Welcome to Friday Five #3. This week, we speak with Ivan Derezin, publican – Churchill’s Pub & Grille in San Marcos.
Churchill’s Sour Fest, happening all day tomorrow, is a second annual memorial event for your friend Peter Reeves. For those who haven’t met Peter, can you tell us more about him and what his legacy means to the local beer scene?
Peter was a great guy who had an infectious passion for craft beer, wine and food. He came out of the great beverage coordinator incubator Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido. He was actually a wine buyer there. He used to come in to watch European Soccer and was an avid fan. I really got to know him when he took the job of Beverage Coordinator at Stone World Bistro. He’d offer tips and tell me when they were bringing a special shipment of beer in, etc. His knowledge of wine was as good or better as his knowledge of beer. Once he moved on to Pacific Libations which is a company that represents numerous brands including Green Flash, North Coast Brewing, Hofbrau, and numerous Belgian breweries, we started seeing him a lot more as we bought quite a few of the brands he represented. As I was in the throes of putting my new draft system and bar reconstruction together we were planning on doing a Sour Festival in late 2009. Peter loved sours and gave us his file folder with his contacts when he put on the Stone Sour Festival. This was right before he was diagnosed. Our construction went long(big surprise) and we weren’t able to put it on in time for Peter to enjoy it. We thought it fitting that we name the annual event after him and donate a portion of the proceeds to cancer research. I still keep that file in my office and we have a Hofbrau neon that he gave us(that no longer works) in the dining room that helps remind us of him every day. Peter was passionate about what he did and truly helped spread the word about craft beer in San Diego.
Which of the sours on the Sour Fest list are you looking forward to having the most?
New Belgium Love aged in Peach Whiskey Barrels .. I haven’t tried it yet! There are quite a few that no one, including myself, have tried yet. So much sour, so little time! Tap list is still incomplete as we’re getting a lot of last minute beers! Allagash Interlude, Bellegems Oude Bruin, Bootleggers Ollaliberry Acai Sour Lambic, Craftsman Sour Grapes, Deschutes Dissident, Drie Fonteinen, Zwet.be (Key keg), Green Flash Barrel Aged Little Freak, Jolly Pumpkin Luciernaga, Karl Strauss Flan-diddly-anders, Lost Abbey Red Poppy, New Belgium Clutch, New Belgium Kick, New Belgium La Folie 2011 (75%), New Belgium La Folie 2010 (if needed), New Belgium La Terroir, New Belgium Love – Felix (Peach Whiskey Barrel), New Belgium Vrienden, Ommegang Aphrodite, Petrus Oud Bruin, Rodenbach Vintage 08, Russian River Consecration batch 2, Russian River Consecration batch 6, Russian River Sanctification, Russian River Supplication 2010, Russian River Temptation, St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition, Telegraph Obscura Amber, Telegraph Obscura Vulpine, Telegraph Petit Obscura, The Bruery Marrón Acidifié, The Bruery Oude Tart 2011.
Any sneak peeks of the specialty menu items?
Gueuze Shrimp ceviche – Shrimp marinated in Gueuze and citrus, and mixed with tomato, onion, garlic, and cilantro. Served with house made tortilla chips; Belgian fries – Double fried fries served with garlic truffle aioli; Fruit and cheese platter – Fresh seasonal fruit and an assortment of cheeses served with crostini’s; Oysters on the half shell – Fresh local oysters served by the ½ dozen or dozen with house made cocktail sauce and a Flemish sour ale drizzle; Braised Kobe beef short ribs – Tender Kobe beef short ribs braised in a sour, served with garlic mash and roasted carrots; Wild boar rib chops w/ raspberry glaze – Wild boar rib chops roasted and glazed with a fresh raspberry sauce, served with rice pilaf and grilled veggies; Fresh berry cheesecake – New York style cheesecake topped with fresh seasonal fruit.
You are a staple of the North County beer scene. Did you ever imagine that the area’s selection of beer-centric spots would explode like it has in recent years? Or is this something you expected?
What’s funny is in previous years I used to lament that for a city that arguably has the best brewing scene in the US, had a woefully few amount of places to drink said beer(this was around the time of the resurgence of North Park). While I couldn’t really predict the absolute explosion in breweries and “craft” beer bars, it’s about time. Unfortunately, like food trucks and gourmet burger restaurants, craft beer is very trendy right now. A lot of people are throwing a couple of local handles on and calling themselves a craft beer bar. It kind of cheapens what we have done, but on the flipside, it’s getting easier to find a decent beer to drink in more conventional establishments! I’m also happy about the runaway success of a lot of local breweries.
What beers always seem to move quickly at your pub?
West Coast style IPAs are the fastest moving beers by far, followed by imperial stouts.