Some of the Linkery folk and I had the the great opportunity to take part in the entire brewing process with Colby Chandler of Ballast Point Brewing.
Colby wanted to brew a San Diego farmhouse ale with ingredients that would have been found in the San Diego area when Cabrillo’s ships arrived in 1542. The ingredients he wanted to use were local: Manzanita berries, white sage, white sage honey, agave, elder flowers and berries, roasted pinenuts, curacao.
Us being The Linkery, we know a lot of local farmers. Bruce up at Wingshadows Haciendia who grows food just for The Linkery has a bunch of Manzanita trees on his grandparents old farmstead land just out of Warner Springs.
-We took a field trip.
Wes of North Park Native Plants
-Two days later, we went to the brewery for the brewing of the beer.
-Four weeks later, the yeasts have eaten all the sugars and the beer is kegged.
-Thursday the 29th of July the San Salvador (one of Cabrillo’s ships) Saison is making its debut (not including Ballast’s tasting rooms) at The Linkery.
This is the beer I’ve been waiting my whole life to drink.