VALLEY CENTER — Rincon Reservation Road Brewery, also known as 3R Brewery, is the first and only Native American-owned and operated brewery on tribal land in Southern California, offering thousands of years of history with every serving of craft beer.
3R Brewery, which sits next to Harrah’s Resort in Valley Center, first opened in late 2016 as SR76 Beerworks.
SR76 was named for state Route 76, which parallels the trail Rincon Luiseños historically traveled from their summer fishing spots in what’s now Oceanside, to Palomar Mountain, where they would harvest acorns.
In 2019, tribal leaders of the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians decided to change the name and rebrand in a way that better highlights the tribe’s rich culture and history. The tribe has a history that dates back more than 14,000 years.
The newly renamed 3R Brewery reopened its doors on Jan. 30, 2020.
Bo Mazzetti, chairman of the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, told The Coast News that the brewery has grown quickly in popularity because it’s a way to educate the surrounding communities over a pint of quality beer.
“That’s how we are. We like to share, it’s sort of our culture,” Mazzetti said. “So we appreciate making something that people like us want to share, as well as sharing our culture with surrounding communities.”
In the past year, 3R Brewery has served a regular, canned lineup and distributes locally to several North County Costco stores, restaurants, casinos and tribal stores.
Each brew highlights different aspects of the Rincon tribe’s rich culture, language, story and landmarks.
The brewery’s offerings have included a hefeweizen, blonde ale, amber ale, West Coast IPA, hazy IPA and, most recently, a blueberry saison.
The Oasis Blonde Ale is a tribute to the oasis of the reservation. Tuupash Blueberry Saison is an ode to the Luiseño or sky. The dragonfly design on the cans references the tribe’s history with the San Luis Rey River. The Rez Dog Hefeweizen is named after the social and playful reservation dogs.
“It’s evolved. It’s extremely, extremely popular, and the beers we make — people really, really like it,” Mazzetti said. “We’re a pretty progressive tribe in terms of looking at trying new things to learn and we’re open to develop. We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished, and we hope people will come see and learn for themselves.”
