Located on Greenbrier Drive near Oceanside Boulevard and Interstate 5, Koakai Brewing is the newest project from husband-and-wife team Mike and AJ Aubuchon, both former Pizza Port employees who spent years building reputations within San Diego’s craft beer industry before stepping away to pursue their own concept. The brewery announced this week that its soft opening weekend will run Friday and Saturday from 12-9pm and Sunday from 12-8pm.
“The wait is finally OVER!!” the company wrote on Instagram. “We are so excited to announce our soft opening weekend this Friday.”
The opening marks the culmination of nearly two years of development delays, permitting hurdles, and hands-on construction work undertaken largely by the Aubuchons themselves. Situated next door to their existing business, Kyoto Japanese Market, Koakai aims to blend award-winning craft beer with Japanese cuisine, Hawaiian influences, and Texas-style barbecue in a way rarely seen within San Diego’s brewery scene.
For local beer enthusiasts, the brewery’s arrival carries particular significance because of Mike Aubuchon’s reputation as one of North County’s most respected brewers. A Carlsbad native, Aubuchon spent more than a decade with Pizza Port, eventually becoming head brewer at the company’s Carlsbad location where he earned multiple medals at the Great American Beer Festival, including bronze in 2015, silver in 2017, and gold in 2020. Following his departure from Pizza Port, Aubuchon helped launch brewing operations at Heritage Brewery & Barbecue in Oceanside, now operating as Hill Street Brewing.
Meanwhile, AJ Aubuchon, originally from Kyoto, Japan, brings restaurant industry experience and cultural influence that heavily shapes the project’s culinary identity. The brewery’s adjacent Kyoto Japanese Market has already developed a following in Oceanside for its Japanese grab-and-go offerings and specialty products.
The name “Koakai” itself reflects the couple’s combined backgrounds and family identity. According to prior interviews, the term translates to “warrior for the sea” in Hawaiian while also carrying a Japanese meaning tied to “little red,” referencing the couple’s children and AJ’s maiden name, Kaiho, which translates to “saving the ocean.”
Koakai’s initial beer lineup is expected to focus heavily on lagers alongside hop-forward ales. The flagship offering is anticipated to be a Japanese-style rice lager, joined by a German schwarzbier, Mexican lager, American lager, hoppy pilsner, West Coast IPAs, hazy IPA, and extra pale ale. Several collaborative beers are also expected to rotate through the tap list.
On the food side, the brewery is positioning itself as something far beyond a standard tasting room kitchen. Menu offerings are expected to include sushi, yakitori-style grilled meats, smoked barbecue, musubi, bento boxes, Japanese sandwiches, and izakaya-inspired dishes. Some recipes reportedly draw directly from AJ Aubuchon’s childhood memories growing up in Japan.
The brewery space itself was also largely built by the owners, including handcrafted design elements created by Mike Aubuchon, who worked professionally as a surfboard shaper before entering the brewing industry. The tasting room includes indoor seating and an outdoor patio intended to create a neighborhood gathering space that merges coastal California aesthetics with Japanese influences.
Koakai enters the market during a particularly difficult period for the craft beer industry, with brewery closures continuing across California amid rising costs, increased competition, and shifting consumer habits. However, the Aubuchons’ longstanding ties to North County beer culture and their hybrid food-and-beverage approach may help distinguish the concept in an increasingly crowded hospitality landscape.
Koakai Brewing soft opens Friday, May 15, at 559 Greenbrier Drive, Suite B, in San Diego's North County city Oceanside. The brewery will operate from 12-9pm Friday and Saturday and 12-8pm Sunday during opening weekend. For more information, follow @koakaibrewing on Instagram.
Originally published on May 13, 2026.
