From trivia to yoga to spinning records to painting images of your pets and monthly bingo, Rincon Reservation Road (3R) Brewery Tasting Room in Ocean Beach has something to draw people in and keep them there.
“OB is very pet-friendly, so we’re trying to cater to that community that really loves their pets, just trying to make everything interactive – try something different,” said Alyssa Prachniak, lead bartender and event organizer of 3R at 4836 Newport Ave.
One of the bar’s special events, Pawcasso Paint Your Pet on Fridays, does not involve dogs painting, but people painting an image of them. “You have to pre-purchase your ticket and send in photos of your dog to the artist,” Prachniak said. “She (artist) sketches it, draws the outline on a canvas for you, and then she teaches you how to paint your own personal picture. So it is ready to go. You just show up and you paint it.”
“The host organizes all that for you, that’s part of the sign-up fee,” said Jose Rios, 3R’s general manager.
The reservation brewery tasting room imparts a sense of the history – and culture – of the Rincon Reservation in Valley Center in northeastern San Diego County. That is embodied in a huge wall mural depicting a Native American on horseback with a surfboard.
“This is the first business out of the reservation, for the Luiseño tribe in 100 years,” noted Rios. “So, it’s very important to the tribe because it’s expanding out of their comfort zone. We’re the only brewery that brews on native land. All of our beer is brewed on Rincon Reservation and we ship it down here.”
“It’s OB vibes,” noted Prachniak of the ambiance of the tasting room.
“We cater more to locals than tourists,” pointed out Rios.
Why was OB chosen as the reservation’s first brewery satellite site?
“It was between OB and Oceanside,” replied Rios, noting the Luiseño tribe found themselves coming seasonally to the coast to fish and gather seafood to bring back to their inland reservation.
Added Rios, “Ingredients that we use in our beers are local to the reservation. We’re working on growing hops and a lot of the ingredients we use in our beer.”
The tasting room surf mural has special meaning, explained Rios. “It represents how the tribe came down to the beach,” he said. “Obviously, they weren’t surfing. The mural was painted by a native artist out of Arizona. And he wanted to represent the purpose of the brewery being here.”
The Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Luiseño who live on the Rincon Indian Reservation in Valley Center in San Diego County. It is one of six Southern California Luiseño tribes.
The Luiseño is one of the groups of California Mission Indians. The band developed the Harrah’s Resort Southern California (previously known as Harrah’s Rincon Resort and Casino) that is on the Rincon Reservation.
Returning to special event nights, Prachniak said, “We have our Instagram (@3rbrewery) where we post all of our events. Tuesday nights we do vinyl (records) from 6-10 p.m. You can bring in your own record and we play it for you. You can bring out your old records and he (DJ) will play them for you, and vinyl Djs are pretty rare now. It’s a good way to enjoy some of that music you have sitting around.”
Prachniak said on Wednesdays, 3R has live acoustic music from 7-10 p.m. “More like classic rock, stuff that everybody knows,” she noted adding, “At the end of the night it’s request hour.”
Thursdays are the most special, and popular, a special night of all at 3R. “Sunset trivia starts at 7:30,” Prachniak said adding, “We have a fun trophy to give out to the winning team. Our busiest night is Thursday night for trivia.”
“It’s a fun thing to do the way they do it now with phones,” added Rios. “I’ve never had so much fun at trivia.”
“It’s pretty crazy here too, there’s a lot of competition,” agreed Prachniak. “We also give out gift cards for the top three teams.”
The 3R tasting room has a large backroom with a bar that hosts social gatherings, like birthdays and community meetings. Bingo is held once a month and there is even a parents’ night where kids are entertained in the back while their parents are out enjoying themselves in the main room.
“On Sundays, we do yoga in the back room,” noted Rios adding, “We’re actually programming a comedy night that we’re going to do monthly.”
“We’ve even booked a newlywed’s night game,” said Prachniak adding, “We also like to partner with OB Meat Co. and they bring over food with a delivery charge.”
“We had a prime rib night the other night,” said Rios adding, “We’re for hosting any type of activities that gets everyone who comes in involved. You get to have fun, socialize, and just have a good time hanging out with us.”
We have something for everybody here,” said Prachniak, “This brewery stands out because of its history. We just want to support the OB community as much as we can.”
RESERVATION ROAD BREWERY TASTING ROOM
Where: 4836 Newport Ave.
Contact: @3rbrewery, facebook.com/3RBrewery, 619-786-1152.
Hours: Noon to 10 p.m. daily.
Event nights: Tuesdays BYOB vinyl playback, Wednesdays live acoustic music, Thursdays sunset trivia night, Fridays pawcasso paint your pet, Sundays yoga in the back room.
