Portrait of a Brewer: Preston Weesner, Wild Barrel Brewing

There are hundreds of hard-working brewing professionals giving their all to help maintain the storied reputation San Diego’s brewing scene has earned over the past several decades. Some have risen to great fame among industry pros and craft-beer enthusiasts. Some ply their trade in obscurity (and are more than happy to do so). Some are Instagram famous, trendsetters with cult followings that would rival social-media influencers. And while they share plenty of similarities, each is their own unique person with their own likes, dislikes, methods, techniques, inspirations, interests and philosophies. The goal of San Diego Beer News‘ Portrait of a Brewer series is to not only introduce you to local brewers, but to have some fun delving into the aforementioned areas so you can get to know them a little better and appreciate them and their contributions to the county’s standout brewing culture. All that plus stellar portraits from brewery lifestyle photographer extraordinaire Matt Furman.

Today’s featured brewer is…

Preston Weesner

of Wild Barrel Brewing

What is your current title?

Barrel Director / Facilitator

Where did you grow up?

Portland, Oregon

What brought you to San Diego?

Initially, the beer industry itself for Stone Brewing’s first international beer fest in TJ in October of 2005, followed by two days of hitting as many places in SD I could before the flight home. After that, I was down many times a year for industry events and weekends with friends.

What was the first beer and/or alcoholic beverage you ever had?

I won’t count church wine. It was good, but it was likely the “breaking the rules” aspect of it that made it good. So, I would have to say looking at my father’s beer long enough for him to offer me a sip. It was likely a macro pilsner.

What was your a-ha moment that turned you on to craft beer?

It’s a long answer but it drives to a point. It was 1989, I wasn’t much of a beer-drinker, the options were limited and they all tasted the same, and I really did not like the flavors that were macro ubiquitous. If I did drink it was to “get the job done” and I typically drank hard liquor because it got the job done faster. I had found one beer I liked, a Terminator Stout from McMenamin’s brewing. It was a Pizza Port kinda place and they would top the stout with raspberry wheat beer. That was the switch that needed to be flipped to open my curiosity to what beer could be with subtle changes.

What led you to consider a career in brewing?

Another long answer. Grab a beer and hold on. One day while drinking a raspberry wheat beer from Nor’Wester Brewing at a friend’s house, he asked if I liked the beer and I said, “absolutely!” He told me that he brewed the beer I just drank, to which I said, “bullshit!” He then proceeded to show me his homebrew setup and I remarked, ” you can make beer?” I went to the homebrew shop, bought some books and ingredients, and made my first beer that day. While there, I saw a poster for a beer fest, and I signed up to work all the shifts. I was hooked and knew I had to be part of the beer world.

Where did you first apply for a brewing job?

I didn’t. Let me explain that. I joined the Oregon Brew Crew, a homebrew club. I was brewing, I met lots of people who were brewing and some went on to open their own breweries. I helped brew here and there on full ​brewery systems, which generally got me free beer, lunch and beer to take home,  but I worked construction, and brewing was still a hobby and hobbies did not pay well then. Not long after that, I was managing some portion of a lot of the beer festivals in town, often after work and on the weekends, so I was working with all the breweries if that makes sense.

What breweries have you worked for over your career and in what roles?

“Officially” two. Cascade Brewing and Wild Barrel. At Cascade I was hired to manage the pub and ended up also working on the blending and barrel-aging side. I have lots of energy and a relentless drive to try new things. I am also a historical and curious eater, and that gave me an expansive and curious palate, which worked well with the new things we were doing with beers there. At Wild Barrel I was brought on to start and manage the barrel-aged sour and stout programs. The popularity of kettle sours and pastry stouts has meant sharing some of the light from what I do with new palates. Barrel-aging is more like art than a growth business now, and business may come and go, but art can be amazing and make a lasting memory.

Who have been the individuals that have helped you the most to learn and advance in your career, and how?

Too many to list really, but as I have primarily been on the BA sour side, I would have to say Peter Bouckaert and Lauren Woods Limbach at New Belgium. Peter would answer frantic did-I-screw-this-up questions with Yoda-like zen, asking, “do you think you screwed it up?” But it was Lauren who was blazing her own trail leading the QA program and the blending there at a time when there were not that many women in brewing and none that I can recall in blending. She inspired me to keep notes, try new things and to be humble. It’s my job to talk about the barrels, but if I have learned anything from what I have done, it’s that the barrels are really speaking for me.

What singular piece of advice would you give to someone interested in becoming a professional brewer?

I would have to say, “want it.” It’s going to take hard work, some trial and definitely some errors, but in a while you will know it through and through, and that is when you will start making your best beer.

What ultimate career goal would you like to achieve?

Total world domination might seem like a popular answer, but I would settle for taking my team to new heights and then enjoying some beers with them as we look at what we have created while we talk about the work yet to be done, because I hope there is not a top. I want to keep raising the bar and enjoying the journey.

What are your favorite and least-favorite hop varietals at present?

I really like the Noble hops and their New World variants. For sours, it’s Amarillo for its stone-fruit notes. I don’t really dislike any hops if they are used in the right place. I do think using hops for hype’s sake does get old and I know brewers would like to be able to switch it up, but brewing hype is what we all do. However, I really like it when what was old becomes new again. The possibilities are endless.

If you weren’t a brewer, what do you think you would do for a living?

Blending beers…wait, that’s what I do now. Probably traveling the world to work and eat, drink and write a book about the history of each place I stopped to work and learn at.

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?

Cellarpeople. Everyone wants to be the brewer, and while that is an important part of beer, making wort is just the start of the process. The cellar is where the beer is guided along its journey and where it is adjusted, dry- hopped or fruited, and carbonated. The cellar is the guardian of the beer, ensuring that, when it is finished, it is as it was designed to be and ready to be shared.

What is your favorite beer style? 

Barrel-aged beer. The complexity of the beer as you drink it and the nuance of the barrel notes as the beer opens up makes for a great conversation, and of course, great drinking.

If you could wipe one style of beer off the face of the Earth, what would it be?

I like to say there’s something for everyone, but not everything for everyone. Having said that, I really feel that the brut-beer phase was not done particularly well, and if I had to vote a beer off the island that may be it.

What single brewing company’s beers and/or ethos/style has been most influential on your style?

So many, but I’ll say again, New Belgium. They took so many chances that no brewery had done before with sour beers. The Lips of Faith program was then–and is still now for me–the foundation for American sours and what could be done. They showed there were no boundaries and certainly no steeped traditions to be adhered to. They were the new frontier of sour beer and, in my opinion, they paved the road that we all walk on.

What is your favorite San Diego County brewing company?

Well, I work at Wild Barrel, but let’s move away from the obvious answer. Again, too many to choose from, but I’ll go with where I find myself drinking when not at work, and that is Burgeon Beer Co. They make a lot of styles really well, go for the hazies, cleanse your palate and crush on the lagers. Study the Dutchman’s Pipe imperial stout.

What is your favorite brewing company outside of San Diego?

I’m from Portland, Oregon, so that’s a tough one. Generally I would say the one I am drinking at, however, if I can only have one, like the whole desert-island thing, I would go with Drie Fonteinen. I can drink lambics all day and still be thirsty for more.

What three breweries that you haven’t yet visited—local or elsewhere—are on your current must-see bucket list?

I would say that I have hit a lot of them in Portland and San Diego, but I would like to see the new Mcilhenney Brewing location for San Diego. Steeplejack Brewing in Portland, and Cantillon in Belgium.

What are your favorite local beer events? 

Trick question right? COVID has taken away one of the greatest things about beer, gathering en masse to try beer and talk about the new things you have found with your friends. I cannot wait for the return of beer festivals as they used to be…but that may never happen.

If you were to leave San Diego, where would be the next-best place you’d want to brew?

Less of a location and more of an idea. It would be a subterranean mash-up of a brewery and winery with a small restaurant / bed and breakfast.

Which musical genre or artists are on your brew-day soundtrack/playlist?

I am all over the place depending on the day and the work to be done. Funk, alt, 70s, metal…they are all inspirational when needed. I rotate through about ten playlists when on the go. I would like to do a silent funk night in the barrel area sometime.

What motto rules the way you brew and approach brewing in a professional brewhouse?

I used to think I did not have any, but my staff says otherwise. When you make a mistake it is not a failure, it’s an opportunity to learn. When things are going wrong and you want to get mad, stop and think your way through, the beer is depending on you. No matter how tired or late you are, do something to set yourself up for success tomorrow before you go home.

When you’re not at work, what do you like to do for fun? 

I used to say run beer festivals but COVID has kinda taken that away. I’d say cooking is where I am having fun putting things I have learned in beer into a food situation: blending, riffs on old classics and, of course, trying new things.

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

Less of a place and more of an environment: with friends. The beers always spark great conversations.

What is your favorite beer-and-food pairing of all time? 

So many good beer-and-food memories and so many more to make. I like to day-drink and a good start to drinking all day is Brasserie Dupont ‘s Avec Les Bon Voeux with a warm Liège waffle with caramelized pearl sugar on a cold morning.

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? 

My last dinner would be like the movie Groundhog’s Day.  Dinner with my family, friends and all the people I have met on my beer journey, to see the ones that have passed or moved on and catch up. To share beers from the past, present and be in the moment with each of them. To eat and drink too much and stay up too late. And then wake up and do it over again.

Who do you think you are (a purposely broad question)? 

Self-analysis is always easier with some beers in you, but you usually get who you wish you were and not who you are. I used to think I was a professional drinker with a day job where I liked drinking the most. Now I feel more like I am a collector of memories, be that of beer or food. Certainly conversations with friends and impassioned discussions of plans for something new. See you around the barrels. 

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].