Beer Briefs: More & One Less

From a suds-soaked party within a party marking the building momentum of a beery comeback for a brand whose demise was mourned by many, to the sans-fanfare debut of a once-storied beer company’s coffee roastery and the departure of a Miramar brewery’s co-founding “Chief Fermentation Officer”, our latest roundup of local beer news awaits. Read on!

In May, fans of Black Plague Brewing rejoiced at the news that the cult-favorite, Oceanside-born brand was back on the San Diego suds scene after going out of business eight months prior. To date, the revival of former pro skateboarder Jordan Hoffart’s beverage enterprise has been limited to a single core beer. That hazy IPA, Open Mind, has served as a test case of sorts, allowing the business championing the brand’s return, Pacific Beach-based Karl Strauss Brewing, to study data and be as strategic as possible before launching other beers. With that analysis complete, an official rollout of the brand is on deck. That occasion will be an event within an event taking place at the Capital of Craft Beer Festival on Saturday, September 19 at downtown San Diego’s Broadway Pier. The San Diego Brewers Guild’s largest event of the year, it draws hundreds of local craft-beer fans, providing a prime opportunity to spread the word that Black Plague is not only back, but introducing two more of its beers in the local market: Loud Mouth West Coast IPA and Hell Hazer Double Dry-hopped Hazy IPA. Tickets are currently on sale for the Capital of Craft Beer Festival online. Use the promotional code “SDBeerNews” to receive a discount when purchasing tickets.

Join us as we revisit Modern Times Beer, a locally born business, the tale of which has become unpredictable and increasingly difficult to document since the company’s most recent restructuring and ownership update just over a year ago. What was once a singular beer company with an integrated coffee arm and multiple hospitality venues became a collection of almost completely separate entities, each of which was headed by different owners and management. Longtime international restaurateur Duncan Ward controlled and directed what became known as Modern Times Pubs, which included the entity’s North Park tasting room, Encinitas bar and eatery, and downtown San Diego’s Timestead restaurant. It was a short-lived arrangement. According to Wes Van De Vort, who owns Modern Times’ beer arm, Ward is no longer involved. But that is not bringing business at the company’s public venues to a halt. A new majority partner for Timestaed was brought aboard earlier this year, and Modern Times Coffee’s Cathedral of Caffeination quietly opened in June. The latter operates out of the largest suite at North Park’s CRAFT by Brewery Igniter, a leased beverage collective that also houses Barley & Sword Brewing and Seek Beer Co. The Cathedral of Caffeination serves coffee beverages from a tasting room with a view of Modern Times’ roastery.

It was the summer of 2015 when San Diego’s first all-gluten-free beer concern, Duck Foot Brewing, opened in Miramar. From day one, beermaking has been the charge of Brett Goldstock, a standout homebrewer who met his business partner Matt Delvecchio (who has Celiac Disease) and worked with him to open their shared passion project. While Delvecchio has always had input on the brewery’s stylistic direction, his area of expertise is business, leaving Goldstock to helm the back-of-house as the company’s Chief Fermentation Officer. Over the past nearly seven years, he’s done so in more of an oversight role, following the appointment of veteran brewer Matt Akin (AleSmith Brewing, Benchmark Brewing) as Duck Foot’s Head Brewer. It’s been a rewarding experience and Goldstock is proud of what he and his team have accomplished over the past 11 years, but he recently made the decision to step down from his role to attend to some personal matters while exploring the opportunities provided by retirement. He says he is looking forward to devoting more time to travel and his other hobbies.