewery will take over the space and turn it into a thriving San Diego craft beer hotspot.  Perhaps the space has already been procured and will open again soon.  Perhaps it will remain forever vacant.  Whatever the case, the strong brewing heritage of this building will remain, as will memories of times past.