Jack White and Yuseff Cherney created a wonderful thing
Tuesday evening Eddie A. invited me out to the Ballast Point Brewing Company, one of his favorite places to enjoy a handcrafted brew.
Eddie and a friend discuss the finer points of the Sculpin IPA
Micro-breweries have sprung up all over San Diego County over the past few decades, and have begun to rival Denver not only in shear numbers, but also in the quality of the brews.
Ballast Point was born in 1996, when Jack White and Yuseff Cherney moved their beer brewing efforts from Jack's back yard to the back room of Jack's small Homebrew supply store, and is now the 46th largest microbrewery in the country.
I only point that out because it's not often I get to describe something as the "largest micro" -anything.
The Brewery (and micro-distillery, btw), is located in north San Diego County off I-15 and Carroll Canyon Road, in an industrial / office park - you literally have to drive down a street named BusinessPark Ave. to get to it.
When I was a kid, this was an area commonly referred to as the "Boonies." Things have changed quite a bit. North San Diego County is now home to a thriving micro-brew industry, and if the samples I enjoyed here are any indication, the change is definitely for the better.
CRB and gracious host Steve Anderson
Eddie and I were given a short tour of the facility by Steve Anderson. His knowledge of brewing beer and the equipment it takes to accomplish such is pretty damn comprehensive.
Ballast Point is also San Diego's first Microdistillery, currently producing Gin, Rum, and Vodka
There is not much that warms my heart more than seeing a small business thrive. If that particular small business is making a successful go of it crafting a delicious brew (in particular the Black Marlin Porter), supporting their efforts is a double pleasure!
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