Dads love Beer. SingleDad.com takes a tour of Stone Brewery in San Diego, Ca. Watch Jesse Lozano, Rj Jaramillo and SingleDad.com take a tour and taste the #1 Beer in America, Levitation Ale, Voted #1 in Men's Journal Magazine 2009.
#1 Beer in America
| Author: RJ Jaramillo | Posted: 12/18/09 | ||
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What do SingleDad.com, San Diego, and beer have in common? How about Men’s Journal Magazine picking San Diego based Stone Brewing Co. as having the #1 Beer in America! That’s right, Stone Brewing Co.’s Levitation Ale is the #1 ale in America and SingleDad.com had the opportunity to take a tour of the Stone Brewing Co.!
The story begins like this. It was a long, lazy weekend. I was reading my October issue of Men’s Journal Magazine and one of the main articles featured was “America’s 25 Best Beers”. The article gave Stone Brewing Co. top honors as having the best ale, called Levitation Ale. I quickly thought of three things:
- E mail the brewery and see if they would like a SingleDad.com review
- Call Jon and Jesse and see if they wanted to join me for a brewery tour
- Drink beer with Jon and Jesse
I was grateful that the response from the brewery was so quick and accommodating for an interview. My only problem was a brief, but meaningful apology to Jon for having the brewery tour set on a weekday (Jon has a real job, Jesse and I don’t). The three amigos were down to just two knuckle heads to take on the mighty Stone Brewing tour.
What Is Stone?
San Diego County has produced a lot of microbreweries over the past 5 years that have drawn a lot of attention in the beer world. Stone Brewing Co. is one of those companies that pride itself on their full body, big character beers. They are no longer just a local brewery. In fact, their 3 most popular beers are nationally distributed:
- Stone IPA
- Stone Pale Ale
- Arrogant Bastard Ale
Ask for these beers by name in just about any pub, restaurant, or grocery store that sells specialty beers. I love the Stone IPA and Jesse loves the Stone Pale Ale and when we feel a little confident, we jump with both feet into the Arrogant Bastard Ale.
Location
Nestled in the foothills of North County San Diego, Stone Brewing Co. sits on a hilltop in a very inconspicuous location. This place has no outside signs, banners or billboard advertising. In fact, they spend zero money on advertising because they believe in the best advertising is by word of mouth; and they are right! The large building houses both a brewery and a restaurant.
Jesse and I were greeted by Chris Cochran, the Marketing Coordinator for Stone Brewing Co., and Chris told us the history of the brewery and gave us a tour of the restaurant. Chris is an intelligent guy that could talk in great detail about anything; soft spoken, but very articulate and confident. What first amazed both Jesse and I was the detail in the restaurant design and interior architecture. The interior has an “industrial meets feng shui” look. There is a gargoyle at the entrance of the restaurant and it serves as the company mascot (as well the protector of the company). The restaurant serves lunch and dinner and hosts large private parties and events. There is an outside bar and dining area that opens up to a park-like setting. In the spring and summer, the garden area features movie nights where families can bring their beach chairs and sit in the open area and enjoy recent DVD releases (and enjoy a pint!). We thanked Chris for his time and headed off to take the brewery tour.
The Beer Process
As Jesse and I went in for the brewery tour and were met by Ken Wright who is in charge of brewery tours and promotions. Ken is a great guy whose passion for Stone Brewing Co. shines through his smile and sense of humor. The two of us were as excited as two boys trapped in a toy store. What amazed us both was that the process to produce the “Nectar of the Gods” was much more complicated than we expected. So much time, equipment and ingredients…. Taking the tour reminded me of a few chemistry classes I skipped in college. There was so much information that I knew Jesse and I would surely fail the final exam if we had to take one. What we did remember and what was often repeated by “Professor Ken” was, “Grains make mash, hops make flavor, heat and time important!”
The first stages of the beer process begin with three large containers. Each container is a stage in the beer process: one bin to soak the grains, the next to heat the grains to make the mash, the next bin to heat the mash and add the yeast. Then as Ken Says, “the ale goes to rest with a blanket of more hops and a little nap time to ferment into heaven on earth.”
Take a look at the accompanying video and you will see that these guys are not messing around with their passion for perfection. The attention to detail was impressive. The facility is always expanding and will eventually be able to make up to 250,000 barrels per year, and I am confident that that number will still not keep up with the consumer demand for their high quality beer.
The Tasting Room
Our tour ended with samples of the 3 staple beers and a few long samples of the award winning Levitation Ale. They all had distinct flavors and aromas. Both Jesse and I were grateful for new friends, Chris and Ken, and the time that they spent sharing Stone Brewing Co. with SingleDad.com members. As we promised to come back and visit again, I had to ask a question to Ken that was in the back of my mind. Here’s how the dialog went:
RJ: “Hey Ken, will there ever be a Stone Light?”
Ken: “Don’t ever whisper those words in this building again or we will ask you to leave immediately.”
Richard “RJ” Jaramillo, 45, is the Founder of SingleDad.com, a website and social media resource dedicated to single parenting and specifically for the newly divorced, re-married, widowed and single Father with children. RJ is self employed, entrepreneur living in San Diego and a father of three children. The mission of SingleDad is to help the community of Single Parents “Make Life Happen…Again!”
