UnCapped

In this episode of the UnCapped podcast, host Chris Sands talks with Kelsey McNair and Mac McAlister from North Park Beer Co. in San Diego, California, about the history of the company, California beer and what they have going on these days. Here is an excerpt of their talk.

UnCapped: First question: Do you have to have “Mc” in your last name to work for North Park?

Kelsey McNair: No, just if you want to be in charge.

UnCapped: 100% of the people I’ve talked to from North Park all had a last name that started with “Mc,” so I’m not sure I believe you. So, let’s rewind

NORTH PARK BEER CO.

3038 University Ave., San Diego, California northparkbeerco.com 619-255-2994

Chris Sands

North Park Beer Co.

even further than six years, because you just celebrated your sixth anniversary — congratulations. What were you doing before North Park was even an idea in your head, Kelsey?

McNair: It had been in my head for quite a while before the brewery actually came together. I spent 16 years in the video game industry, prior to taking the jump to entrepreneur mode and opening up the brewery.

UnCapped: As a developer? McAlister: Yeah, I was going to college in Tampa, Florida, and a friend of mine dropped this opportunity on my lap. I used to work for him. He had a hobby shop with a small video game network hooked up to a cable modem. Me and my friends used to play a lot of network games. Just as a hobby, I started dabbling with level editors and video games. He was beta-testing a game that was being developed in San Diego, and he applied for a customer service manager position and got offered the job. He approached me and several of my friends and said, “Hey, if you guys want to come work in the customer service department of a video game studio, I don’t know anyone in San Diego and I’m moving out there — and if you show some initiative, maybe you’ll get into the development side.” … So, I went 3,000 miles and started at the bottom but slowly but surely worked my way into development. I moved through the ranks and finished out the career as an art director.

It was just a many hours as I work now … but I enjoy [what I do now] so much more. Rarely was I writing my own script or controlling the path I was on in that career. This is a much more rewarding place to be.

UnCapped: I think you are the first former game developer I’ve interviewed. It’s very common for brewers to have worked in finance or, in Maryland and Virginia, to have worked in IT or some sort of government job. How did you get into craft beer?

McAlister: I moved out to San Diego in ’99. There weren’t a ton of breweries in San Diego at that point, but before I moved out, before I was of age, when people were grabbing the Ice House and Coors Light or whatever, I was always into food and always made sure we were getting something new. That didn’t mean it was great beer; I just liked to taste new stuff. Over time, I gravitated toward things like Bass, Guinness, Newcastle — things like that that weren’t hard to get but certainly had more flavor.

Then, after I turned 21 in San Diego, I’m browsing the beer selection at the grocery store and see the Stone Arrogant Bastard bottle. You know, it’s got this whole thing on the back that’s just mocking you — “You’re not worthy of this beer” — and I’m like, this is silly. It was a small investment, so I bought that. Then I saw a beer a little down the aisle, which was an Old Rasputin Imperial Stout from Lost Coast. Here I was drinking Guinness on the regular when I see this beer that’s almost 10% alcohol, and I’m like, what the … just seemed like something I had to give a try. Those were the first two craft beers that ended up in my fridge. I opened the Arrogant Bastard and was like, oh, crap: This is bitter, it’s got a ton of flavor. By today’s standards, it’s just a strong amber ale.

UnCapped: It’s a malt bomb now.

McAlister: For sure. But back then, it was like, holy cow. I was just blown away. Next thing you know, I wanted to try every style I could find. It was a deep dive from there. I discovered the local beer community, and there was some really great beer bars in San Diego back in those days. Not many. I quickly realized I was definitely an IPA guy.

UnCapped: Is that the influence of why you guys seem to be very IPA heavy, West Coast IPAs, and focusing on that?

McAlister: Yes. When I decided I wanted to make beer at home, I’d casually dropped that to my girlfriend at the time, who’s now my wife. Like, “I like to cook. Maybe making beer would be fun.” I didn’t think anything more of it for a bit. It turned out that my wife saw [a Mr. Beer kit] and was like, “I should get one of those for Kelsey. I think she got it from Bed Bath & Beyond or something. I opened it up for Christmas and broke that thing out after the holidays and made one beer and was just kind of hooked on the magic of the fermentation aspect. The beer I made was certainly crap, but it was totally drinkable. The first thing I did was: Alright, I’m gonna go to a home-brew shop and ask a million questions.

This excerpt has been edited for space and clarity. Listen to the full podcast at fnppodcasts.com/uncapped. Got UnCapped news? Email csands@ newspost.com.

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