​I spent a lot of time in San Fernando as a kid. I know San Fernando, I lived San Fernando, (my grandma still practices her Santeria in San Fernando). And as someone who spent a good deal of his life in San Fernando I can tell you one thing about the city: there wasn’t a damn thing to do there, growing up. The closest movie theater was in Northridge, our “mall” was just a row of stores that all sold quinceañera dresses, and the only place to hang out was Veteran’s Park (right before you’re hit up by the local cholo).

But that all changed in 2015 when Vic Chouchanian opened the San Fernando Brewing Company. While you wouldn’t expect a brewery to be a city’s saving grace, it’s important to consider what a brewery can be. Sure, it’s a place to buy a great tasting beer but it’s also a place where you can meet up with friends and family; with people you haven’t seen in ages. It’s a place where you can forget the outside world for a bit and just hang. This is what Chouchanian envisioned when he started the San Fernando Valley Brewing Company. “I know when I was 21, I just wanted a place to hang out…and I won’t say never, but we’re gonna try our hardest not to have televisions here,” he says.  With the absence of televisions, conversation is encouraged. The beer in your hand and the person across from you has your undivided attention.

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“We have Valley pride here. All of our beers are named after things in the Valley. We named it after the valley- and the city we’re in is key. We want to represent the city of San Fernando as well as the Valley as a whole.”

Before delving into the world of craft brewing, Vic was actually working in the entertainment industry. He began as a production coordinator at age 18 and worked in production for the next decade. However, he would eventually take a step back from production in order to get his degree in pure mathematics with a teaching credential. Teaching was important to Vic, and he was able to do so for two years. He wanted to make a difference in the world through his teaching. Eventually, Vic left teaching to start what would become the San Fernando Brewing Company. 

And although he’s no longer in a classroom, Vic still finds himself teaching others throughout the Valley. “The lack of education towards craft beer is something that I’ve noticed a lot," says Chouchanian,“People come in and they say let me get one of those San Fernando beers or they ask: 'What’s with all the tanks in the back?' We tell them we brew the beer here, it’s all made here. And like I said, I wanted to be a teacher, so since there’s a lack of craft-beer education in this area, I feel like we can educate people."

"We finally have access to craft-beer in San Fernando, and I think people are starting to change, and I’m glad that we can educate them.”

His education seems to be getting across throughout the Valley as time goes on. He notes the gradual level of craft-beer knowledge his patrons seem to acquire with each visit.

“At first, people will come in and say, 'What do you have that’s like Corona?' he notes, 'Well, we have the Wheat, and they try it and they go, 'Oh it’s good!'' he says. “And the next week they’re asking for the pale ale and the red ale, and they’re slowly becoming craft-beer drinkers."

In Chouchanian’s opinion, the lack of craft-beer education isn’t necessarily anyone’s fault. It’s simply a matter of availability. “Anything around here [San Fernando] is either Bud or Coors," he explains. 

“Not that we have anything against those beers-it’s just what was accessible here,"  he says.  As for the macrobreweries that most people are familiar with, Chouchanian bears no ill-will toward them.

“There is a place for every beer. I truly believe that."    ​

To visit the brewery, click here.

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