{"id":244492,"date":"2011-08-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-08-19T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/hoptown-girl-the-new-old-kid-on-the-block\/"},"modified":"2011-08-19T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-08-19T07:00:00","slug":"hoptown-girl-the-new-old-kid-on-the-block","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/hoptown-girl-the-new-old-kid-on-the-block\/","title":{"rendered":"Hoptown Girl: The new (old) kid on the block"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hoptown<\/a>
Delicious craftsmanship by Butcher\u2019s Brewing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Lauren Duffy Lastowka |<\/strong> Columnista SDUN<\/p>\n

Rey Knight is an artisan at heart. In fact, you might recognize his name from one of the most artistic lines of food products to emerge in San Diego in recent years: Knight Salumi. What you may not know is that, for the past three years, the multi-talented craftsman has been hatching a plan to open a craft brewery, and that, as of May this year, that plan finally came to fruition.<\/p>\n

Rey is uniquely qualified to move into the craft beer business. He\u2019s been homebrewing for ages, during which time his homebrew setup has evolved to an impressive 30-gallon system (most homebrewers brew 5- or 10-gallon batches). He has more than 100 original recipes, which he has refined over the years, many of which will become the brewery\u2019s standard and specialty releases.<\/p>\n

Rey credits his jump from home to professional-scale brewing to a little experiment he did a few years ago: He injected Brettanomyces, a yeast beloved by daring brewers for its ability to sour beers, into a salami he was preparing to cure, just to see what would happen. \u201cIf I didn\u2019t inject Brett into salami, I wouldn\u2019t be here today,\u201d says Rey. (For the record, the salami exploded).<\/p>\n

Butcher\u2019s Brewing, the name of Rey\u2019s new craft brewery, is a nod to Rey\u2019s background in charcuterie, and indeed the original plan for the brewery was to create a line of beers that would be well-suited to pairing with cured meats. Unfortunately, things didn\u2019t go quite according to the original plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all started with a floor drain,\u201d Rey says with a sigh, as he relays the series of events that led to his successful salumi business being swept out from underneath him earlier this year. It\u2019s a bizarre tale of bureaucracy and red tape. An on-site USDA agent who oversaw the safety of Rey\u2019s production identified the floor drain in Knight\u2019s Kearny Mesa production facility as having \u201ctoo steep\u201d a slope, Rey said. The USDA wanted Rey to shut down production to bring the drain up to standards. Rey complied, but so as to be able to fulfill orders and not lose business, he sought out a surrogate production facility he could work out of in the meantime. Rey flew out to the St. Louis facility, made 8,000 pounds of sausage, flew back to fix the drain while the salumi cured, then returned to St. Lewis to package and ship his product.<\/p>\n

It was upon returning that he learned a signature was missing from a form that had been filed in his absence. \u201cIt was a minor clerical error,\u201d says Rey. The error was major enough to the USDA, though, for it to put his 8,000 pounds of product under hold. Despite Rey\u2019s ability to prove the product fit for human consumption (by an expert witness in an ensuing legal battle), the USDA eventually destroyed all 8,000 pounds. Rey watched as the fruits of his craftsmanship went up in flames. The destroyed salumi, coupled with the legal fees he faced, forced Rey to shutter the company.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a sad story that is sadder still if you were lucky enough to enjoy the quality and craftsmanship of a Knight Salumi product. This was no ordinary cured meat\u2014it was meat cured by someone passionate about flavor, texture and consistency. It was made by someone who wanted every bite to resonate with flavor. It was one of the best local products in San Diego.<\/p>\n

Rey\u2019s passion and commitment to quality is the reason I am so excited Rey has finally made his foray into the craft beer world. A fermentationist at heart, Rey is simply switching gears, using yeast instead of bacteria, liquids instead of solids.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really focused on the beer right now,\u201d Rey says of his shift from pork and beef to barley and hops. That focus, at least for the time being, takes him to Irvine at least weekly, where he is brewing on borrowed equipment, courtesy of Bayhawk Ales, until he can afford to buy his own. \u201cI\u2019m at the mercy of their schedule,\u201d Rey says of the arrangement. Currently, he\u2019s been pulling all-nighters to brew batches, starting at 10 p.m. and finishing around 8 a.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a trial,\u201d Rey says of his first few months of operation. Yet surprisingly, it\u2019s neither the commute nor the hours that bother him. To Rey, the challenges lie within the craft\u2014tweaking recipes, sourcing ingredients, adapting a batch to a much larger scale than he is used to. For example, he\u2019s found that ingredients that are readily available to homebrewers\u2014such as strains of hops like the increasingly popular Nelson\u2014are not as easy to acquire on a professional scale, at least when you\u2019re the new kid on the block. For now, Rey explains, his recipes are \u201cSubject to what I can get and when.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another challenge, albeit one Rey is much more eager to embrace, is learning to brew on a professional scale. He is graduating from a one-barrel system to a 15-barrel system, so there is a lot to learn\u2014and a lot more potential. \u201cThere are so many things that can be played with,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can hop at different times, use ingredients you can\u2019t use at home, like hop oils \u2026 . It\u2019s a lot of fun. There are so many weird things you can do,\u201d says Rey.<\/p>\n

Right now, Rey is focused on adapting his recipes for a large scale. \u201cEverything came out of homebrew\u201d Rey says. He\u2019s been tweaking various versions of the same recipe, modifying aspects like the yeast and the fermentation temperature. \u201cThat\u2019s where the art and the craft come in,\u201d he says of tinkering with each recipe until he is satisfied. So far, Butcher\u2019s Brewing has released two beers, both in what Rey has named his Mucho Aloha line\u2014an accessible, inviting collection of ales that Rey hopes will become the company\u2019s flagship. (The name is a nod to the merging of Southern California and Hawaiian culture). The Mucho Aloha Ale, a \u201cHawaiian-style ale\u201d debuted in late May at Ritual Tavern\u2014a beer-pairing event featuring Kalua pork. The beer is delicate and slightly fruity, a twist on a classic pale ale made with a Belgian yeast.<\/p>\n

Ritual also debuted the Double Shaka Imperial IPA, Rey\u2019s second release, a few weeks ago. It\u2019s a creamy, surprisingly smooth IPA that belies its 10 percent alcohol. Rey envisions the Mucho Aloha line as a mainstream line of craft beers that he can bring to a wide audience, in essence introducing craft beer beyond the craft beer scene. He is working on plans to produce some of these beers in cans, and is teaming with marketing gurus in the surf community, working on distribution throughout California, Hawaii, and more.<\/p>\n

But the Mucho Aloha line isn\u2019t Rey\u2019s only passion. Once he has a few flagship beers under his belt, he hopes to divide his attention by simultaneously focusing on a specialty line of Butcher\u2019s Brewing special releases\u2014what he playfully calls \u201cEnglish, hardcore, manly beers.\u201d He\u2019s planning a nut brown ale brewed with orange blossom honey, an 1800s-style English porter, and a dry stout. He\u2019ll release these in San Diego almost
\nexclusively, likely not bottled and delivered to draft accounts only, some on cask. \u201cI want to do a lot of real ale,\u201d says Rey.<\/p>\n

The specialty Butcher\u2019s Brewing line is the part of the brewery Rey can experiment with\u2014future ideas include aging beer in Cognac barrels, incorporating white truffles into a beer, and fermenting directly in wood barrels (most barrel-aged beers are transferred to wood after fermentation is complete). The beers will have a \u201cfunkiness,\u201d he promises. \u201cThey\u2019ll be eclectic experiments.\u201d<\/p>\n

In time, Rey plans to open a brewing facility in San Diego County\u2014he\u2019s just looking for the right opportunity. He has an ideal set up in mind, which includes an airplane hangar roof, an open-air brewing setup, and a tasting room and retail on site. It sounds like a craft beer brewer\u2019s dream.<\/p>\n

Expect the release of additional Butcher\u2019s Brewing and Mucho Aloha beers to be slow, but solid. \u201cI\u2019m brewing a single batch, selling that batch within 30 days, then brewing another,\u201d says Rey of his current model. Still getting used to the system, he wants to make sure he gets each beer right before moving on to the next one. \u201cIt\u2019s growing slowly,\u201d says Rey.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t see Rey\u2019s beers at your favorite beer bar yet, have patience. He\u2019s currently taking his beers from bar to bar, shop to shop, selling a little at a time. In the neighborhood so far, Butcher\u2019s Brewing beers have been at the Ritual Tavern, Bar Pink, Cowboy Star, Reagle Beagle, and Counterpoint, plus locations at the beaches and in North County. Rey is also distributing in Orange County and Hawaii, and hopes to expand to other areas soon.<\/p>\n

Knowing Rey\u2019s success with salumi, Butcher\u2019s Brewing is certainly a craft brewery to keep an eye on. I know I\u2019m not the only one looking forward to the delicious craftsmanship San Diego has come to know and love from Rey Knight.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lauren Duffy Lastowka | SDUN Columnist Rey Knight is an artisan at heart. In fact, you might recognize his name from one of the most artistic lines of food products to emerge in San Diego in recent years: Knight Salumi. What you may not know is that, for the past three years, the multi-talented […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":244493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Hoptown Girl: The new (old) kid on the block","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-244492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}