The New cool kid on the block When we last met Josh Landan, he was sitting on a solitary empty keg in an 18,000-square-foot barren warehouse. His brewing equipment hadn’t been set up, the bottling line was nonexistent, and he had no tangible product to offer us a swig of. But don’t feel sorry for him. Despite being a brewer without a brew, he had already nailed down distribution across California for his impending brewery, Saint Archer, and its line of hand crafted beers. How? The former award winning action sports filmmaker and athlete manager has all the right cards. Landan has some of the best brewers around working with him and has a team of co-owners made up of 15 action sports and music industry celebrities, ready with their combined social network of some five million fans, and their plans for quality, accessible craft beers, to make Saint Archer Brewing Co. the next big brewery in San Diego and eventually, the nation. Paul Rodriguez, Mikey Taylor, Dusty Payne, Josh Kerr and Taylor Knox are some of the big name athletes who are coowners and investors in Saint Archer; all of them friends of Landan from his days in the action sports industry. Marquee athletes and artists like these investing their own money into a venture like this is unheard of, and proves how truly involved and dedicated they are to the budding business. “You’ll be able to come to Saint Archer and sit in the tasting room and potentially see Paul Rodriguez pouring you a glass of beer, “ laughs Landan, knowing it’s a dream scenario for most SoCal natives who love their surfing and skating as much as a good IPA. “These guys own it, they’re invested, and they’ll be hanging out here because we are making a place that we want to be at.”
of beer we wanted to make at Saint Archer,” says Landan. “And Kim is on the list of top brewers in the U.S. under 30. With these two and the rest of my team, we plan on making beer that is accessible for people who think they don’t like beer, as well as for people who have advanced beer palates.” Landan has big plans for the future of Saint Archer. “Even though my favorite breweries are smaller ones like Russian River and Alpine, we want to establish ourselves locally in San Diego and then go beyond.” San Diego was the perfect place to grow his brewery before taking on the world, in Josh’s mind. Despite being a crowded room when it comes to brewing locally, the mindset and community of brewers is unrivaled. “It’s amazing how inviting the industry is in San Diego. I have talked to so many local brewers, getting wisdom and advice. You’d never do this in action sports, share your tactics with peer brands. It’s really a cool community.” Visit www.saintarcherbrewery.com for updates on the brewery’s opening as well as location information.
Saint Archer will open the doors of their brewery and tasting room in April 2013, the same month they release their beer for distribution across California. On the beer lineup, three beers: a blonde, a pale ale, and an IPA. The beer will be made and bottled on site, with the whole process taking place behind glass by the tasting room so guests can watch the action. The space will also house a shop, full of Saint Archer goods as well as swag and memorabilia from the A-list athletes and artists who co-own the brewery.
A P E RS O N A L H A NG OV E R R E M E DY Honest to God answer? There is no hangover cure when your kids are five and two. My son is up at 5:30 no matter what. Before the kids my hangover cure was surfing, which was brutal but effective. - Josh Landan President, Saint Archer Brewing Co.
“We never wanted to contract the brewing out and then just put our name on it, so we found the best brewers out there.” Ray Astamendi (formerly of Mission Brewery, Left Coast Brewing Co., and Maui Brewing Co.) and Kim Lutz (formerly of Maui Brewing Co.) are Saint Archer’s Brewmaster and Lead Brewer respectively. “Ray was winning medals for the kinds
A H A NG OV E R R E M E DY CO U RT E S Y O F S CI ENC E According to a British-led study, there might be a scientifically provable hangover cure, one involving something many San Diegans like just as much as their beer: bacon. The protein in bacon breaks down into amino acids, organic compounds responsible for strength, repair and rebuilding inside your body (and Lord knows we need all of that after a long night at the local tavern). The amino acids help boost neurotransmitters, the chemicals in your brain that help you think and function. Elin Roberts, of Newcastle University’s Centre for Life says, “Food doesn’t soak up the alcohol but it does increase your metabolism, helping you deal with the after-effects of overindulgence. So food will often help you feel better.” Elin, who lead the study, was surprised to find that simply smelling bacon cooking started the healing process. So there you have it, just one more reason to adore bacon.
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| GO! 2013 Issue
A l e S mith Bre wing Co m pa n y
Gre en F l a sh
AleSmith is well-established, one of San Diego’s finest when it comes to craft brewing. Spearheaded by Peter Zien, a homebrewer with some 400 medals and honors under his belt, AleSmith puts out some of the most sought after specialty beers - beers that delight even the snootiest beer connoisseurs. Known for their fantastic, high ABV beers, AleSmith also has a nice variety of lesser talked about sessionable brews. Drop by the brewery’s tasting room for a growler full of the old favorites as well as a taste of their barrel-aged releases, which are only available on draft in the tasting room.
Besides Stone Brewing, Green Flash has one of the nicest Brewery Tasting rooms in San Diego, with a great beer garden that’s frequented by favorite local food trucks, brewery tours, and 30 state of the art taps pouring all of Green Flash’s most popular beers as well as seasonal, rare and special releases. You can get a 30 minute tour and a guided tasting of four beers for a light five dollars. Green Flash also hosts Green Flash University, a seminar series that is going “Behind the Craft” with a lineup of three seminars throughout 2013. The brewery is making great brews and really knows how to host a beer lover.
9368 Cabot Dr | San Diego, CA 92126 www.AleSmith.com
6550 Mira Mesa Blvd. | San Diego, CA 92121 www.greenflashbrew.com
PHOTO BY ANDREW ABAJIAN (WWW.ANDREWABAJIAN.COM)
SAINT ARCHER BREWING CO.