Sometime mid-month, the long awaited Southern Pacific Brewery will officially open their doors to the public, although on New Year’s Eve a near capacity crowd of 200 showed up for the Mission microbrewery’s dress rehearsal.

Chris Lawrence (former sales manager for Speakeasy) and Anthony LaVia (former owner of both Gestalt Haus and the Matador) partnered up to create Southern Pacific and brought Andy French (former brewer at Speakeasy) on board as brewmaster. The seasoned crew is rounded out by Tyler Moorish (formerly of Osteria Coppa and the Social Kitchen.

The 8500 square foot brewpub is in a former machine shop and the sleek redesign by Boor Bridges Architecture (who previously did Four Barrel Coffee and Flora Grubb Gardens) has left the industrial space feeling well-lit and open. There’s an ample walled patio at the front of the building and the front wall of the brewpub is glass, which helps maintain the feeling of open space on the ground floor bar. At the rear of the bar area is a large mezzanine that overlooks the whole scene. And the building’s Treat Ave location has plenty of beer cred.

Nearby 19th and Folsom was the final location for the pre-prohibition Broadway Brewery. The bar itself has 21 taps; seven of those will be pouring Southern Pacific beers and the remaining fourteen will be guest taps. And what Southern Pacific beers can we expect initially? Chris responded, “We already have a pale ale and an IPA (which were served at the NYE private party) and there’s a wit that's almost ready. There is also a porter, a golden ale and a pilsner on the way. A few of our beers will be $3 a pint and the prices for the others will vary depending on the style and cost. We plan to rotate our selections; the great thing about a brewpub is that we have the ability to make a greater variety of beer styles compared to a production brewery.”

Southern Pacific also has a full bar and their kitchen will be serving pizza and other pub grub made from locally sourced ingredients. Southern Pacific Brewing is licensed as a small beer manufacturer, which enables them to not only make and sell their beer on premises, but also to distribute to local and regional commercial clients and restaurants. The brewpub location is also zoned for a distillery.

Chris reports that they are currently finishing the final construction details and getting the last of the city permits signed off. Their website is being upgraded and will include the kitchen menu and details on their grand opening event. Southern Pacific’s beer will also be making the rounds during the SF Beer Week Events next month.

Southern Pacific Brewing, 620 Treat Ave. (Near Folsom and 19th), San Francisco 94110, (415) 891-9775. www.southernpacificbrewing.com/