Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Meet Social Jack’s Craft Brewing Company

Upcoming Little Italy nanobrewery tribute to fallen friend, beer aficionado

Left to Right: Social Jack Craft Brewing Company's Davin Richmond, Jeff Rambo, and Celia “Cece” Canez
Left to Right: Social Jack Craft Brewing Company's Davin Richmond, Jeff Rambo, and Celia “Cece” Canez
Place

Small Bar

4628 Park Boulevard, San Diego

So, this guy walks into a bar (University Heights’ Small Bar to be exact), orders a beer, and promptly has it snatched up by a young woman who takes a sip and correctly identifies its contents as Lindemans Framboise. That young woman was Victoria Yakovleva, a member of the quality control team at San Diego's Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits. The male component of the story was Jeff Rambo, who at the time was a relative craft beer newbie, but has since grown into the type of beerophile so passionate, he’s building his own brewery, Social Jack’s Craft Brewing Company (961 Laurel Street, Little Italy).

Sponsored
Sponsored

Named for Small Bar’s communal seating and the connections that come from such forced socialization, the business was dreamt up by Jeff, Victoria, and their mutual friend and business partner Davin Richmond. Originally, the trio planned to get the brewery going within a five-year time period. But then, their projected “brains” for the project, Victoria, passed away suddenly. The experience opened her friends’ eyes to how short life is, prompting them to pound their vague idea into a 23-page business plans and begin amassing funding for the operation. Five months later, they have their space and are working hard to get it up and running by summer.

Working off a five-barrel system, Jeff and Davin will initially do all the brewing. Obsessed by a creative bent to craft beers similar to the self-proclaimed “off-centered ales” of Delaware’s popular Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, they aim to take stylistic risks and experiment often. Already, they have tap space reserved with a number of bars and restaurants in the Gaslamp Quarter. Part of the early appeal of Social Jack’s is its owners’ ambition to brew beers specifically to match the feel and offerings at the business’ accounts.

As for the company’s year-round house beers, Jeff and Davin are working on refining a coffee-infused sweet stout described as, “Noble Ale Works’ Naughty Sauce (a blonde stout) and AleSmith’s Speedway Stout (a coffee-infused imperial stout) hooking up and having a love child that gets raised by a bourbon barrel-aged porter that bottle-feeds it maple syrup.” The duo hopes to make this a permanent collaboration with North Park’s Coffee & Tea Collective. Off-centered, indeed. On the tamer end of the spectrum is an American pale ale brewed with grapefruit, agave, honey, coriander and sea salt going by the working title of “Circus Freak.”

In addition to the brewing component, the duo will run a second business out of their space called Brewed Local, offering tours beginning and ending at Social Jack’s, with trips to breweries Jeff and Davin form strong relationships with. The goal is to really educate tour participants on the San Diego brewing community versus simply the beer that binds its members. Tours will run on weekends and space will be allotted at Social Jack’s for serving partner brewing companies’ beers on tap and in bottles, as well as collaborative events with those businesses. It’s another social facet of the business, which is fitting considering the fact that, if Small Bar hadn’t been packed to the gills that fateful night when Jeff and Victoria met, this business may never have materialized.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

East Village Tree Lighting & Holiday Market, Holiday Gondola Cruise

Events November 30-December 4, 2024
Left to Right: Social Jack Craft Brewing Company's Davin Richmond, Jeff Rambo, and Celia “Cece” Canez
Left to Right: Social Jack Craft Brewing Company's Davin Richmond, Jeff Rambo, and Celia “Cece” Canez
Place

Small Bar

4628 Park Boulevard, San Diego

So, this guy walks into a bar (University Heights’ Small Bar to be exact), orders a beer, and promptly has it snatched up by a young woman who takes a sip and correctly identifies its contents as Lindemans Framboise. That young woman was Victoria Yakovleva, a member of the quality control team at San Diego's Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits. The male component of the story was Jeff Rambo, who at the time was a relative craft beer newbie, but has since grown into the type of beerophile so passionate, he’s building his own brewery, Social Jack’s Craft Brewing Company (961 Laurel Street, Little Italy).

Sponsored
Sponsored

Named for Small Bar’s communal seating and the connections that come from such forced socialization, the business was dreamt up by Jeff, Victoria, and their mutual friend and business partner Davin Richmond. Originally, the trio planned to get the brewery going within a five-year time period. But then, their projected “brains” for the project, Victoria, passed away suddenly. The experience opened her friends’ eyes to how short life is, prompting them to pound their vague idea into a 23-page business plans and begin amassing funding for the operation. Five months later, they have their space and are working hard to get it up and running by summer.

Working off a five-barrel system, Jeff and Davin will initially do all the brewing. Obsessed by a creative bent to craft beers similar to the self-proclaimed “off-centered ales” of Delaware’s popular Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, they aim to take stylistic risks and experiment often. Already, they have tap space reserved with a number of bars and restaurants in the Gaslamp Quarter. Part of the early appeal of Social Jack’s is its owners’ ambition to brew beers specifically to match the feel and offerings at the business’ accounts.

As for the company’s year-round house beers, Jeff and Davin are working on refining a coffee-infused sweet stout described as, “Noble Ale Works’ Naughty Sauce (a blonde stout) and AleSmith’s Speedway Stout (a coffee-infused imperial stout) hooking up and having a love child that gets raised by a bourbon barrel-aged porter that bottle-feeds it maple syrup.” The duo hopes to make this a permanent collaboration with North Park’s Coffee & Tea Collective. Off-centered, indeed. On the tamer end of the spectrum is an American pale ale brewed with grapefruit, agave, honey, coriander and sea salt going by the working title of “Circus Freak.”

In addition to the brewing component, the duo will run a second business out of their space called Brewed Local, offering tours beginning and ending at Social Jack’s, with trips to breweries Jeff and Davin form strong relationships with. The goal is to really educate tour participants on the San Diego brewing community versus simply the beer that binds its members. Tours will run on weekends and space will be allotted at Social Jack’s for serving partner brewing companies’ beers on tap and in bottles, as well as collaborative events with those businesses. It’s another social facet of the business, which is fitting considering the fact that, if Small Bar hadn’t been packed to the gills that fateful night when Jeff and Victoria met, this business may never have materialized.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Now what can they do with Encinitas unstable cliffs?

Make the cliffs fall, put up more warnings, fine beachgoers?
Next Article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader