Dedicated to the Craft Ep. 12: Learning about Juneshine

Ballast Point Brewing Company: "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."

Food, Music and Beer with Troy Johnson and Hilary Doneux

Ballast Point Brewing Company: "Jeff Lozano and Colby Chandler (virtually) sit down with 91X Music Director, Hilary Chambers, 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."

Dedicated to the Craft Ep. 8: Virtual Bottle Share

Ballast Point Brewing Company: "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."

Dedicated to the Craft Ep 7: Meet the Latchkey Brewing Crew

Ballast Point Brewing: "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."

Dedicated to the Craft Episode 6: Eating, Drinking (and Pairing) in San Diego

Ballast Point Brewing Company: "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."

Dedicated To The Craft Episode 5

Ballast Point Brewing Company: Host, Jeff Lozano, is once again joined by Jason Carlson from Home Brew Mart for a few virtual beers. They chat about missing going to work, Jason’s man cave, and pairing different beer with music. Later, they are joined by the founder and head brewer of San Diego’s own Deft Brewing Company, Mo. They discuss everything from fantasy football start up careers, Belgian style beers, the entrepreneurial side of brewing, community in the craft beer industry, and Mo’s award winning beers."

Dedicated to the Craft Episode 4

Ballast Point Brewing Company: "Meet the Ballast Point Fishing Team! Jeff sits down with team captain, Matt Moyer, and team members Scott Pethtel and Mike Lane. The guys talk about how they got into fishing, good times on the boat, “Frank the Bum”, and how they turned fishing into a family-wide activity. They then discuss some of their favorite Ballast Point beers and Chef Matt offers a Scallop and Sculpin pairing that you can try at home. This was a fun one to say the least! But be warned, don’t ever ask Mike Lane about his ninja costume…"

Dedicated to the Craft Episode 3

Another episode of Dedicated To The Craft from Ballast Point Brewery Company!

"This week is all about being “Dedicated to the Quality”… Jeff Lozano virtually chats with Ballast Point Vice President of Quality, Lauren Zeidler, about the importance of quality, consistency, and the strides BP has made over the years to ensure both. They then talk to Field Quality Manager, Matt Laibson, who is responsible for making sure the Ballast Point quality standards are preserved long after the beer leaves our brewery. His days consist of visiting bars and tasting beers for quality control… a vital and, frankly, dream job in our book. Later, Ballast Point Sous Chef, Chuy Hernandez, makes his return to the show with a new beer and food pairing recipe to try at home."

Ballast Point: An "Eppig" Reunion

More stuff for you beer geeks (like me) to pass the time during your lockdown.

"Jeff is joined by Ballast Point’s Research and Development Director, Aaron (the Truth) Justus, to talk early days of Ballast Point, Aaron’s career change, cross country move, and beer education. Aaron and Jeff are joined by BP alumni Nate Stephens and Clayton LeBlanc, who started Eppig Brewing in 2016. They reminisce on the old days of working together and virtually share Eppig’s latest release, Special Lager."

New Podcast from Ballast Point Ep 1

I'm locked down at home and always looking for new stuff to pass time, so I thought I'd share this excellent new podcast from (newly independent again!) Ballast Point Brewery. Hope you enjoy it too. I'll post all the episodes here or of course you can follow them on their YouTube channel.

Also note... I can't wait to get back out to San Diego when this is all over and visit them again.

Dedicated To The Craft Episode 1

"Ballast Point Specialty Brewer, Jeff Lozano, introduces the podcast and touches on bringing people together over a few beers, in a time where “together” isn’t really an option. He then chats with Home Brewer Jason Carlson about all things homebrewing, hop farms, driving Bono around OB, and more. Later, Jeff and Jason are joined by Chuy Hernandez, Ballast Point Sous Chef, to discuss how beer and food complement each other and a recipe for Sculpin Mac n’ Cheese."