Beer Birthday: Tim Clifford

July 13, 2025 By Jay Brooks 3 Comments

sante-adairius
Today is the 53rd birthday of Tim Clifford, brewmaster and co-owner of Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, in Capitola, California, which is near Santa Cruz. Tim’s a longtime homebrewer and worked for Williams Brewing and also 7 Bridges for many years, and continued to be on the board of the Santa Cruz co-op. Although originally a history major, Tim’s passion went off in a different direction, happily, and he opened Sante Adairius in 2011, making some incredible and unique beers. Join me in wishing Tim a very happy birthday.

Me and Tim enjoying some hop tea, while picking hops at Moonlight Brewing’s hopyard in 2007.

Friedman-1 — Jessie Friedman and Tim at the SF Beer Week opening gala in 2014.

Historic Beer Birthday: Joe Owades

July 9, 2025 By Jay Brooks 2 Comments

Today is the birthday of Joe Owades, born today in 1919. He’s best known as the father of light beer. Owades was trained as a biochemist but ended up working in the beer industry, first for Rheingold Breweries in Brooklyn, eventually becoming their vice president and technical director.

Joe passed away in 2005, and in his obituary it tells the story of light beer:

It was at Rheingold where Mr. Owades finally applied his college training to his profession, developing a process to remove the starch from beer, making it lower in carbohydrates and calories and, thus, cholesterol. The new beer was called Gablinger’s, which became a product of Meister Brau, all of which was eventually purchased by the Miller Brewing Co. Miller Lite was made famous by the company’s “tastes great, less filling” advertising campaign, but it was exactly the same product that Mr. Owades had invented in his laboratory years before.

After stints at Anheuser-Busch, Carling and others, in 1975 he began consulting, and a few years later moved to the Bay Area. Owades also worked on formulas for such brands as Samuel Adams, Tuborg, New Amsterdam Beer, and Pete’s Wicked Ale. He taught a short course at Anchor Brewing he called the “Art and Science of Brewing” and also consulted with the wine industry as well. He had 25 patents, including Prequel, a pill that supposedly if you take before you start drinking, will reduce the effects of alcohol.

I first met Joe when his neighbor, who was an early marketing director at BevMo, asked him to meet with me when we first started developing private label beers at Beverages & more. I’ve never been a fan of low-calorie light beer but its influence on the industry is undeniable and that, along with Joe’s contributions to several of the craft beer pioneers, makes his legacy equally as undeniable. Join me in raising a toast to Joe’s memory.

Here’s a more tongue-in-cheek obituary featured on Morning Remembrance, which bills itself as “a collection of sarcastic obituaries ripped from the deadlines.”

Joseph L. Owades, the biochemist whose recipe for light beer achieved the impossible feat of making crappy beer even crappier, is now more stale than a Herman Cain pick-up line.
Fresh out of college, Owades got his first job researching for Fleischmann’s Yeast. Then he found out Fleischmann was one of his mom’s canasta friends and “Yeast” was another thing entirely.
In the 1950s he created the first “diet” beer by discovering an enzyme that destroys fat starches, and in the process, any reason for wanting to drink beer in the first place.
When Miller Brewing Co. bought his process they marketed the new beer with the familiar “tastes great, less filling” jingle, replacing the less successful “Hey! You gotta chug twice as much of this crap to get a buzz!” jingle.
Over the years Owades wrote over 40 research papers on beer, all of them supporting the same thesis that he’s okay to drive and nobody understands him.
Owades requested his body be brewed into a tasteless yellow liquid and poured directly into the toilet to save time.

And here’s a tribute written by my friend and colleague Julie Ann Johnston:

And this is from the Los Angeles Times:

And this obituary is from the Daily Telegraph:

Beer In Ads #5013: T. & A. Goux Bock

July 1, 2025 By Jay Brooks Leave a Comment

Last year I decided to concentrate on Bock ads. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising.

Monday’s ad is for Bock Beer, though who’s bock is unclear, at least I can’t make it out. The ad was published on July 1, 1899 and was for T. & A. Goux Resale and Wholesale Liquor Dealers of Santa Barbara, California. They were a liquor dealer founded by Thomas and Augustin Goux, whose father had emigrated to the U.S. to work at the French Consulate in Los Angeles. They appear to have been in business from 1890 to 1905. This ad ran in The Independent, also of Santa Barbara, California.

Beer Birthday: Chris White

July 1, 2025 By Jay Brooks 1 Comment

Today is the 57th birthday of Chris White. Chris founded the yeast company White Labs in 1995 and he’s also on the faculty of the Siebel Institute. He’s also a fixture at virtually every brewing industry and homebrewing conference, and was kind enough to talk to my SSU beer appreciation class about yeast. Join me in wishing Chris a very happy birthday.

Chris and his brother Mike bookending Chuck, then from Green Flash Brewing, Natalie Cilurzo, from Russian River Brewing, John Harris, then from Full Sail Brewing, and Vinnie Cilurzo, also from Russian River, at CBC in Austin, Texas in 2007.

Chris at the new White Labs taproom during the 2012 Craft Brewers Conference in San Diego.

Me and Chris at CBC in Minneapolis in 2022.

chris-white-2 — Surly brewer Todd Haug with Chris.

chris-white-1 — Chris with Technical Sales and Marketing Coordinator Ashley Paulsworth at the NHC.

[Note: last two photos purloined from Facebook.]

Historic Beer Birthday: Jacob Paul Rettenmayer

June 29, 2025 By Jay Brooks

acme
Today is the birthday of Jacob Paul Rettenmayer (June 29, 1881-February 24, 1937). He was born in Ellwanger, Württenberg, Germany, and came to the U.S. when he was 20, in 1901. He settled on the West Coast, and bounced back and forth between California and Washington, working at various breweries. He eventually settled in San Francisco, helping to start Acme Brewery, becoming its first brewmaster and president. His little brother Franz, or Frank, Rettenmayer became brewmaster a few years later, and JP opened a second Acme brewery in Los Angeles. Just before, and during, prohibition he diversified into several other businesses.

This biography was written by Rettenmayer himself later in his life, as reprinted on Gary Flynn’s Brewery Gems:

“Served apprenticeship as Brewer and Maltster at the plants of Minneapolis Brewing Company, Minneapolis Minnesota, under Mr. Armin L. Neubert who was then Master Brewer and superintendent of that company. Upon the completion of my apprenticeship I worked in that plant for six months as a journeyman, and then went to Los Angeles where I found employment with the Los Angeles Brewing Company. I worked in various departments of that plant for six months and then secured employment at the plant of Maier and Zobelein. I was employed by that firm from 1903 to 1905 when I left to attend Wahl-Henius Institute in Chicago. The course I took was the first six months duration and the first course given in the new Institute building. I was the honor graduate with a record of 99 in thirteen studies. Upon the completion of my course I returned to Maier and Zobelein in Los Angeles, remaining there until July 1, 1906.
Upon obtaining my citizen papers in Los Angeles I went to Tacoma, Washington where I was employed by the Pacific Brewing & Malting Co. for a period of six weeks. Mr. Peter G. Schmidt, now President of the Olympia Brewing Company, invited me to go to Salem and I was affiliated with Salem Brewery Association for a period of four months. In the meantime the late Leopold M. Schmidt returned from Europe and he asked me to go to San Francisco to become associated with him in the Acme Brewing Company. Upon the organization of that company I became vice-president and a year later was elected to the presidency. I served in that capacity, as well as Master Brewer, from 1907 to 1917, when the Acme Brewing Company merged with five other breweries under the name California Brewing Association. I was elected President and General Manager of the consolidated enterprise and served until the advent of prohibition. Before the formation of California Brewing Association I was instrumental in organizing the Cereal Products Refining Corporation and planned and developed the syrup and compressed yeast business to the manufacture of which a part of the plant of California Brewing Association was converted.
In the latter part of 1924 I turned in my resignation as president and General Manager of California Brewing Association and its affiliated enterprises to engage in other activities. In the Fall of 1934 Mr. Armin K. Neubert prevailed upon me to become associated with Salinas Brewing & Ice Company and on the first of December, 1934 I assumed the position of General Manager of the enterprise. In October of 1935, in cooperation with Armin K. Neubert, Mr. Wm. Voss, and others associated with us, we acquired the interests of Mr. Armin L. Neubert. Upon the consummation of the deal Mr. Armin L. Neubert resigned as president of Salinas Brewing and I succeeded him in that capacity.”

Rettenmayer appears to have been quite active in the U.S. Brewers Association and digests are filled with his committee reports and other mentions.

J.P. is somewhere in the two halves of this photograph taken on September 30, 1915, at the German House in San Francisco during the 27th annual convention of the Master Brewers Association.

At Brewery Gems, Gary Flynn has a fuller account of the life of Jacob Paul Rettenmayer, and it’s worth reading in its entirety.

This is his obituary from the San Francisco Examiner February 25, 1937, detailing his rather unusual passing.

Beer Birthday: Ben Spencer

June 27, 2025 By Jay Brooks

dogtown
Today is Ben Spencer’s 51st birthday. Ben was the head brewer at Magnolia Gastropub & Brewery, but due to their Chapter 11 bankruptcy was making ends meet as an independent contractor. For a short time, Ben was then the Director of Operations and Brewmaster at Strike Brewing in San Jose, but more recently moved to Richmond, Virginia where he was Director of Operations and Brewmaster for Dogtown Brewing for a time, before returning to consulting work. Ben grew up in Virginia, and spent some time brewing in Colorado — and even worked for Greenpeace — before coming to the Bay Area in 2004. That’s when he left Boulder for San Francisco to make beer at Magnolia. Ben’s a terrific brewer and a great person, too, and I’m sorry the Bay Area lost him. Join me in wishing Ben a very happy birthday.

jobrien08-08 — Ben with Jesse Houck, when he was still brewing with 21st Amendment during Brews By the Bay 2008.

gabf08-53 — A sextet from San Francisco at GABF in 2008. From left: Adrienne McMullen, with 21st Amendment, Ben, Sean Paxton, the homebrew chef, Ben’s wife Kelly, Shaun O’Sullivan, from 21st Amendment, and Dave.

olthunder-2 — A satisfied Ben with Dave McClean after a vertical tasting of Old Thunderpussy in 2009.

Ben Spencer, Dave Hopwood & Dave McLean — Ben with Dave Hopwood (Stone) and Dave McClean (Magnolia) at the 22nd Celebrator Anniversary Party in 2010.

cheesebeerdin-09 — After Bruce Paton’s cheese and beer dinner in 2008. From left, Arne Johnson (Marin Brewing), Aron Derosey (Beach Chalet), Bruce Paton, Sheana Davis, Ben, Ron from 21A, Brenden Dobbel (Thirsty Bear) and Rich Higgins (Gordon Biersch).

SAM_0691 — Ben in the basement brewery at the end of brewing a mild a few years ago.

Beer Birthday: Jamil Zainasheff

June 26, 2025 By Jay Brooks

heretic
Today is the 64th birthday of former homebrewer extraordinaire Jamil Zainasheff, who over the last ten plus years had become something of a rock star in the homebrewing community, and especially the Bay Area. He’s also the co-author two books on beer and homebrewing: “Brewing Classic Styles: 80 Winning Recipes Anyone Can Brew” (with John Palmer) and “Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation” (with Chris White). In addition, he hosts the Jamil Show on The Brewing Network and has a website online entitled Mr. Malty. Jamil also turned pro a number of years ago, starting his own commercial brewery, Heretic Brewing, which is now located in Fairfield, California. And they began making gin, too, which is very tasty. More recently the brewery was sold, and even more recently, Jamil announced he is not working at the brewery anymore, but I’m confident he’s be starting a new adventure soon. Join me in wishing Jamil a very happy birthday.

P1020688 — Jamil and me judging the finals at the Toronado Barleywine festival in 2007.

P1010743 — Jamil and me at Anchor Brewery a few years ago.

jamil-and-rodger — Jamil with Rodger Davis at Faction Brewing in May a couple of yeas ago. (Photo by Nathan Smith, purloined from Facebook.)

Beer Birthday: Andy French

June 25, 2025 By Jay Brooks

Today would have been the 57th birthday of Andy French, former brewmaster at Southern Pacific Brewing in San Francisco, one of the new wave of breweries that opened in the city a few years ago, but unfortunately he past away in late summer 2023. . I first met Andy when he brewed at Speakeasy, and after that would see him from time to time at Zeitgeist, though he first started brewing back East in the DC area. When his roommate Chris Lawrence, who also worked for Speakeasy once upon a time, decided to open his own brewery, he tapped Andy to work the mash paddles, and things had been going great since they opened a few years ago, though I’d heard Andy was now back doing shifts at Zeitgeist before learning of his untimely passing. Join me in raising a toast to Andy.

P1050466 — Andy at his brewhouse in 2012.

The back bar at Rio Nido Roadhouse was recently named Frenchy’s in his honor with a new sign and plenty of friends in attendance to christen it. [Thanks to Mario Rubio for the photo.]

Historic Beer Birthday: Steve Harrison

June 24, 2025 By Jay Brooks

Today would have been longtime Sierra Nevada employee Steve Harrison’s 74th birthday. Unfortunately, Steve passed away in August of 2007. He was Sierra Nevada employee number one, and was responsible for a lot of their early success. I first got to know Steve in the mid-1990s when I was the chain beer buyer at BevMo. He was a terrific person and universally respected and beloved in the industry. Sierra Nevada had to hire two or three people to take over his responsibilities. Join me in raising a glass of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale to Steve’s memory today. Here’s to you, Steve.

The last time I saw Steve was at a CSBA meeting in San Diego in 2007, though we talked on the phone a few more times after that because he’d asked me to do some freelance work for him shortly after that CSBA meeting. You can almost make him out in the photo below. He’s in the middle, toward the back, in a blue shirt. He’s in between Tom McCormick (in a green shirt) and a man in a black shirt raising his glass below the giant boulder in the background.

csba-sd — CSBA Meeting at Stone Brewing in San Diego in 2007.

steve-harrison-and-mj — A very young Steve, at right, with Michael Jackson and Lou. (Photo by Tom Dalldorf, from the Celebrator Beer News.)

Steve-Harrison-Memorial-Arch — The Steve Harrison Memorial Arch, which is at the northern entrance to the Steve Harrison Bike Path, which is located not very far from the brewery in Chico. (The photo was taken in 2010 by Jack Peters, and sent to me by Miles Jordan. Thank you, gentlemen.)

“Karl Ockert, BridgePort’s original brewmaster, is seen in the center of this photograph from 1985 when BridgePort was still known as Columbia River Brewery. Flanking him are other figures from Portland’s craft brewery vanguard. **From left, Steve Harrison, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.**; Fred Eckhardt, beer columnist; Fred Bowman, Portland Brewing Co.; Paul Shipman, Independent Brewing Co.; Karl Ockert, Columbia River Brewery; Tom Baune, Hart Brewing Co.; Jim Temple, General Brewing Co.; Mike McMenamin, McMenamins; and Kurt Widmer, Widmer Brewing Co.” [From the Multnomah County Library.]

And here’s his obituary from the San Francisco Chronicle.

And this oddity is an ad for the Italian Cottage Restaurant in Chico, inexplicably featuring Steve that ran, once as far as I can tell, in the Enterprise Record, also of Chico.

Beer Birthday: Brian Yaeger

June 23, 2025 By Jay Brooks

Today is the 51st birthday of fellow beer writer Brian Yaeger, author of Red, White & Brew and Oregon Breweries. Brian also writes online at his Red, White & Brew Beer Odyssey blog. A couple of years ago Brian and his lovely bride Kimberly lived in Portland, Oregon (having moved from San Francisco), but then moved to Amsterdam, then moved back to Portland, but more recently relocated once more, this time to Santa Barbara, California, and even more recently has moved back to Oregon, this time to Bend. Join me in wishing Brian a very happy birthday.

Me with Eric Rose, founder and former owner of Hollister Brewing, and Brian when I met him there for a lunch during a family vacation to Santa Barbara in 2017.