Now Pouring a craft beer lovers paradise

BY BRANT MYERS

MEANEY

I was in search of fresh hoppy beers from all over California all in the comfort of my own county. Where can one go for this? Well, luckily, we’re spoiled for choices here on the Central Coast, but after visiting this locale for a quick pint in the past, we decided to delve deep into the story behind Ancient Owl Beer Garden and Bottle Shoppe in Atascadero.

Todd Meaney, our intrepid photographer, and I brave the Grade yet again and shoot over to the intersection of Traffic Way and El Camino Real to a small city made of shipping containers. It’s a frigid night that would see freezing temperatures, but we pop a squat under some heat lamps with the three owners and a pint of Stone Cold Steve Oswald, an amber lager brewed in collaboration with neighbor Colony Mash. How does a beer garden collaborate with a brewery? Well, let me introduce you to the three owners.

The husband-and-wife team of Marcin and Alanna Andruszkiewicz combined with Larry Duterte comprises the top level of Ancient Owl. I’ve known Duterte for some time, and am awkwardly reminded that I also know Marcin, but those are the breaks of a craft beer lifestyle, a memory made hazy from too many Hazy IPAs. These two brewed together at Barrelhouse Brewing Company in Templeton where I would regularly make stops with tour buses full of people for upwards of five years. Duterte also bounced around Libertine Brewing in SLO for a while making wild ales and sour beers at both locations asynchronously. Alanna was active in the non-profit world lending a big hand to the Boys and Girls Club both here and in Chicago. Marcin and Alanna were poised to open Ancient Owl Brewing in Chicago when property after property kept getting swiped out from >> underneath them for development. After enough setbacks, they packed up their kids and moved out West. Marcin got a job brewing at Barrelhouse where he met Duterte. Both do what most people who have a job do at some point, they start scheming on a way to both go into debt and work more— they wanted their own business.

Running into an even tougher real estate market, a chance meeting with Alanna and a property owner gave them the opportunity to be a part of the development in the main corridor of Atascadero. The team envisioned a shipping container compound to allow semi-open floor plans while reducing costs. Marcin’s background as a construction project manager for a decade helped them do most of the work inhouse and their vision quickly became a reality. Having spent the past couple of years on the floor playing with Legos, I appreciated the quirky boxy-ness of the designs but also deep down I just yearned for something different than the reclaimed barn wood and industrial-chic vibes of most bars that popped up in the past decade.

The space also shares some shipping containers with neighbors, including Negranti Creamery, where a sticky kid was eating an ice cream cone while his dad developed a fine beer foam mustache. This is the synergy I can get behind. Ancient Owl seemed to be the spot for those in the know on this fairly busy Monday night. I run into an old regular from Spikes Pub, a stool warmer that plays regularly at Bristol’s Cider, Chris Chambers of Dunbar Brewing/ Spent Grain Brewing, and meet the owner/brewer at Colony Mash Brewing just two miles down the road. I liked that dude, we might have to talk to him in the near future. While the temperature is dropping, I’m feeling warmer now on to my second pint and surrounded with friends new and old.

I have two favorite beer types: free or new. While they do charge, you’re paying for some very sought-after beers, many of which are not in wide distribution. The secret to their success is a truck and a trailer. Duterte and Marcin drive two times a month in different directions to get the bottles, cans, and kegs being offered on tap and to-go. I’m fascinated by this because visiting breweries was my living for quite a while, and I love a road trip. I mainly want to ask how they can leave a brewery after conducting business without sticking around for a couple of hours. My weakness. Turns out they’ve perfected both almost to the point where it became work. Utilizing Duterte’s industry connections, they take a trip to Southern and Northern California every month to personally visit the breweries to pick up inventory for Ancient Owl. Day trip up North, overnight down South. That’s not only dedication, but it means we as the consumer get to drive a few miles and have a fresh beer that might have otherwise taken a day to get.

Duterte cracks a Gose for us to savor while I talk big business with him. It turns out that you won’t have to survive “The 5” or even the treacherous Grade to experience Ancient Owl’s beer selection. They’re opening in SLO. Early Summer 2023 will see their second location, just two years after opening their first, on Duncan and Orcutt Roads. As part of a larger plan for an open-air destination, the facility will also house wineries, Kreuzberg Coffee, and Shindig Cider. Funny that it’s just a stone’s throw from Two Broads and SLO Cider. Keep an eye out for falling apples in the vicinity.

I’m always excited for a new locale to imbibe, but all the more so when they have an excellent selection. I had four wildly different beers from Ancient Owl that I’ve never been able to taste before and even left with a Rye whiskey barrel-aged barleywine that I’ll bring to my next friend’s dinner to share. Sharing is caring, and the team at Ancient Owl has really let their passions shine through in creating a fine establishment to enjoy fine pours. Join me in raising a half or full pint of your choice to the continued success of Ancient Owl. Cheers! SLO LIFE