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

32 North gathers bearings amid head brewer change

New brewing team now on track to double production

Interior of 32 North Brewing Company
Interior of 32 North Brewing Company

Miramar brewery 32 North quietly parted ways with its head brewer in April, a change that briefly slowed production, but will ultimately more than double the amount of beer flowing through its tasting room and growing distribution network.

Place

New Motion Beverages & Embolden Beer Co.

8655 Production Avenue, Suite A, San Diego

John Hunter had overseen brewing operations since 32 North launched last October, contributing recipes and collaborating with owner Steve Peterson.

Peterson says 32 North will continue to produce these recipes, including its most successful beers to date: Landfall Berliner Weisse and the Peanut Butter Cup Porter that Hunter had previously developed while working as a brewer at Karl Strauss.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Taking over production of these beers and contributing his own ideas will be new head brewer Will Gallaspy, an experienced commercial brewer whose career has included stops at Montana’s Glacier Brewing Company, Cedar Brewing Company in Iowa, and a principal role starting Parish Brewing Company in his home state of Louisiana. Peterson anticipates Gallaspy's beers will begin to turn up in 32 North's tasting room soon, "probably end of June or early July."

Two additional brewers have been brought on to support Gallaspy with an expanded brewing schedule, part of the young brewery's effort to keep up with demand.

"It has been an interesting seven months," Peterson says. "We've been learning how to run a brewery, which has been major growing pains." Yet, he adds, "The whole time our biggest problem has been brewing enough beer."

The change in personnel slowed an otherwise rapid growth for a brewery whose brand identity is based around exploration and maintaining a roster of special releases. Peterson says some of the customers in his tasting room have expressed disappointment to find only six beers on tap in recent weeks, acknowledging, "In the last month and a half we haven't been able to provide the specialty brews." However, with four new releases scheduled for next week, he says the tap list will ramp back up to 10 beers and by mid-summer will return to a 12- or 14-beer status quo, including a weekly cask offering.

Other future plans include 22-ounce bottling, an increase in barrel-aging efforts, and increased production from 75 barrels per month to between 150 and 200. The self-distributing beer company has made strides in its short lifespan, with burgeoning contracts in Orange County, Los Angeles, and San Francisco in addition to local clients including O'Brien's Pub, Hamilton's Tavern, and Pizza Port restaurants.

UPDATE 6/3, 11:45 a.m.:

Brewer John Hunter has clarified that all the beer recipes in question are his own, and that at current date the only one 32 North has purchased is the Landfill Berliner Weisse — but not the Peanut Butter Cup Porter, as previously reported. Hunter says it's likely he and owner Steve Peterson will negotiate terms for the rest of the 32 North "core beers," but any other discussions are unresolved.

Regarding his tenure at the brewery, Hunter commented, "I had high hopes for what initially was a wonderful opportunity. Creating new, interesting, innovative beers is what has fueled my passion for this industry and at 32 North I was given free rein to make what I wanted." He says ongoing equipment and production issues contributed to his decision to move on, and he's working on plans to return to the local beer business.

Regarding the remaining recipes of 32 North beers, Peterson remains confident, saying, "We haven't fully purchased all of them yet, but we're going to." He calls Hunter a "great brewer" and says there's no animosity in his departure.

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

WAV College Church reminds kids that time is short

College is a formational time for decisions about belief
Next Article

The vicious cycle of Escondido's abandoned buildings

City staff blames owners for raising rents
Interior of 32 North Brewing Company
Interior of 32 North Brewing Company

Miramar brewery 32 North quietly parted ways with its head brewer in April, a change that briefly slowed production, but will ultimately more than double the amount of beer flowing through its tasting room and growing distribution network.

Place

New Motion Beverages & Embolden Beer Co.

8655 Production Avenue, Suite A, San Diego

John Hunter had overseen brewing operations since 32 North launched last October, contributing recipes and collaborating with owner Steve Peterson.

Peterson says 32 North will continue to produce these recipes, including its most successful beers to date: Landfall Berliner Weisse and the Peanut Butter Cup Porter that Hunter had previously developed while working as a brewer at Karl Strauss.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Taking over production of these beers and contributing his own ideas will be new head brewer Will Gallaspy, an experienced commercial brewer whose career has included stops at Montana’s Glacier Brewing Company, Cedar Brewing Company in Iowa, and a principal role starting Parish Brewing Company in his home state of Louisiana. Peterson anticipates Gallaspy's beers will begin to turn up in 32 North's tasting room soon, "probably end of June or early July."

Two additional brewers have been brought on to support Gallaspy with an expanded brewing schedule, part of the young brewery's effort to keep up with demand.

"It has been an interesting seven months," Peterson says. "We've been learning how to run a brewery, which has been major growing pains." Yet, he adds, "The whole time our biggest problem has been brewing enough beer."

The change in personnel slowed an otherwise rapid growth for a brewery whose brand identity is based around exploration and maintaining a roster of special releases. Peterson says some of the customers in his tasting room have expressed disappointment to find only six beers on tap in recent weeks, acknowledging, "In the last month and a half we haven't been able to provide the specialty brews." However, with four new releases scheduled for next week, he says the tap list will ramp back up to 10 beers and by mid-summer will return to a 12- or 14-beer status quo, including a weekly cask offering.

Other future plans include 22-ounce bottling, an increase in barrel-aging efforts, and increased production from 75 barrels per month to between 150 and 200. The self-distributing beer company has made strides in its short lifespan, with burgeoning contracts in Orange County, Los Angeles, and San Francisco in addition to local clients including O'Brien's Pub, Hamilton's Tavern, and Pizza Port restaurants.

UPDATE 6/3, 11:45 a.m.:

Brewer John Hunter has clarified that all the beer recipes in question are his own, and that at current date the only one 32 North has purchased is the Landfill Berliner Weisse — but not the Peanut Butter Cup Porter, as previously reported. Hunter says it's likely he and owner Steve Peterson will negotiate terms for the rest of the 32 North "core beers," but any other discussions are unresolved.

Regarding his tenure at the brewery, Hunter commented, "I had high hopes for what initially was a wonderful opportunity. Creating new, interesting, innovative beers is what has fueled my passion for this industry and at 32 North I was given free rein to make what I wanted." He says ongoing equipment and production issues contributed to his decision to move on, and he's working on plans to return to the local beer business.

Regarding the remaining recipes of 32 North beers, Peterson remains confident, saying, "We haven't fully purchased all of them yet, but we're going to." He calls Hunter a "great brewer" and says there's no animosity in his departure.

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

The vicious cycle of Escondido's abandoned buildings

City staff blames owners for raising rents
Next Article

Big swordfish, big marlin, and big money

Trout opener at Santee Lakes
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