If you’re reading this, it’s very likely that you like beer. So, too, do Jeff Spanier and Jeff Riccitelli. Known simply across the virtual airwaves as “The Jeffs”, they and colleagues Tod “The Doctor” Mullenberg and Joe Szalkiewicz have spent the past six years pouring their collective energy into I Like Beer the Podcast (ILB). While their program has seen them interview brewers and brewery owners in multiple states and countries, their coverage has largely focused on their immediate North County stomping grounds.
The ILB crew’s efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. Their podcast has been a weekly fixture on the San Diego Beer News website since 2022, the same year Spanier was tapped by The Coast News to take over its monthly local-beer column. And late last year, representatives of the San Diego Brewers Guild reached out to see if ILB would like to join forces to expand the podcast’s coverage of the local beer industry by folding an informational Capital of Craft segment into their program.
“We couldn’t say ‘yes’ fast enough,” says Spanier. “ILB has had a great relationship with the Guild since we started. We’ve attended multiple events and had the opportunity to interview Guild members serving in a number of roles. Based on the positive experiences we’ve had, it just seemed right to combine our two platforms to help share the stories of San Diego beer and those who brew, serve and support the industry.”
Over the past two years, the Guild has produced its own Capital of Craft Podcast, covering a number of mostly educational topics geared toward its member breweries. Hosted by the Guild’s Executive Director Erik Fowler, it followed an all-video format that ILB will now adopt. The transition, which would otherwise be challenging for the career audio podcasters, will be rendered easier by the fact ILB will be working with the Guild’s media consultant, Star Fox Media, to produce their video episodes. Furthermore, they’ll be doing so at The Film Hub in downtown Vista, where they’ve been recording their in-studio segments for years.
“Going all-video has been a long time coming, and something we’ve discussed over the years. It’s the right time for us to finally put faces to the voices our listeners have enjoyed, and video will allow us to better represent the breweries we will be highlighting in our episodes,” says Spanier. “There are challenges, but we are teachers in our day jobs. Figuring things out on the run, adapting to new situations and having fun while learning are all part of what we do.”
“We can’t express how excited we are for this partnership. The Jeffs are some of the most passionate beer fans in San Diego,” says Fowler. “They have a great audience and combining what we both do will only boost the quality. We hope to lend industry insight and updates to ILB with our segment.”
Having a full plate as the Guild’s ED while also having recently opened his own brewery, Allied Gardens’ Good Pressure Brewing, Fowler will not be participating in the Capital of Craft segment. Instead, current President Esthela Davila will be the organization’s on-air representative, sharing information about Guild events, as well as happenings and beer releases from its member breweries.
In addition to shifting to video, ILB will also go from being a weekly podcast to releasing new episodes on a bi-weekly basis. The first of those episodes will air later today. It and future episodes will be posted to and accessible in the Beercasts section of San Diego Beer News’ website.