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Colby and Friends Part III Aug 07, 2020

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In the final installment of Colby's anniversary series, Jeff and Lord Chandler sit down with local brewing legends Ryan Brooks, founder/brewmaster of SouthNorte Beer Co., and Jim Millea, head brewer at OB Brewery. These local brewing legends chat about the early homebrewing days that brought them together, their love of Baja, and share a story of the day how they almost died for beer... we're not joking. Both Ryan and Jim talk about their connection to brewing in Mexico and discuss "business-as-unusual" in the days of COVID-19. Ryan Brooks: Ryan Brooks is the founder/brewmaster of SouthNorte Beer Co. He's an internationally recognized beer judge and certified Cicerone. Brooks, formerly a touring metal drummer and award-winning homebrewer, worked at Malt Shovel Brewing Co. (Australia) and Black Market Brewing (Temecula) before starting at Coronado Brewing Co. in 2012. Eventually he worked his way up to brewmaster at Coronado. Under Brooks' leadership, Coronado won the extremely prestigious 2014 World Beer Cup Champion Mid-Size Brewery award. In 2017 Brooks founded SouthNorte at crossroads of Tijuana and San Diego bridging flavors of Mexico the San Diego craft. Jim Millea: Jim Millea is Head Brewer at OB Brewery in San Diego, CA and co-owner and brewer at Cerveceria El Destino in Valle de Guadelupe, Baja California, Mexico. Jim has been brewing professionally since 2014 when he was hired as assistant brewer at O'Sullivan Brothers Brewing Company. Before this, Jim was an avid home brewer and completed internships at Benchmark Brewing Company and Ballast Point Brewing Company. During his homebrewing days, Jim became a recognized beer judge through the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) run by local San Diego homebrew club QUAFF (Quality Ale and Fermentation Fraternity). In 2015, Jim graduated from UCSD's Professional Certificate in Brewing Program. Originally from Massachusetts, Jim has been living in San Diego since 2000 and in Ocean Beach since 2008 where he currently resides. Since helping to build-out and now run OB Brewery, Jim has received several awards for his beers including bronze medals for both the Elevator Red IPA and Rooftop Saison at the 2018 San Diego International Beer Festival. At the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), Jim received a silver medal in 2017 for the Hidden Gem Dunkelweizen and a gold medal in 2018 for the B.Right.On Pale Ale. The 2018 gold medal win at GABF also scored Jim and OB Brewery the Small Brewpub Brewery and Small Brewpub Brewery of the year award. Jim hopes to continue making great beer in OB and is looking forward to making beer at the new venture in Baja that is now only in its very beginning stages.

Colby and Friends Part II Aug 05, 2020

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Jeff is joined by Lord Chandler, Chuck Silva, co-founder and brewmaster of Silva Brewing and Pat McIlhenney, part-owner of Mcilhenney Brewing Company in part two of Colby's three-part anniversary series. The hop-fathers of brewing look back on how homebrewing brought them together, their careers before brewing became full time, and the San Diego establishments they've had the pleasure of working at over the years. They talk about West Cost IPAs (how could a bunch of San Diego brewers not?) and their introduction to brewing hop heavy beers. Later, the three discuss their favorite hops and Colby chats about the 2005 origin of flagship IPA, Sculpin. Chuck Silva: Chuck Silva is an American Brewers Guild graduate who has spent 18 years brewing in San Diego (1998-2015) with the last 11 notably at Green Flash Brewing, well known for poignant hoppy beers, Belgian-inspired creations, barrel aged stout, wild ales and many more before moving on to ignite his very own passion project, Silva Brewing. Other breweries included in his San Diego tenure include Hang Ten Brewing Co., Hops! Bistro & Brewery, and Karl Strauss Brewing Co. Chuck is currently operating Silva Brewing with wife MJ in a small (3,000 sqft) Paso Robles facility with a 10bbl Brewhouse producing less than 1,000 bbls/year. Beer profiles range from fresh hop infused delights to uniquely wild ales like the latest release "ve va che", convergent French & Belgian influenced styles, fruited tart brews, new versions of classic styles like Hefeweizen, Kolsch, Altbier, Smoked Porter and Pilsner, plus stouts that are barrel aged to perfection! Ever inspired, you will discover Chuck's wine country influenced beers at Silva Brewing such as The Pink Stuff and new release The Bruewt. Not one to be idle on the creative front, Chuck and wife MJ are working on a new passion project, Amok Cellars, a winery operating in the same space as Silva Brewing. More fun creations to follow! Pat McIlhenney: Pat McIlhenney created the Alpine beer company in 1999. He's a multiple World Beer Cup and GABF medal winner and the inventor of awesome beers like Pure Hoppiness, Duet, Nelson, Chez Monieux, Odin's Raven, Great, Exponential Hoppiness, Mandarin Nectar, McIlhenney's Irish Red and HFS. Pat is currently the part owner of Mcilhenney Brewing Company. He is married to Valerie McIlhenney and is the father of Shawn McIlhenney. He enjoys biking, kayaking, traveling, good music and good beer.

Colby and Friends Part I Jul 30, 2020

Show notes

Jeff sits down with Lord Chandler (yes, that is his actual title) for a three-part anniversary series to celebrate 23 years. This episode they're joined by Chris White, President and CEO of White Labs and Tom Nickel, Owner/Brewer of O'Brien's Pub, Nickel Beer Company, and West Coast Smoke and Tap House. Colby, Tom and Chris reflect on the early years of their friendship and chat about what makes San Diego such a strong brewing community. Flash backs to the days of sharing recipes and learning through books before the internet existed abound! Tom and Chris delve deeper into the beginnings of their businesses, the effects of different yeasts in beers and how brewing has shaped their lives. Later, Tom uses his medieval studies degree to dissect the true meaning of Lord Chandler's newest titles and the four talk about Colby's career over his 23 years with Ballast Point. Chris White: Chris White lives in San Diego, CA, where he serves as President and CEO of White Labs Inc. Chris founded White Labs in 1995 to manufacture yeast cultures and provide fermentation services to the brewing, wine, and distilling industries. Chris has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of California San Diego and a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of California Davis. While at Davis, Chris did a summer internship at Genentech Inc, the world's first biotechnology company. White is coauthor of Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation, co-designer of BrewMaster: The Craft Beer Game, and has published numerous articles on yeast, beer, and fermentation. Chris White was a lecturer in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at UC San Diego from 1999-2007 and is currently teaching in Brewing Certificate Program at UC San Diego Extension. Chris was awarded the 2013 Recognition award from the American Homebrewers Association. Tom Nickel: Tom started homebrewing at the age of 18, shopping at Home Brew Mart, before he could legally buy a beer. He ended up working there for nearly three years during the time that Ballast Point Brewing was opened. In 1997 he went to work for Pizza Port with Tomme Arthur and later become the head brewer at Oggi's Pizza where he won the 2004 World Beer Cup Small Brewing Company of the Year with Jeff Bagby. Tom bought O'Brien's from founder Jim O'Brien in 2003 and has now partnered with Tyson Blake to run the pub. Realizing a dream that began in 1995, he opened Nickel Beer Company in Julian in 2013. Tom spends most of his time in Julian enjoying life above 4000 feet. Colby's favorite fact about Tom is that he earned a degree in Medieval History from Yale University (and yes, he studied monks who made beer).

Getting to know Juneshine Jun 30, 2020

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Jeff and Ballast Point VP of Quality, Lauren Zeidler, sit down with former BP employee turned Research and Development Manager at Juneshine Co, Colin Field. The group talks about Colin's journey from beer to booch, in the same Scripps Ranch facility that once housed Ballast Point's main production brewery. Colin walks us through the R&D process, a few of Juneshine's newest flavors, and how they have built a culture that is reflective of their product and San Diego lifestyle. Lauren and Colin nerd out on quality control and the group talks through the relative health benefits of hard kombucha, and science behind it all.

World Beer Cup brews May 18, 2020

Show notes

A silver lining of COVID-19? Getting to enjoy the would-have-been World Beer Cup brews in the comfort of our own homes. Jeff sits down with our Director of Research and Development, Aaron Justus, and R&D brewers, the Chris's, AKA the team behind most of our small-batch/experimental brews. These guys love beer, and they bleed innovation. Aaron, Chris, Chris, and Jeff discuss a few of the competition beers they were most proud of, their brewing approach, our Roots to Boots program, which allows all employees to come up with and brew a beer of their own, and the thought process behind some of Ballast Point's most beloved small batch brews. 2:40 Meet the team 18:00 Learn about some of our World Beer Cup brews 25:30 A trip to Germany inspired this beer… 56:10 We have to talk about Hop Soda

Food, Music and Beer with Troy Johnson and Hilary Doneux May 06, 2020

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Jeff Lozano and Colby Chandler (virtually) sit down with 91X Music Director, Hilary Doneux, and writer/food critic/television personality, Troy Johnson. Hilary reflects on her 20+ year career in music and radio, and her recent behind-the-scenes BP tour with Colby. Troy discusses his journey from music journalist to Food Network personality on Guy's Grocery Games. The group discusses pairing beer with music and food, and how Troy's poetry minor shaped how he approaches his day job. Later, Ballast Point Miramar Sous Chef, Chuy Hernandez returns to the show with his rendition of Troy's guilty pleasure: Jack in the Box double cheese burger, which he aptly named the "Morgan Freeman" of double cheeseburgers. Recommended pairing: Manta Ray Double IPA. 3:10 Get to know Hilary from 91X 4:50 Troy Johnson shares his journey from music journalist to food critic to tv personality 9:50 The state of media and more specifically radio right now 16:00 We talk about favorite food and music pairings 30:20 Is Troy Johnson a craft beer fan? 39:20 Chuy joins to surprise our guests with his recipe for this week

The High Dive Connection May 02, 2020

Show notes

Jeff sits down with Distribution Manager, Jeanne Pacheco, and one of the OG BP employees, Ryan Glenn. They talk Ballast Point circa 1997, Yellowtail, Sculpin becoming "the" IPA, and the wild ride over the years. Jeanne and Ryan explain the moving parts and nimble attitude necessary to get beer from a brewery into consumers' fridges, and RG talks about his eventual decision to purchase and run his favorite dive bar, The High Dive. The team recommends beer pairings for The High Dive's infamous burgers, and they talk about staying connected during this time. 1:55 Learn about Jeanne Pacheco and her path through craft beer 5:00 Ryan Glenn from the High Dive joins the show 21:00 Ryan explains how he ended up buying the High Dive after working at Ballast Point for many years 40:30 Jeff names a few High Dive burgers for Jeanne and Ryan to pair with their favorite beer

Virtual Bottle Share Apr 25, 2020

Show notes

A good old fashioned quarantine bottle share! Grab a brew from your fridge or cellar and join us for a virtual bottle share as Jeff sits down with a few of the talented brewers keeping our Miramar headquarters operational during this time. The boys talk about their good times over the years, rate the most difficult brewery jobs, share some of their favorite beers and tricks of the trade. 4:00 The brewers share which bottle they brought to the bottle share 29:00 Home brewing vs professionally brewing 35:20 Who has the toughest job a brewery? 44:30 How are you enjoying the beer that you brought 52:42 Yeah Dog

Meet the Latchkey Brewing crew Apr 21, 2020

Show notes

Jeff sits down with longtime employee, Darren Rudy, and BP alumni Gerald Dollente and Anthony Beech, now the co-founder and head brewer at Latchkey Brewing. The guys reminisce on good times at Ballast Point circa 2014, the beer industry in general, and Gerald's decision to co-found his own San Diego brewery. Later, the super talented and experienced brewer Anthony talks us through his use of all the "sexy hops", evolving his process, passing on knowledge to the other brewers in the game and working with his buddy "R2D2" to perfect "The Stranger", Latchkey's Imperial Stout. Gerald and Anthony talk us through their epic would-have-been plan to celebrate Latchkey's second anniversary this month… We heard Kanye was going to be there… Grab a to-go crowler and celebrate virtually with a few "yeah dogs" of your own. 2:36 Meet Gerald and Anthony from Latchkey Brewing 18:55 Why the name Latchkey 46:20 Anthony shares his SOP around some of Latchkey's beers

Eating, Drinking (and Pairing) in San Diego Apr 17, 2020

Show notes

This week's episode is all about beer and food. Jeff chats with professional brewer and OG Ballast Point-er Colby Chandler, and professional eater/founder of Eating Drinking San Diego, Edwin Real. The guys discuss beer and food pairings, the eating "experience", and what makes San Diego such a special culinary and "Liquid City". Old friends, Edwin and Colby reminisce on Beer Brunches, talk about the culture that Edwin has built within his EDSD community, and discuss the similarities and differences between beer vs. wine pairings. Later, the guys are joined by Ballast Point Sous Chef, Chuy Hernandez, with another amazing recipe to try at home. Can you say Victory at Sea Braised New York steak…? Talk about a mouthwatering pairing. 1 Colby Chandler is in the house 6:50 Edwin Real from Eating Drinking San Diego joins to discuss beer and food pairings, the eating "experience", and what makes San Diego such a special culinary and "Liquid City" 38:20 Chef Chuy is back with another special pairing for you to make at home, Victory at Sea Braised New York steak

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