Alesmith Rocks On
by Vince Meehan
Peter Zien is the owner of Alesmith Brewing Company, one of the OGs in the San Diego craft-brewing scene. Like many, many brewers, he fled the corporate scene to chase a passion for making his own beer. Peter bought Alesmith in 2002, and the rest is San Diego brewing history. He decided to brew his own beer because in the 90s, there just weren’t that many choices outside of the typical canned beer. Peter describes how this all came about.
Peter and Vicky Zien Photo by Janet Bark.
“I had always been a beer lover but I pretty much focused on imports, but, we had Karl Straus here locally and they were eye-opening. Of course, Sierra Nevada up north was making really good beer, so I became a home brewer. So, I joined this kind of cult of people who make their own beer at home and some of my best friends are through my home brew connections. And that just got me really into it, it was a blend of art and science that I just didn’t know existed.”
At the core of Alesmith’s success is just plain honest good beer. But as the brewery turned 30, it jumped to a new level of success, as its Miramar facility became ground zero for all sorts of events. Now, food trucks are always present at the outdoor patio complete with picnic tables, market lights, and a fire-pit. Peter has live music events all the time, and his brewery has now become the it-spot for watching sports games in San Diego. His support for local sports has even resulted in one of San Diego’s most popular beers: the Tony Gwynn inspired .394 Pale Ale. This beer can be found on tap at basically all San Diego bars and even VFW halls. The beer is so popular, that Peter now has a hazy version.
Peter is also planning a commemorative beer to honor legendary guitarist Gary Hoey who he says is a good family friend. This is to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Endless Summer II soundtrack, which Hoey recorded in 1995. A celebration of the event will take place at Alesmith on Saturday July 12, which will include the playing of the soundtrack as well as a live performance by Gary Hoey himself. And of course, the special Gary Hoey beer will be flowing for the thirsty music fans.
“We’re good friends of his, we’ve gone to many of his shows and my wife Vicky is a kind of a closet metal head and guitar hero kind of girl – and he likes our beer! And we always talked about one day doing something together, so, that year is now! We thought we would have a fun event, we’re gonna have some surfers and surf companies here. We’re going to be playing the movie and Gary’s gonna be ripping right here, kind of NAMM style you know? A small set up. The guy is such an entertainer so it’s gonna be a great day and we’re expecting lot’s of people!”
If that wasn’t enough, Peter and his wife also founded a non-profit called Anvil of Hope as a way to give back to the community. This is focused at young students and includes field trips, sports activities as well as mentoring. Peter described the work that the foundation does for the students.
“Anvil of Hope is our organization primarily rum by my wife Vikki, and we work to – the most general of our mission statement – is to break the cycle of poverty. And we’re doing that one child at a time working through schools in San Diego, primarily some of the less served communities. We’ve had some really good response, Vikki started a break dancing glass at Paradise Hills Elementary, and they were suffering from big attendance issues. They were ranked very low at 30 or 40% attendance with a lot of truancy. So we started this after-school break dancing class that you cant join if your attendance gets below 90%. And the school now is 80% plus attendance because of this program!”
Peter says now that 30 years has passed, his original loan is paid off so he can just relax and enjoy himself as well as give back to the community. As the interview ended, he noticed a new server and excused himself to go say hi to the new employee and introduce himself. He added that for he and his wife, it’s very important to see that the employees are doing well. That’s how he rolls!
Gary Hoey Endless Summer 30th Anniversary event.
Saturday July 12 at Alesmith Brewery
9990 AleSmith Court in Miramar.
www.Alesmith.com
Check website for surprise events and seasonal beers!
