Whole Foods Market : names brewery and brew master for new San Jose store

Emeryville, Calif. (October 28, 2014) - When it opens on December 9, Whole Foods Market San Jose (777 The Alameda) will house the company's first on-site microbrewery and tap room in California, and the second on-site microbrewery company wide. The brewery and tap room will be called Mission Creek Brewing Company. Guy Cameron, formerly of Russian River Brewing Company, has been named Mission Creek's brew master.

Mission Creek Brewing Company is located in a two story, 5,600 square-foot "outbuilding" separate from the main store itself. The ground floor houses coffee and fresh juice bars, along with some seating. The second floor is home to the tap room, with eight bar seats, a birds-eye view of the brewery, and access to outdoor seating for around 75. A retractable roof and outdoor heating protect guests in inclement weather.

The tap room has 22 total taps, with 19 for beer, two for wine and one serving up fresh sparkling water. Three to five of those taps are reserved for house brews, a few go to nationally-available favorites, and the rest feature local beers from Calicraft Brewing Company, Lagunitas, Magnolia Brewery and more. Customers can also order from a restaurant-style menu with cheese plates, pizzas and other pub food.

The brewery's name celebrates the history of the area's landscape and community it helped establish. In the days before the Alameda was paved, Mission Creek flowed into irrigation canals along the roadway. This provided water to the mission and allowed early Spanish settlers and Native Americans to establish agriculture in the area (additional fun fact: Thousands of years before anyone named it, Mission Creek was a favorite sipping spot of mammoths*). 

Wesley Miller, who oversees the beer program for the San Jose store, envisions a venue that connects customers with craft brews and celebrates the local breweries creating great beer. Miller and the store leadership team consulted with Magnolia Brewing Company to design the brewery and tap room experience.

"Mission Creek is an idea and a space where we hope to get people involved in craft brewing," says Miller. "Since we have the grocery store component, we can play with how different ingredients affect the beer experience, whether they're part of the brew, included in a pairing, or offered on the bar menu. The store in general is designed as a gathering place, and the tap room in particular is made for engagement, with tastings, tap takeovers - all kinds of experiential beer events."

In charge of creating and brewing Whole Foods Market San Jose's signature beers, Guy Cameron joins the company from Russian River Brewing, where he was a brewer. He got started at Rock Bottom Brewery in Campbell, California, and has specialized in sour beers, IPAs, and ales. Cameron is an award-winning home brewer and member of the Silicon Valley Sudzers homebrew club. He has also completed the Beer Judge Certification Program.

Whole Foods Market's first tap room company-wide opened at the Coddingtown Mall store in Santa Rosa in 2010. With Mission Creek, there will be 10 total tap rooms in the region: Coddingtown, Fremont, Potrero Hill (San Francisco), SOMA (San Francisco), Napa, Folsom, Roseville, Reno, and Cupertino (slated to open in early November).

Whole Foods Market San Jose opens at 777 The Alameda on Dec. 9, 2014. The 35,000 square foot store brings 150 new jobs to the city. It is the 42nd store for the Northern California region. Subcribe for newsletter updates at wholefoodsmarket.com/newsletters, and follow the store on Facebook at facebook.com/WFMSanJose.

*source: University of California Museum of Paleontology