Hess Brewing (San Diego) discussion

When I tell people about Hess, they usually ask if it's related to the winery. Makes sense to change the name, too bad it sucks now.

 

haha, True, that it is. I'm just appreciating some sensible observations added to the discussion now. Sad that Skubic has left Hess, for whatever reasons/occurence. If he starts up his own brewery, I'll defiently check it out, and hope it does well, but supporting that, should it occur, as well as Mike Hess, is not mutually exclusive, at least for me. Wish them both success in life & their business endeavours.

 

Anyone else bothered by the Latin beer names? Not only are they difficult to remember (or not memorable at all), they tell you nothing about the beer you are drinking. Unless you have Google translate at the tasting room, of course. Why stick to that, ahem, antiquated naming system? Especially in a town a laid back as San Diego.

That being said, I'm not the biggest fan of the Mike Hess operation. The beers are fine, most of the time. I think that this brewery's biggest challenge will be the personality of its owner. We even helped the guy tear down some walls and clean out the new brewery building, and barely got a hello and thank you out of him- all while complimenting his beer. Kind of bizarre. Can anyone shed some light on whether or not I've just caught him on a series of bad days? In the "should not matter" department, does anyone know if Hess is a Christian business?

 

I think that they should have kept the sign on their new building, but changed it to read "Evangelical Beer Store". Now that would have been some creative branding.

 

Personally, I don't get it. I've been there five or six times now and have never had a bad experience or a bad beer. I also don't think I've ever met the owner, so can't comment on his personality. Regardless, I'm a fan and would recommend it to anyone.

 

aww man besaunders is gonna get banned from Alpine (and some beer bars) now. RIP

 

I agree. I like their beer, personally, and have always had polite conversations with Mike. Everyone else there has always been friendly, and Hess is generally a must stop when I'm there (often due to logistics as well) but my experience doesn't mean that's everyone's experience, & vice versa.

 

My last trip to Hess was fairly disappointing. One of the barrel aged beers they had on tap was pretty gross (Recipo) and the rest of the beers I had never tried before were only pretty good at best. Just my personal taste I guess.

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...78326181757887720.html?mod=wsj_valettop_email

Interesting article that casts some light on Mike Hess Brewing. I've written them a few times asking about their beer names, but I have never gotten a response, even emailing Mike Hess directly. I was slightly taken aback that I couldn't get an answer from a local businessman, but that the Wall Street Journal had no problem getting that information.

I'd always wondered about Hess Brewing Company, and whether or not they would openly identify themselves as a Christian company. I've seen plenty of other businesses do it, either with symbols or Biblical quotes or in the names of products. I'm curious to see if Hess decides to do this, and whether it would affect their sales/image in the craft brewing industry.

I am not a Christian, I was raised Catholic. But it would be interesting to hear the stories of their beer names, and I wouldn't be opposed to seeing a packaging/marketing campaign that ties their beers in with Biblical parables. Lost Abbey certainly does, albeit tongue-in-cheek.

I am fascinated by the dichotomy presented by an openly Christian brewery in a town where there is plenty of drunkenness. Let's face it, the beer industry makes it's money off of a drug with addictive properties. And the more folks imbibe, the more money brewers make. So how does an Presbyterian brewer balance moral responsibility with a solid business plan? Are the two exclusive, or is it possible to keep both in check? Am I the only one who is fascinated by this?

I would love to hear Mike's thoughts on this subject, and whether or not his beliefs play a role in his business plan/operations. For all I know, there might be several other active Christian brewers in San Diego. But I kind of doubt it.

 

wat.

 

I think that Hess started out well, and offered a solid cream ale when most brewers in SD wouldn't touch the style. On top of that, they offered a coffee cream ale, which was great the first time I had it. A local restaurant owner I think very highly of tapped Hess kegs regularly- really the only place in town where you could (can still) find Hess on tap.

Their business plan worked well for a nano- Latin names, a flagship beer style that you don't see a lot of, and a location at the heart of the exploding SD beer scene. They weren't able to keg much, as their tasting room stayed busy pouring to tour buses and bachelor parties. I think that they were able to raise the money for expansion primarily during 2010-2011, which was the height of their popularity.

I really loved the beer they bottled for Bottlecraft's anniversary, but I did notice a decline in quality about a year and a half ago. Not sure if they were trying to meet demand, or if the small crew was just getting tired. I haven't had the chance to taste their recipes since they hired their new brewer, but I haven't seen any negative or positive reviews- most people just seem indifferent to them at this point. I think that can change when the new brewery opens, provided they can get canning and kegging quickly.

Of course, if you ask me to name my favorite Hess beers, I'm going to have a hard time doing so because I don't speak Latin. Can they seriously expect a normal beer guy to come in, taste seven or eight beers, and remember what they drank? I have a hard enough time remembering which -tion beer from RR is which.

 

Hess blew it by getting rid/whatever of the other Mike. He was the actual face of the brewery and interacted with people.

 

If I were opening a brewer this year, the first thing I would do is hire Mike Skubic.

 

This ruins any chance for a Mike Ness brewery. Damn it.

 

If it's the blonde one from Pizza Port, they won't.

 

Sounds like you have a bit of a vendetta or want to stir up some controversy, but if you're so curious about it maybe you could ask the monks at Westvleteren or St. Bernardus or Rochefort or Chimay or Orval or Andechs or Weihenstephan....