Novo Brazil to offer colorful beer and kombucha concoctions in Ocean Beach
Hoping to bring the vibrancy and spirit of South America to Ocean Beach during these dark times, Novo Brazil Brewing Co. has taken the space formerly home to Culture Brewing Co. at 4845 Newport Ave., with a fall opening planned.
Novo offers 60 types of beer, hard and non-alcoholic kombucha, hard seltzers and non-alcoholic beverages — many infused with fruit found in Brazil.
“We are brewed in the U.S. but inspired by Brazil,” said Gustavo Zuquim, Novo’s finance manager. “We like to bring a little bit of Brazil’s flavor to what we brew here. Our main beer that we are known for is our Mango IPA, which has mangoes from Brazil. ... We also do some seasonal ones that we mix with different fruit. We have a sour mixed with acai that is really popular.”
Other beers include the 2Can (a play on the colorful bird), an IPA with stone fruit and cherry and the Momo Haze, a hazy IPA with tropical flavors such as banana and citrus.
The founders all hail from Brazil, where they led a brewery for more than 10 years before accepting a buyout from Anheuser-Busch in 2013. The following year, founding members of the Carneiro family moved to San Diego to open a brewery and tasting room in Chula Vista.
In 2018, they started brewing alcoholic kombucha, a tea drink. With the opening in Ocean Beach, Novo Brazil will be OB’s only taproom to regularly spotlight hard kombucha.
“We started with one flavor only, but it’s been booming,” Zuquim said. “Today, the kombucha drives 90 percent of our growth.”
When Novo Brazil opens, COVID-19 precautions will be followed. At the Chula Vista tasting room, masks must be worn while walking through the facility, patrons must stay six feet apart and masked staff cleans high-touch surfaces.
