{"id":78,"date":"2010-10-17T07:36:20","date_gmt":"2010-10-17T07:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/?p=78"},"modified":"2010-10-25T20:14:32","modified_gmt":"2010-10-25T20:14:32","slug":"on-point-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/2010\/10\/17\/on-point-2\/","title":{"rendered":"On Point"},"content":{"rendered":"

My volunteer shift concluded, I was ready to join the festivities.\u00a0 I had been dispensing a cask of Ballast Point<\/a>‘s Fathom India Pale Lager, which uses lager yeast instead of the ale yeast of an IPA, to the thirsty throng attending BP’s 14th Anniversary Beer Festival<\/a> .\u00a0 I revved what was left of my socializing engine after several hours of constant chatter by seeking out Steve, one of Ballast Point’s top production czars and San Diego native.\u00a0 I commented on the packed lawn at Liberty Station.\u00a0 Steve maintained, “Everybody loves beer.\u00a0 If they say they don’t it’s because they haven’t found the right one yet.”\u00a0 We glanced around, and by the looks of it, every attendee had found what they were searching for.\u00a0 The atmosphere buzzing over the sixty-plus beers available, damp air couldn’t dampen spirits.\u00a0 This was Ballast Point’s moment in the no-show sun.<\/p>\n

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Excitement at BP's 14th Anniversary<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Na\u00efvely thinking – like most San Diegans do – that despite the forecast, cloud cover just won’t last, the early-morning decision to wear shorts and sandals perhaps wasn’t optimal considering the beer-pouring task awaiting me.\u00a0 Having arrived before noon, I thankfully had my pick of the tap handle-litter.\u00a0 I decided if my feet were going to be soaked with anything, I’d choose one of the best beers around – Fathom on cask<\/a>.\u00a0 Many a time have I enjoyed the smoothness of cask beer; this was the first time I would have the privilege of serving it.<\/p>\n

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Fathom IPL on cask - a beautiful sight<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The fellow volunteers and I killed time by discussing – you guessed it – beer, all the while vocally appreciating the moments of relative quiet as we sized up the lengthening queue.\u00a0 Positioned in tent “A,” we were the first and most visible of all choices. At 1p.m. sharp, the masses that had been waiting descended upon us.\u00a0 West Coaster Mike manned the neighboring battle station, a cask of Sculpin IPA.<\/p>\n

The crowd was eclectic to say the least.\u00a0 Attendees ranged from curious, burgeoning craft beer indulgers to festival-veteran connoisseurs.\u00a0 I met enthusiasts from out-of-state visiting for the event.\u00a0 The common denominator was the search for great craft beer.<\/p>\n

Familiar faces emerged in the crowd.\u00a0 Jeff Hammett, West Coaster and San Diego Beer Blog<\/a> author appeared and said hello – his view on the day you can read here<\/a>.\u00a0 Ballast Point Specialty Brewer and Home Brew Mart GM Colby Chandler<\/a> was making his rounds and Kelsey McNair of North Park Beer Co<\/a>. came to try out the Fathom.\u00a0 Also, I was also finally able to more-than-happily return the beer serving favor to Ballast Point tasting room experts Alise, Amber, and Kristi.\u00a0 Dan, Kristi’s husband, having just spilled beer on his digital camera, was surprisingly jovial.\u00a0 “It’s ok! My camera isn’t waterproof, but it is beerproof!”\u00a0 His reaction was a great indicator of the festival’s vibe.<\/p>\n

Several patrons purposefully allocated their last tab for a taste of Fathom on cask; I’ve never heard “saved the best for last” so many times in one day.\u00a0 Some had not heard of Fathom, and Double Gold Medal Winner was the only phrase of persuasion I needed.\u00a0 Among them was drummer TC from roots music group Pau Hana<\/a>, and he ended up using three more of his ten taster tabs on the beer, explaining, “There’s just no need to go anywhere else.”\u00a0 Gold Medals at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival<\/a> and 2010 World Beer Cup<\/a> are proof.\u00a0 This beer is truly one-of-a-kind.<\/p>\n

My new-found bond with Fathom sealed, I was half-hoping that Jack White, owner and founder of Ballast Point, would reply in its favor to the quintessential “which BP do you prefer?” question.\u00a0 “That’s like choosing your favorite kid,” was his fitting reply, his face that of a proud parent. “But really, there’s a time and a place for all of them.”\u00a0 Congratulating him and Head Brewer\/Distiller Yuseff Cherney while savoring a Sculpin IPA, yet another Gold Medal Winner, I couldn’t have agreed more.<\/p>\n

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Jack White leading the procession<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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My volunteer shift concluded, I was ready to join the festivities.\u00a0 I had been dispensing a cask of Ballast Point‘s Fathom India Pale Lager, which uses lager yeast instead of the ale yeast of an IPA, to the thirsty throng attending BP’s 14th Anniversary Beer Festival .\u00a0 I revved what was left of my socializing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[73,74,69,54,52,55,63,56,59,70,53,57,65,58,67,71,68,72,13,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-78","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-san-diego-beer-beverage-news","7":"tag-2010-great-american-beer-festival","8":"tag-2010-world-beer-cup","9":"tag-anniversary-beer-festival","10":"tag-ballast-point-14th-anniversary-festival","11":"tag-ballast-point","12":"tag-ballast-point-fathom-ipl","13":"tag-beer-festival","14":"tag-cask","15":"tag-colby-chandler","16":"tag-fathom","17":"tag-fathom-ipl","18":"tag-india-pale-lager","19":"tag-jack-white","20":"tag-jeff-hammett","21":"tag-kelsey-mcnair","22":"tag-liberty-station","23":"tag-north-park-beer-co","24":"tag-pau-hana","25":"tag-san-diego-beer-blog","26":"tag-yuseff-cherney","27":"entry","28":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdtr4y-1g","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}