For the last year I've been working as a (long distance) recipe consultant for a brewery, Modern Times, which will be opening in the next few months in San Diego. Jacob McKean (the founder) raised enough money from traditional investors to lease a building, buy a 30 bbl brew house, and hire some very talented professional brewers from the likes of Lost Coast, Monkey Paw, and Ballast Point.
As much as I enjoyed developing the four core beers (amber IPA hopped with Nelson, Mosaic, and Simcoe; hoppy wheat with Citra and Amarillo; Oatmeal stout with coffee that we'll roast on site, and a table saison) my real passion is sour beers (as The Mad Fermentationist). Currently we're running a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for used barrel so we dont have to wait for cash flow to pick up before getting some beers souring (and a lab so we can ensure that the rest of our beers won't be sour?).
There are some traditional rewards like hats/shirts of course. Rather than having a reserve society type membership, there is a club (League of Partygoers & Elegant People) that will give you access to test batch tastings, first notification when bottles are released, and a 32 oz growler that can be filled with limited beers not available for fills otherwise. All the employees are also contributing something fun, hosting a webinar on starting a brewery, teaching coffee roasting classes, giving Christmas light tours etc. If you're in the DC area, my contribution is a sour beer brew day at my house (disturbingly 7 of the 10 slots are already filled).
Any help spreading the word would be much appreciated! Also happy to answer any questions about my role, or anything else you'd like to know about the brewery/beers/process.
As much as I enjoyed developing the four core beers (amber IPA hopped with Nelson, Mosaic, and Simcoe; hoppy wheat with Citra and Amarillo; Oatmeal stout with coffee that we'll roast on site, and a table saison) my real passion is sour beers (as The Mad Fermentationist). Currently we're running a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for used barrel so we dont have to wait for cash flow to pick up before getting some beers souring (and a lab so we can ensure that the rest of our beers won't be sour?).
There are some traditional rewards like hats/shirts of course. Rather than having a reserve society type membership, there is a club (League of Partygoers & Elegant People) that will give you access to test batch tastings, first notification when bottles are released, and a 32 oz growler that can be filled with limited beers not available for fills otherwise. All the employees are also contributing something fun, hosting a webinar on starting a brewery, teaching coffee roasting classes, giving Christmas light tours etc. If you're in the DC area, my contribution is a sour beer brew day at my house (disturbingly 7 of the 10 slots are already filled).
Any help spreading the word would be much appreciated! Also happy to answer any questions about my role, or anything else you'd like to know about the brewery/beers/process.
