Dobson's Brewery Plans Thwarted by Unexpected Vote

Paul Dobson's plan to open San Diego's first microbrewery has been unexpectedly shot down by the legislature after a competing brewer testified that it might give Dobson a monopoly in the downtown restaurant market.

Dobson's proposed microbrewery would produce beer in small quantities to be sold in a restaurant on the site. A tradition in England, microbreweries are a hot item in trendy East Coast restaurants.

But in California, they are prohibited by what is known as the "Tied House" law, passed after Prohibition to separate the manufacture, distribution and retail sale of alcoholic beverages. The law was intended to prevent breweries from establishing monopolies by owning restaurants that would sell only the beer it manufactured: a "house" tied to a brewery.

Last year, state Sen. Wadie Deddeh, D-Bonita, introduced legislation that would have allowed a restaurateur with fewer...