Guest Blog / By Phil MacNitt
Interview appears on page 14 of the June 2012 West Coaster, which you can view/download here.
Founders Brewing Company has always possessed a mystical quality for us San Diego beer fans; it’s so highly regarded yet so unobtainable, but we were lucky enough to see some kegs of their incredible beer during the Craft Brewers Conference and at a few events since. As an added bonus, the brewery out of Grand Rapids, Michigan recently collaborated with Green Flash Brewing Company to create the Linchpin White India Pale Ale, a wheat IPA fermented with two strains of yeast (American and Belgian) and fully loaded with American hops. During the madness of CBC, I was fortunate enough to land an interview with Jeremy Kosmicki, Founders Brewmaster.
How did you first get involved in the craft beer industry? In the year 2000, I was an unemployed, aspiring homebrewer/rock and roller. My girlfriend encouraged me to apply at Founders, and although they weren’t my favorite brewery, they were the biggest local guys. And by big I mean a couple thousand barrels a year. I got hired on the spot to help out in the packaging department. It was only part time, but I did everything I could to get hours and stay involved. In 2001, the head brewer left and we hired a good friend of mine that had been the assistant brewer at New Holland to take over the brewing. Our assistant brewer then left and I took over for him in 2002, running the packaging line, cellar, warehouse, and doing a lot of the brewing. I took over as head brewer in 2005.
Lately, there’s been a lot of news circulating about different expansion projects in the craft beer world. Does Founders have any big plans in the works? It’s pretty much been a constant expansion for us over the past 6 years, with very rapid growth here in the last three. Last year we installed a new 80 barrel brewhouse, a new packaging line, and a new keg filler, all top of the line and brand new. Our output has gone from around 20,000 barrels two years ago to around 40,000 last year, and this year we expect to be around 80,000. We are looking at adding another mash vessel and wort kettle to the brewhouse to allow us to brew 6 or 7 times a day. And of course, we have new fermenters showing up every few months.
What’s the story behind the Linchpin White IPA? This collaboration started with our sales/marketing guys hanging out with Green Flash sales/marketing guys and deciding it would be a good idea. I had resisted collaborations in the past, mostly due to lack of time, but I also felt they could be too much gimmick and not enough substance. Something about flying out to San Diego in March sounded good to me though, and I’d enjoyed the few Green Flash beers that I’d been able to try. It was great working with Chuck Silva, as we share many of the same brewing philosophies. I’d been wanting to try to make a Belgian IPA, but very rarely do I bring in other yeast strains. We ended up using a blend of Chuck’s American and Belgian yeasts, and lots and lots of American hops.
Do you have any other collaborations planned? We’ll see. Since we brewed Linchpin at Green Flash, they had to distribute it, and Michigan isn’t one of their states right now. I’ll probably have Chuck come out to Founders at some point to return the favor and give us a beer that we can distribute here. Also I’ve been talking with our friends at 3 Floyds, and it seems like we’re going to do something. They’re another like-minded brewery.
What was your favorite CBC event? It was all pretty excellent. Personally, I most enjoyed the Linchpin release party at Hamiltons. It was really nice to relax in such a cool place with the guys from Green Flash, 3 Floyds, Surly, and lots of other friends. I also enjoyed a pool party on Saturday at the Hard Rock Hotel where our entourage was staying!
Were there any San Diego breweries that particularly impressed or surprised you during your visit? Our schedule was packed pretty full with Founders events, so I didn’t get around to the local scene too much. The tour and dinner at Stone was great – I especially enjoyed the whole outdoor garden scene.
If a beer loving San Diegan were in Grand Rapids for 24 hours, where would you recommend they go? You could definitely spend a lot of time at Founders! We have 18 beers on tap, many of them are one-offs brewed just for our taproom. We also have a great deli and a great music scene. You’d also want to check out Brewery Vivant, a super cool little Belgian style brewery that opened up recently. The Hop Cat is a beer bar right down the street from us that features probably the biggest selection of craft beers in town, so they’d be worth a stop too. Lots of other smaller breweries around as well, might require a second day here.
If you could only have one beer and one album on constant rotation for the rest of your life, what would they be? Tough call, I really dig variety. As far as the beer goes, I’d have to say Founders All Day IPA, it was basically designed as a beer you can drink all of the time. It’s got excellent hop flavor and aroma, but it’s only 4.5% ABV, so it’s pretty hard to get too intoxicated on. I guess the older I get, the less I want to be drunk all the time. As far as the album goes, damn that’s tough. I guess I’d probably go with the Allman Brothers Live at the Fillmore.
I realize this is a bit self-serving, but I have to ask. When will Founders start distributing their beer to San Diego? Well, Phil, that’s not really my department, so my answer won’t be too accurate. I would guess it would be sometime next year or the year after? We sent out a truckload to San Diego right before the CBC on a temporary 45 day distribution license, so it should be around for the next couple months. Initial response has seemed positive so far, so we’ll see!
Tonight at Slater’s 50/50 in Liberty Station (2750 Dewey Road), seven Founders beers will be on tap: Dirty Bastard, Curmudgeon Old Ale, Double Trouble, Reds Rye, Porter, Centennial, All Day IPA
Phil MacNitt is an Indoctrination Specialist, i.e. excellent tour guide, at Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido. You can follow him on Twitter @TheBeerJesus