USA, CA: Del Cielo Brewing Co. expanding to Livermore

Livermore will soon see a new face in the city’s craft beer scene, as Martinez-based brewery and taproom Del Cielo Brewing Co. expects to open its doors to the public this summer, Livermore Vine reported on April 30.

Known for its Latin-inspired brews, food and live entertainment, Del Cielo took the place of Shadow Puppet Brewing Co. earlier this year after it shuttered due to strained operations.

Del Cielo’s expansion marks a much-needed increase in capacity for the growing company, said owners Luis Castro and Cielomar Cuevas.

Joining the two is Shadow Puppet’s former lead brewer, Craig Danielson.

“These two met each other such a long time ago,” Cuevas said of Castro and Danielson. “Now they’re working together to bring this second chapter of this space to life.”

Beginning about 10 years ago, Castro and Cuevas kicked off their home brewing hobby. Castro said he was enamored by the brewing process and quickly joined a Walnut Creek-based home brewing club.

“It was just for funsies,” Cuevas said.

But as their house parties — with home brew as the beverage of choice — grew from five to 20 and later 30 friends, the business concept clicked.

The two went on to open Del Cielo Brewing in Martinez in 2018, which serves as their flagship location.

Castro being from Columbia and Cuevas from Puerto Rico, each brings their heritage to Del Cielo products.

Their Mexican lager, Órale accounts for about 40% of the company’s production, Castro said. But they also make New Zealand, Czech and Irish-inspired beers as well as IPAs.

“Trying to keep customers excited about what we’re doing,” Castro said of the rotating IPA options. “It’s always fun for us to brew different things with different hops.”

Within some of the brews, like Guava Dreams, a family story lay.

As a child growing up in Columbia, Castro visited his grandparent’s farm during the summertime.

“There was a big guava tree,” Castro said. He’d climb the tree with cousins, pick the fruit and “eat guavas throughout the whole day”, he recalls.

“When you get close to the tree, it literally smells like Guava Dreams,” Castro added.

As Del Cielo’s popularity grew, Castro and Cuevas found that their Martinez facility could not satisfy demand.

“The want was there, but the capacity wasn’t there”, Cuevas explained.

“We were looking for a location almost ready to go,” Castro added.

So when Danielson alerted the couple that Shadow Puppet was selling, Castro and Cuevas jumped at the opportunity.

The purchase was finalized Feb. 1 and site assets were transferred as-is, without branding or recipes.

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