Portrait of a Brewer: Kyle Fjalstad, The Original 40 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.

Today’s featured brewer is…

Kyle Fjalstad
of The Original 40 Brewing

What is your current title?
Head Brewer

Where did you grow up?
Temecula

What brought you to San Diego?
I moved here to attend San Diego State. At the time I was majoring in Computer Science. It didn’t pan out. 

What was the first beer and/or alcoholic beverage you ever had?
Honestly, I think it was a Molson Canadian. My mom is Canadian, and that’s the beer she would buy for my dad. I hated it and said I would never drink beer. That also didn’t pan out.

What was your a-ha moment that turned you on to craft beer?
Drinking my first Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. I didn’t realize I had such a fondness for bitterness. At the time, Sierra Nevada was by far the most bitter beer I had ever tried.

What led you to consider a career in brewing?
I was waffling about working at a Best Buy, not really knowing what I wanted to do, career-wise. I was actively homebrewing for a number of years with my roommate, and he mentioned the UCSD Extension program for brewing. I jumped at the opportunity, hoping that the certificate would allow me to enter the brewing industry as an assistant brewer, which it did!

What was your first brewing/brewery position?
I was Assistant Brewer at Council Brewing in Kearny Mesa. It was a great brewery to learn the ropes, with access to barrel-aged and mixed-fermentation beers. Shout-out to all my former coworkers there!

What breweries have you worked for over your career and in what roles?
After Council unfortunately closed, I panicked a little bit when I was turned down for a few cellarman roles and was having trouble finding any brewer roles in San Diego. I moved back to my hometown of Temecula for a year, where I was Assistant Brewer at Black Market Brewing. Working in a larger production facility definitely advanced my brewing capabilities. Missing San Diego, I accepted a role with Modern Times Beer as a member of their special projects team. I worked there for five years and ultimately rose to the title of Barrel Program Manager. 

Who have been the individuals that have helped you the most to learn and advance in your career, and how?
There are so many to name, so here it goes. Jeff Crane for sharing knowledge on mixed-fermentation and yeast-storage while I was at Council. Liz and Curtis Chism for trusting me with a lot of responsibilities, not the least of which was brewing. Kyle Boruff for production brewing and the Modern Times Special Projects Crew (Andrew, Luke, Alex, Justin, Jason) for running a premiere barrel-aging program.

What singular piece of advice would you give to someone interested in becoming a professional brewer?
Remain curious and always stay open to criticism and new processes. Also, “Are you sure?”

What ultimate career goal would you like to achieve?
Job security. I remain hopeful that it exists in the beer industry. I really enjoy this career and it would be a real bummer to leave it.

What is your favorite beer you’ve ever brewed, be it on a professional or amateur level?
“Dark Down” black lager here at Original 40. It is definitely designed to impress my beer-industry brethren. It is very malty and a bit smoky, which turns off some less experienced beer-drinkers, but it is also extremely soft and not very acidic, like a warm down comforter. 

What is your least-favorite beer you’ve ever brewed on any level?
The Capital of Craft beer for San Diego Beer Week 2023, I think? It was rushed and it was fermented with lager yeast, which really didn’t help our timeline. It was a big bummer and I felt bad for the other participating breweries.

What are your favorite and least-favorite hop varietals at present?
I think Strata is my new favorite. It is so versatile, and I love the variety of flavor and aroma profiles it gives. My least favorite has been Comet for a while. There’s nothing special about it and I’ve been bummed every time I’ve dry-hopped with it.

What are some of your favorite brewing ingredients that aren’t hops?
This is a bit of a loaded question for me. Chamomile in a mixed-ferm sour and vegan stroopwafels in a pastry stout. My least favorite is peanut butter powder. I hate working with that.

If you weren’t a brewer, what do you think you would do for a living?
I’m no social butterfly, so I would imagine I would be in some warehouse managing inventory.

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?
If a brewery has a designated cellar team, I would say they are more important than the brewing team, but they are often one in the same. Outside of the cellar, the packaging team is of the utmost importance. It is a really tedious and anxiety-inducing job. Hats off to all those in packaging.

What is your favorite beer style?
I’m still a sucker for a great West Coast IPA. I could lie and say something really cool or pretentious, like a rauchbier, but I’m the same as most San Diego beer-drinkers.

If you could wipe one style of beer off the face of the earth, what would it be?
Hefeweizen. Just eat a banana instead. Your body will thank you.

What single brewing company’s beers and/or ethos/style has been most influential on your style?
Probably North Park Beer Co. They use premium ingredients in abundance to create a premium product. I think operating under that ethos has served them well, and I think breweries with that mindset will be better served in the long term.

What is your favorite San Diego County brewing company?
I can’t name just one. North Park Beer Co., Burgeon Beer Co., McIlhenney Brewing and South O Brewing. 

What is your favorite brewing company outside of San Diego?
Probably Alvarado Street Brewery and their subsidiary Yeast of Eden. They really have all the facets dialed in. Also, don’t sleep on Far Field Beer Co. out of Lawndale. They have a great brewer and some amazing beers.

What three breweries that you haven’t yet visited—local or elsewhere—are on your current must-see bucket list?
Scratch Brewing out of Ava, Illinois, Sierra Nevada, and Fabled Brew Works out of Kentucky (my coworkers got to go when we collaborated, but I missed out).

What are your favorite local beer events?
Rest in Peace former Modern Times events. Capital of Craft Beer Festival and any anniversary events where breweries from out-of-state are present. North Park Festival of Beers is fun, too.

If you were to leave San Diego, where would be the next-best place you’d want to brew?
Anywhere in the Pacific Northwest. Get me closer to the hops!!!

Which musical genre or artists are on your brew-day soundtrack/playlist?
I actively try not to repeat any artist radio on Spotify, but I’m running out of bands I know. Hitomi Tohyama Radio was a particularly enjoyable playlist though…think Japanese ‘80s pop.

What motto rules the way you brew and approach brewing in a professional brewhouse?
“Fast is fine, but accuracy is final.” In the brewhouse and cellar, it is important to work towards the best beer possible. If a beer requires a more involved process to achieve a better result, one must sacrifice the time to make the beer better.

What do you consider your greatest professional accomplishments?
I think Great American Beer Festival wins really speak to the level of quality my team was able to achieve at Modern Times, and I’m still benefiting from both their and my commitment to the barrel-aged pastry stout.

What are you proud of having achieved in your personal life?
I got married! It’s been about a year now and things are going great. I love you Sarah.

When you’re not at work, what do you like to do for fun?
My wife and I regularly take her camper van out for weekend camping trips and occasional week-long journeys. It’s great to get away from the house for a spell.

Where do you like to drink off-the-clock?
I’ve really been enjoying Bock of late. It is really close to my house and it’s so enjoyable to have a space to drink the European imports.

What is your favorite beer-and-food pairing of all time?
Pizza Port’s Bressi Ranch Pizza and whatever the freshest IPA they have on tap is.

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?
Ideally, I would recreate one of the old Council beer dinners, and I would invite all of my former coworkers and industry friends. They were some of the rowdiest and funnest beer dinners I’ve ever experienced.

Who do you think you are (a purposely broad question)?
I’m an average person with a career that garners some fanfare – deserved or otherwise – and a personality that is somehow both neurotic and measured at the same time. I’m a San Diego Brewer.

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].