Black Plague Brewing returns to San Diego County shelves and tap lists about a year after it shut down. Black Plague Brewing co-founder Jordan Hoffart has revived the brand with help from Karl Strauss, and San Diego Beer News named its Hell Hazer hazy IPA its Beer of the Week on Oct. 23.
How Black Plague Brewing returns
Black Plague operated from June 1, 2017 to Sept. 28, 2025, out of a tasting room in inland Oceanside, according to SDBN’s closing report. Hoffart, a retired pro skateboarder, founded it with career marketer Jarred Doss and other partners. SDBN called it rare for a shuttered business to be raised from the dead, which is what makes the news that Black Plague Brewing returns stand out.
The sources differ slightly on who is behind the revival. SDBN’s Beer Briefs column says Hoffart and Doss are “once again at the helm,” working with partners at Karl Strauss Distributing. The Oct. 23 Beer of the Week credits Hoffart, with help from Karl Strauss Brewing, and does not mention Doss. The Bureau reports both versions.
Hell Hazer and the revival beers
Hell Hazer is a 7% double dry-hopped hazy IPA pulled from Black Plague’s archives. It is hopped with Riwaka, Mosaic, Nectaron Hyperboost, Simcoe and Superdelic and brewed with rolled oats and white wheat.
SDBN’s Brandon Hernández wrote that it “smells like a mimosa garnished with lime zest,” followed by “orange, peach and passionfruit.” Hoffart’s own description promises “ripe pineapple, peach and passionfruit” and later “coconut cream, grapefruit zest and a candy-like tropical edge.”
Two other beers are part of the revival:
- Open Mind Hazy IPA, the first beer back on the market, in kegs and cans, per SDBN
- Loud Mouth West Coast IPA, listed at 6.5% on SDBN’s Oct. 15 tap list
Where to find it
This is not fully confirmed. SDBN’s Oct. 15 tap list showed Loud Mouth pouring at Downtown, Sorrento Mesa, 4S Ranch and Carlsbad locations, without naming the venues. SDBN also says Black Plague beers are back on store shelves. Black Plague has not published a full list of where its beer is sold, and the Oceanside tasting room is still closed. For now, Black Plague Brewing returns through tap lists and stores, not its own taproom.
Black Plague Brewing returns with a smaller footprint than before. Its tasting rooms included the North Park taproom the Bureau covered when it opened. Hoffart told SDBN the plan is to keep the brand “the boutique niche brand it’s really always been.”
Transmission complete.
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