Portrait of a Brewer: Derek Gallanosa, GOAL. Brewing

There are hundreds of talented brewing professionals giving their all to help maintain the San Diego beer industry’s storied reputation. While these industrious practitioners share numerous similarities, each is their own unique person with individual likes, dislikes, methodologies, techniques, inspirations, interests and philosophies. The goal of San Diego Beer News’ Portrait of a Brewer series is to not only introduce readers to local brewers, but dig in to help them gain a deeper appreciation for the people making their beer and how they have contributed to the county’s standout craft-brewing culture, all while presenting them in the finest visual light care of exceptional local lifestyle photographer Matt Furman.

Today’s featured brewer is…

Derek Gallanosa
of GOAL. Brewing

What is your current title?
Head Brewer/Sales and Marketing Manager

Where did you grow up?
Chula Vista

What brought you back to San Diego after heading to NorCal to start a brewery there?
It was the friends and family that I missed. Oh, and all the delicious food this city offers…*cough* burritos *cough*

What was the first beer and/or alcoholic beverage you ever had?
I think it was a Mike’s Hard Lemonade…which is embarrassing. 

What was your a-ha moment that turned you on to craft beer?
It was when I had friends that were able to legally buy beer and I would ask them to grab something different every time. As I started to be introduced to new styles, I became more and more curious. When I turned 21, I was already a frequent customer at O’Brien’s, Churchill’s and Neighborhood.

What led you to consider a career in brewing?
I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, but found the entry-level positions in that field to be boring with low pay. Social media wasn’t really used for business back in 2008 like it is today. It was mainly customer service job openings that I saw being offered, which was what I was doing at the time. It was actually my mom that convinced me to look into the craft-beer industry since I had a passion for homebrewing. Thanks, Mom!

What was your first brewing/brewery position?
I entered the beer world as a cellarman for Karl Strauss, and for the first six months before I moved up to a brewer position, I had to work at Fry’s Electronics selling TVs to make up for the drop in pay. It was a tough start to my career, but well worth the effort. 

What breweries have you worked for over your career and in what roles?
Karl Strauss – brewer and then sales; Abnormal Beer Co – Head Brewer, sales and marketing; Moksa Brewing Co in Rocklin, California – Head Brewer, sales and marketing; GOAL. Brewing – Head Brewer, sales and marketing

Who have been the individuals that have helped you the most to learn and advance in your career, and how?
I have to give credit to Paul Segura since he gave me a shot and hired me at Karl Strauss as a mediocre homebrewer. Also the brew team at Karl taught me the ins and outs of professional brewing when I started. But most of my initial brewing knowledge came from listening to The Brewing Network podcasts with Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer. I geeked out on their ultra-technical approach to all things brewing. I still remember diving into four hours solely about water chemistry, which is knowledge I still use to this day.

What singular piece of advice would you give to someone interested in becoming a professional brewer?
Hard work pays off and could lead to opportunities down the road. If I were to hire someone, work ethic is the top attribute that I would be looking for. Another piece of advice is to network…heavily. The more people you know in the industry, the more job openings you will know about. Employers also want to hire someone they know they could work well with, so being a friend of the industry puts you into consideration for the next open position. 

What ultimate career goal would you like to achieve?
I would like to be known as an advocate for keeping this craft-beer industry alive. Right now, craft beer is experiencing a decline in sales as non-beer beverages compete for market share. Whether it be through job creation or education, if I can continue throughout my career to convince people to choose a path in craft beer, that would be my ultimate achievement. 

What is your favorite beer you’ve ever brewed, be it on a professional or amateur level?
My favorite brew would have to be my first one at Abnormal Beer Co, a session IPA with Mosaic hops. That was my first professional brew where the recipe was 100% mine. During the first sip of that beer, I thought to myself how much better it was than I expected it to be. And from that moment on, I knew I chose the right career to be in.

What is your least-favorite beer you’ve ever brewed on any level?
I once homebrewed a pumpkin beer using spiced purée. Not only was it not the best flavor, it was a complete mess from brew day to kegging.

What are your favorite and least-favorite hop varietals at present?
My favorite hop right now, as it has been for a while, is Mosaic. It’s just the perfect hop for my favorite style, West Coast IPA. My least favorite has to be Sabro. It smells great when rubbing the actual hops, but in beer it tastes like chemically sprayed coconut. 

What are some of your favorite brewing ingredients that aren’t hops?
Coconut and vanilla! Those two ingredients can transform a basic stout into one the best beers you have ever had. Over the years I have worked on gaining maximum extraction from those ingredients. After dozens of batches and having a custom treatment vessel to play with, I am very satisfied with how my coconut and vanilla beers have been turning out. 

If you weren’t a brewer, what do you think you would do for a living?
Honestly I don’t know since brewing has been my only career. If I were to guess, it would probably be some boring sales job.

In your opinion, what non-brewing position is of great importance at a craft-beer company but often gets overlooked or less credit than those making the beer?
Marketing. The way you present your products and how you talk to customers can make or break your company. If you do a great job marketing by increasing demand, you can make the jobs of everyone else in the company easier. From salespeople to bartenders, it just helps when people start asking for your beer.

What is your favorite beer style?
West Coast IPA, baby!

If you could wipe one style of beer off the face of the earth, what would it be?
Quadruple IPAs. It’s just too many hops to get an actual taste of whatever varietals are in the beer. And then you’ll have to go home because there’s an unnecessary amount of alcohol in it. I get mad when I see them because that slot could’ve been filled with a West Coast IPA that I probably would’ve ordered. 

What single brewing company’s beers and/or ethos/style has been most influential on your style?
I would have to say Russian River Brewing. Their consistency and quality throughout the years is beyond impressive. I drink a Pliny the Elder once a month just to recalibrate my palate on what a great IPA is supposed to taste like. If there is one word that describes my approach to brewing, it would be “precision”. I’m pretty sure it was Russian River’s beers that inspired me to have that approach.

What is your favorite San Diego County brewing company?
Right now it’s probably North Park Beer Co. I like IPAs and the team down the street is making some of the best in the world. 

What is your favorite brewing company outside of San Diego?
This is a close one, but I’m going with Hill Farmstead. I could drink only their and my beers for the rest of my life and be completely satisfied. 

What three breweries that you haven’t yet visited—local or elsewhere—are on your current must-see bucket list?
Omnipollo in Stockholm, Sweden, because they’re friends and I want to check out their brewery inside a former church. I’m hoping to get out there this year to make another collaboration beer with them. Garage Project in Wellington, New Zealand, because they make delicious beers and I’ve never been to New Zealand. Augustiner-Bräu in Munich, Germany, to see how some of the best lagers in the world are made. 

What are your favorite local beer events?
Burgeon Beer’s anniversary invitational festival and O’Brien’s beer dinners are must-attends if you haven’t been. I’m also hoping the San Diego Brewers Guild brings back the Guild Fest and Beer Garden at The Lodge at Torrey Pines this year. 

If you were to leave San Diego, where would be the next-best place you’d want to brew?
Brewing next to a tropical beach would be nice. How cool would it be to take a break and jump into warm ocean water as you wait for your wort to finish boiling?

Which musical genre or artists are on your brew-day soundtrack/playlist?
It depends on how I’m feeling that day, but it usually rotates around Mobb Deep, Atmosphere, J.Cole, The Green, Movements, Minus the Bear and Tool.

What motto rules the way you brew and approach brewing in a professional brewhouse?
As mentioned above, it would be “precision”. If you put in the effort to make sure everything goes as planned in the brewery, the quality of your products will reflect that effort. 

What do you consider your greatest professional accomplishments?
I was named a Top 100 Brewer in The World by RateBeer one year. That’s going to be hard to top.

What are you proud of having achieved in your personal life?
Marrying my wife. She’s my favorite person to be around.

When you’re not at work, what do you like to do for fun?
Golf and basketball. Both are endlessly challenging and keep me fit to perform the physical tasks in the brewery.

Where do you like to drink off-the-clock?

Lately it’s been Blind Lady Ale House and Live Wire. BLAH because of the great draft list and delicious food, Live Wire because of the atmosphere and the fact that I can rotate between one of the best draft lists in San Diego, Fernet, Whiskey Gingers and High Life.

What is your favorite beer-and-food pairing of all time?
Al pastor burrito and a Pacifico

If you could somehow plan your last beer dinner before dying, what would you drink and eat, and who would you invite to join you?
I would resurrect a version of the Toronado beer brunches with all the chefs that have participated in them and, of course, have it be hosted by Nate Soroko.

Who do you think you are (a purposely broad question)?
I’m a person that takes pride in his work and enjoys sharing it with others. One thing that I have noticed throughout the years is that craft beer truly brings people together. It is a social catalyst that can create lasting friendships. I hope I can contribute to this craft-beer culture for many many years to come.

If you’re a brewer at a San Diego brewing company and would like to be featured in our Portrait of a Brewer series, drop us a line at [email protected].