Los Banos approves its first taproom

A microbrewery cleared its final hurdle this week to open up shop in Los Banos.

The Los Banos City Council unanimously granted an alcohol license Wednesday to Paraiso Brewery, giving the owners permission to move forward with plans for a taproom.

Brew master Jesse De La Paz, 33, said the business venture is a first for him and business partner Hector Garibay. “We’re a true start-up,” De La Paz said Thursday.

The roughly 2,000-square-foot brewery at 80 W. G St. Suite C will also serve as the taproom. De La Paz said he brews about 100 gallons of beer at a time and plans to have about five beers on tap at any given time.

The taproom will serve only Paraiso beer. “Paraiso” is Spanish for “Paradise.”

Originally from San Diego, a town overflowing with breweries, he said San Joaquin Valley breweries tend to focus on IPAs and ales. De La Paz, who has been brewing under a mentor for about five years, has his own recipes for a cucumber-jalapeno beer and a strawberry beer. Then there’s a chocolate milk stout.

“(I’m) trying to make different things, stuff people haven’t tried before,” he said.

De La Paz said he got out of the Marine Corps in 2014 and moved to Los Banos, where his wife is from, about 18 months ago.

Stacy Souza Elms, the senior planner with the city of Los Banos, said Paraiso is the city’s first brewery and taproom. The taproom would be open Thursday through Sunday, according to its application to the city.

The owners said they’d like to expand if the demand is there. They hope to open the taproom this summer.

The council gave words of encouragement to the business partners during the meeting Wednesday.

Councilman Scott Silveira said he is glad to see that the taproom could provide Los Banos residents with another option for entertainment, where they can spend their dollars locally.

“Los Banos is growing in some unique ways,” he said.

To keep up with the brewery, go to www.paraisobrewery.com.

This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 11:38 AM with the headline "Los Banos approves its first taproom."