Our story
Fluid, as in always changing.
Fluid State is a modern beer garden in downtown Ventura, opened in 2017 by business and life partners Aaron Duncan and Jen Schwertman. Our spirit animal is the octopus, famous for its graceful ability to change, and that's how we like to run things.
The common thread is fermentation: beer, wine, spirits, pickles and sourdough. About 90% of what we pour and cook with comes from California, and our 24 rotating taps pour only independent craft beer.
Aaron, our chef and co-founder, is a former restaurant owner, caterer and home brewer. He started our sourdough starter with Pinot Noir grapes from a harvest at Whitcraft Winery in Santa Barbara, and it has been feeding our pizza ever since.
Our home is a historic building on East Main Street. The big U-shaped bar and our dining tables are built from a 150-year-old fallen redwood, and the whole place feels like a 1970s rumpus room meets today.
Beer, wine, spirits, pickles and sourdough: we celebrate all things fermented.
