Brew Honors Cop Slain at Borderline

Just past the one-year anniversary of the tragic mass shooting at Borderline Bar & Grill that took 13 lives and rocked the Thousand Oaks community, Tarantula Hill Brewing Co. is commemorating slain Sheriff’s sergeant Ron Helus by serving a craft beer made by the Helus family. Helus, 54, was among the first police officers to arrive at Borderline after a gunman opened fire inside on Nov. 7, 2018. He was killed in the crossfire between his own squadron and the shooter. He was just a year from retirement. To toast to his memory, service and love of craft beer, Tarantula Hill partnered with his wife Karen and son Jordan to build a beer that would represent his taste. The result is 4-SAM-3, a golden ale flavored by victory malt, warrior hops and a kind of noble hops called “saaz.” The name is a nod to Helus’ on-duty call tag. “It’s the brewery’s way of saying thank you to our local heroes and first responders,” said property owner Shawn Moradian. The limited-edition beer will debut at Tarantula Hill on Veteran’s Day. According to Chief Executive Ali Zia, just 20 barrels were produced. Most will be served at Tarantula Hill, but a few kegs may be distributed to local bars and restaurants depending on sales through the first few days, he said. All proceeds from 4-SAM-3 will go to the Helus family. Helus was honored last year by Firestone Walker Brewery, which served “Helus Lager,” a renamed version of its “Firestone Helles Lager,” at its taprooms in Paso Robles, Buellton and Venice through December. This year, Karen Helus reached out to Tarantula Hill instead. “I think because we’re local,” said Zia. The first brewery in Thousand Oaks has been serving customers beer from the tap since its soft opening in July but is still smoothing operational wrinkles such as sound dampening and menu items ahead of its official grand opening. Zia said Tarantula Hill could celebrate that opening as soon as Thanksgiving. Failing that, the celebration would wait until after the new year.