LEISURE

Juneshine, Enclave offer natural flavors

Holly Adams serves up a glass of kombucha at JuneShineâ€™s Scripps Ranch brewery and tasting room, 10051 Old Grove Road. (photo by John Gregory)

Juneshine, Enclave offer natural flavors

A different kind of bar is thriving in a Scripps Ranch industrial park.JuneShine, a San Diego- based company, is serving its unique brand of hard kombucha at a tasting room at 10051 Old Grove Road.

Although the business park is a rather unorthodox gathering spot for a tavern, the location was already established as a premier location. JuneShine purchased the 25,000 square foot brewing facility from Ballast Point Brewing Company earlier this year.

Instead of bistros and pubs, JuneShine’s Scripps Ranch tasting room is surrounded by neighbors such as WD40, Latitude Pharmaceuticals and LG Electronics. But its kombucha bar, the in-house eatery named Enclave, and patio are drawing a large and enthusiastic crowd of customers who seem to be seeking something new.

Whether it’s the product, including up to 30 unique flavors of fermented organic green tea and honey, or the ambience and lifestyle statement, which appeals to fitness-minded patrons, the tasting room is packing in patrons.

On a recent Saturday evening, more than 70 people gathered casually on the premises, including many fitness enthusiasts – several with rolled yoga mats in hand. The brewer’s slogan is “honest alcohol for a healthier planet.” Its kombucha contains no artificial coloring, GMOs, pesticides, or processed corn or rice syrup.

Sucha Kumar, creator of a meet-up group called “Live Blissed,” was hosting a “Move Eat Drink” event at JuneShine to provide her followers hearts, bodies and minds with balance and support for long-term health.

“This is the perfect fit for us,” she said.

Chef Lando has opened Enclave, an eatery serving super-healthy, all-natural meals made of the finest ingredients. (photo by John Gregory)

A restaurant called Enclave has teamed up with JuneShine to offer diners what it calls “adventurous super food,” with a menu that includes organic brisket and chicken, grass-fed steak and nitrate-free bacon. Enclave claims its values are “completely aligned” with JuneShine’s mission of providing more transparency in food, beverage and alcohol while making a positive social and environmental impact.

The tasting room is pet friendly, and Enclave offers “zero waste dog food” on its menu.

JuneShine’s biggest draw, however, appears to be the hard kombucha. Ordering sampler sets of three five-and-a-half ounce servings, Drew Johnson, a first-time visitor to JuneShine, tried to define the taste.

“It’s sort of like hard cider or a spritzer,” he said. “It’s not as filling as beer, and its full of probiotics and antioxidants. I really like it.”

JuneShine’s organic, gluten-free, non-GMO flavors range from a very light and subtle strawberry to the bolder blood orange mint, which the bartender said was among their most popular offerings. Other blends included a jalapeña margarita (with a slight pique) to a cinnamon-infused grapefruit spice with a festive holiday accent. The hard kombucha is 6 percent alcohol by volume.

Staff at JuneShine’s Scripps Ranch tasting room say that many people still come in looking for Ballast Point, so the company carries five different beers on tap “so that we don’t have to turn anyone away,” the bartender said. JuneShine also serves hard cider and non-alcoholic kombucha, although it’s not their brand.

JuneShine offers retail sales of hard kombucha in a can at the Old Grove Road location. Its products also sell at BevMo and Whole Foods Markets. The company has another tasting room on El Cajon Boulevard in San Diego’s North Park community.

The company was established last year in San Diego and its products are currently available in California, Oregon, New York, Texas and Hawaii. It will soon expand its market to Chicago, Boston, Arizona and Nevada. For more information, visit juneshine.com.