By: Justin Donner

Right up the street from the university, Sarah Garcia, an alumni of CSUSM’s undergraduate and graduate business programs, is painting a vision with her husband Tom Garcia.

Between his experience in brewing and her business education, the two have created Offbeat Brewing Company, featuring a community atmosphere that students should take the time to visit and experience.

While Tom gained experience as a professional brewer and brewing consultant, Sarah received her undergraduate degree in business from CSUSM and a MBA as well. As entrepreneurs, the classes taught across the entire business program proved to be valuable for the couple.

“Having a solid, broad base of business knowledge is critical to anyone hoping to start their own business. Small business owners wear many hats and you will need the breadth of knowledge from those Foundation Classes,” Sarah said.

Sarah maintains relationships with many of the professors from the College of Business Administration, and she is currently creating projects with a couple professors for their classes.

The steps Sarah has taken are especially motivating to aspiring female entrepreneurs.

“I couldn’t be happier to see our female alumni blazing a trail just as successfully as our male graduates. As a female faculty member, it is particularly gratifying to see that the young women that were in our undergraduate and graduate programs just a few years ago are now successful entrepreneurs, creating jobs in the local community and giving back to the university,” business professor, Dr. Rajnandini Pillai, said.

Offbeat Brewery has a casual tasting room with picnic tables, a wall-to-wall mural done by a collection of artists and an open view of the brew house.

 For the 21 and over crowd at CSUSM, the brewery offers a wide collection of excellent craft brews and fun events.

Some of the events include gourmet food trucks, trivia nights, new local artists are featured every quarter and regular specials that benefit local non-profit organizations. You can visit their website at www.offbeatbrewing.com or Facebook for updates on events.

 Growth is in the future plans for Offbeat, but they aim to always provide a community feel.