New brewhouse for downtown Visalia

John Lindt

September 17, 2016

Lemoore natives, Kevin Nickell and Jason Carvalho, co-owners of BarrelHouse Brewing in Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo, are planning a third location. This time, they’ll hit downtown Visalia.

The partners will open around Jan. 1 at 521 E. Main St. in Visalia with a 6,000 square-foot tap room and 6,000 square-foot beer garden in the back, Carvalho said.

“People told told us we should open in Santa Barbara or Ventura next but we thought we would return to where we came from,” he said.

All BarrelHouse brewing is done in Paso Robles. Launched in 2013, their focus is on unique, drinkable beers with a constant flow of small batch projects.

Spurring the timing of downtown’s third craft beer house is a city of Visalia initiative to ease rules on the establishment of tap rooms serving beer or wine without a restaurant.

The zoning rule change was approved by the city council earlier this month.

Carvalho says food will be served by caterers and food trucks around the back next to the planned beer garden.

“It will be a real garden." insists Carvalho. There will be a stage offering live music too as they do on the Central Coast.

BarrelHouse will lease the building that is a former antique store just east of the downtown proper - exactly where the city is looking for new investment in this older part of town.

A second beer house is expected to land in the East Main area, sources said.

Visalia still has only one brewery where they make suds - Brewbakers a few blocks to the west.

BarrelHouse offers beers like the citrusy sweet Sunny Daze, the Big Sur double IPA, and the creamy chocolate Barrelhouse Stout. They also have a forager series, featuring seasonal brews like the Snakebite, Night Ryder, and Harvest Ale.

http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/news/local/2016/09/16/new-brewhouse-downtown-visalia/90523508/