Portrait of a Brewer: Derek Lauridsen

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.

Today’s featured brewer is…

Derek Lauridsen
of Home Brew Mart

What is your current title?
Employee

Where did you grow up? 
Nipomo, California

What brought you to San Diego? 
I traveled here for education and found a wife instead.

What was the first beer and/or alcoholic beverage you ever had?
Seagram’s 7 Blended Canadian Whiskey was the first alcohol, Corona was my first beer.

What was your a-ha moment that turned you on to craft beer? 
I had a North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout on nitro at a pub down the street from my apartment and I immediately needed to know everything about it.

What led you to consider a career in brewing? 
I was caught up with the romance of homemade brands and backyard dreams rising from obscurity into a unifying culture. Standing in a brand-new tasting room surrounded by people who came, truly, for one purpose: to enjoy. The relief in that atmosphere felt so palpable and I got to thinking this is just the latest brew in a tradition that goes back not just generations but millennia. I wanted to be a part of that story…that and I really wasn’t enjoying teaching high school.

What was your first brewing/brewery position? |
I swept the floor and packaged hops.

What breweries have you worked for over your career and in what roles? 
Just Home Brew Mart, really. I worked briefly at Ballast Point Brewing’s Scripps Ranch location as a doorman and bartender, but I’ve been here at Home Brew Mart doing a bit of everything for a dozen years.

Who have been the individuals that have helped you the most to learn and advance in your career, and how? 
Everyone at Home Brew Mart has pretty much always encouraged each other to grow and learn, either by example or by insistence. I have to give the most credit to Jim Johnson, though. He insisted on promoting me when we both worked for Ballast and he’s always here bolstering spirits, staunching wounds and laughing uproariously at every opportunity.

What singular piece of advice would you give to someone interested in becoming a professional brewer? 
Brew at home, too. And buy your ingredients at Home Brew Mart. Those guys are awesome.

What ultimate career goal would you like to achieve? 
Ultimates are over-rated. I hope I never stop learning.

What is your favorite beer you’ve ever brewed, be it on a professional or amateur level? 
Oatmeal stout on nitro. Silky smooth, toasted head, liquid comfort.

What is your least-favorite beer you’ve ever brewed on any level? 
Hazy IPA. I did it as an educational exercise, and I’ve stuck to the malty stuff ever since.

What are your favorite and least-favorite hop varietals at present? 
I’m a big fan of Centennial in just about anything. It’s got a bit of pine and cedar and a bit of citrus and herb. It isn’t overbearing or overwhelming…very demure, very mindful. Conversely, I steer clear of anything with Nelson in it.

What are some of your favorite brewing ingredients that aren’t hops? 
Malted barley, flaked oats and English ale yeast.

If you weren’t a brewer, what do you think you would do for a living? 
I’d rather not think about it. [flashes back to doing roll call in a room full of sociopaths]

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? 
Who you hire is more important than the position itself. Look for the passionate people keeping everyone smiling, lifting the standards of quality and inspiring their teams to greater heights. Those people are everywhere; it’s not their title that makes them irreplaceable.

What is your favorite beer style? 
Extra Special Bitter on nitro

If you could wipe one style of beer off the face of the earth, what would it be? 
“No beer is an island entire of itself. Each is a piece of the craft, a part of the main. If a pint be washed away by the sea, I am the lesser for it. Each beer-style’s death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind.” – John Donne

What single brewing company’s beers and/or ethos/style has been most influential on your style? 
I do not fulfill this question’s prerequisite of “having style”.

What is your favorite San Diego County brewing company? 
AleSmith Brewing

What is your favorite brewing company outside of San Diego? 
Sierra Nevada Brewing

What three breweries that you haven’t yet visited—local or elsewhere—are on your current must-see bucket list? 
Deschutes Brewery, Oskar Blues and Big Sky Brewing

What are your favorite local beer events? 
Any that I have the fortune of attending while my kids are with their grandparents.

Which musical genre or artists are on your brew-day soundtrack/playlist? 
Mostly sci-fi and fantasy audiobooks.

What motto rules the way you brew and approach brewing in a professional brewhouse? 
just-don’t-injure-yourself-again-just-don’t-injure-yourself-again

What do you consider your greatest professional accomplishments? 
Learning how to nitrogenate my own homebrew.

What are you proud of having achieved in your personal life? 
I got two smart kids that say “please” and “thank you”, and a lovely wife with a great laugh and an impressive salary.

When you’re not at work, what do you like to do for fun? 
I like to imagine sitting in peace, pint in hand, with my wife watching our children play companionably together in our backyard. It happened once eight months ago. So now, for fun, I have to close my eyes, picture that moment and try to ignore all the screaming.

Where do you like to drink off-the-clock? 
Wherever there is a water-tight vessel and a safe path home. You’ll get no more details from me, officer.

What is your favorite beer-and-food pairing of all time? 
Cold brown ale out of a can under the open sky with an appetizer of fried mushrooms while the chicken is still on the grill.

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? 
Yeah, I have a hard enough time deciding on dinner next week. I’m not even playfully going to try planning for my death.

Who do you think you are (a purposely broad question)? 
Oof. Um…pass.

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].