My Yard Live, 4DUDES chugging along
San Marcos brewpub again enlists special-needs staffer and friends to craft a charity collab beer
My Yard Live Beer Co. will release 4 Wise Dudes Winter IPA on Friday, December 8 as part of its 4DUDESBREW collaboration series, which was started in 2021 by employee James Zoul and three of his friends, all of whom have special needs. A release party will be held on Sunday, December 10 at the San Marcos brewpub.
The 4 Wise Dudes Winter IPA will initially be available only at the brewery on-draft, with possible subsequent distribution to restaurants and bars in San Diego. One dollar from every pint sold will be donated to a non-profit organization of the 4DUDESBREW quartet’s choosing.
The 4 Dudes friend group includes Nick Bahen (who will become a My Yard Live employee later this month), Mike Roth and Matt Zimmerman, who worked with Director of Brewing Operations Ben “Shaggy” Blaney to create the beer. 4 Wise Dudes Winter IPA is 7% alcohol-by-volume, and was brewed with Centennial, Amarillo and Chinook hops.
The release party on December 10 will take place from 2:30 to 6 p.m., and will feature music from the Kyle Merrill Band plus a “community toast” with complimentary tasters of 4 Wise Dudes Winter IPA for everyone in attendance (21 years of age and older). A raffle will be conducted throughout the afternoon to give away four packs of beer, gift cards and other prizes.
The previous three beers in the 4DUDESBREW series include a West Coast IPA brewed in December 2021, Quatro Amigos MX Lager (May 2022), Hazy Dudes Hazy IPA (February 2023), and a re-release of Quatro Amigos MX Lager (August 2023, which is also now available in cans). Previous beneficiaries from these brews were Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation, Big Shrimp Foundation, REINS Therapeutic Horsemanship Program, Southern California Care Community and The ALS Association Greater San Diego Chapter. More than $12,000 has been donated thus far.
“It’s been an amazing experience to have the opportunity to work with the 4DUDES over the last two years,” said My Yard Live Managing Partner Jamie Minotti. “From our head brewer, Shaggy, to our venue manager, Ryan Williams, everyone on our team has had a hand in supporting the project. But, ultimately, it’s The 4DUDES that makes it what it is. They have given us and the community so much more in their passion, energy, love and spirit than we could ever return. It’s really hard to put into words. You have to meet them in person.”
As determined by the 4DUDES, monies from the Quatro Amigos MX Lager collab beer earlier in 2023 went to support My Yard Live patrons Cameron Jones and Julie Thenethaysong. The two celebrated their wedding at the brewery in 2019, and Jones was diagnosed with ALS shortly thereafter at the age of 32. He started the Big Shrimp Foundation, and four years later it was the beneficiary of the Quatro Amigos donation.
“It’s extra special to see one of our member breweries do something like this not just as a one-off, but as a series,” said San Diego Brewers Guild Executive Director Erik Fowler. “My Yard Live’s commitment to James, his friends and the causes that are near and dear to their hearts is admirable.”