Certified Sommelier, Cicerone & Head Mixologist, U.S. Grant Hotel
He’s competed on a national level in the Olympics of cocktail crafting and oversees prestigious wine and spirit programs for one of San Diego’s most iconic spots, the historic U.S. Grant Hotel. And over the past several years, Jeff Josenhans has deepened his exploration of adult beverages to include craft beer, gaining his Cicerone certification and expanding the Grant’s drink offerings to include not only craft beer, but ales he has worked hard to procure as well as help birth using industry connections and experience earned over many years of deep thinking about the art of drinking. Thanks to him, the Grant offers a number of interesting beer options the likes of which are unavailable anywhere else, including a delicious, barrel-aged beer brewed and matured at the nearby Mission Brewery.
You are a certified Sommelier and Cicerone. How do these two worlds stack up against each other?
The Somm’ and Cicerone worlds are very different culturally, yet are similar in the sense that those within them are extremely passionate people. I think Cicerones all have a little homebrewer in them, so by nature they are perhaps a little more creative, while Somm’s are more on the studious side. Both certifications require a lot of tasting and studying, but the Cicerone exam definitely is aided by some home and draft system experience. An aspiring Somm’ will have to study a much wider array of wine styles and regions than what you find with the BJCP, as well. These are generalizations, of course.
What inspired you to go to the lengths required to become a certified Cicerone?
I always had an appreciation for beer, but had never put the study time into it that I had done with spirits and wine. It just made sense to complete the circle and give the U.S. Grant a beverage program that complimented that knowledge.
What are the specifics behind your Gentleman Grant collaboration with Mission Brewery?
Gentleman Grant is an imperial red ale that has been barrel-aged in Manhattan-seasoned barrels we get from High West Distilling in Park City, Utah. The base ale is more towards the malty side, with spicy rye malt and sweeter caramel malt notes added to the grain bill. Chinook and Summit hops provide a strong hop backbone, but are not pronounced enough to take over the aromatics. Barrel-aging provides what I consider to be the sexy side of this beer. We added cigar-smoked Luxardo cherries to the barrels and let the beer soak up the Manhattan from the oak for almost six months. The result is a powerful, yet unexpectedly smooth beer showing a lot of spice, dried fruit and caramel notes. It’s available exclusively at Grant Grill (inside the U.S. Grant Hotel, 326 Broadway, Downtown) while supplies last.
What sort of cask offerings have you added to Grant Grill’s beverage program?
We will be rotating cask ale in on the weekends. We plan on using small- to medium-size breweries for the cask program. Our first partner on this front was Fall Brewing Company and its Green Hat IPA. Moving forward, guests can expect an integration of our cocktail and beer programs. I’m pretty determined to become one of San Diego’s best cellarmen, and with that I will be looking to get our casks right after racking, so we can make additions here on property as opposed to at the brewery.
What other beer-related projects do you have in the works?
Our next big beer project is to drive craft beer and cask ale into the meeting and wedding worlds. We are in the process of putting cask ale on wedding menus as well as changing more and more of our offerings on the banquet side to local craft beers.