Our Company
Ingredients
Relationships
Ingredients
We believe in the old adage “you are what you eat”. Beer is food, so it is imperative that we only source the highest quality, most wholesome ingredients, using organic whenever possible. We will not use artificial flavors, extracts or any other heavily processed foods, animal-based products, or GMO. Nor will we use any ingredient that has a name we cannot pronounce. You can rest assured that we did our due diligence vetting each ingredient. Sit back, relax, and sip with confidence!
Environment
Relationships
Ingredients
All actions within the brewery and tasting room will prioritize our impact on the environment. Initial focus will be on minimizing our carbon footprint and will branch out as we explore new ideas and technologies. Our goal is to be one of the industry leaders in sustainable breweries.
Relationships
Relationships
Relationships
We enjoy good beer with good company. It’s these moments with family and friends that enrich our lives. We look forward to integrating ourselves into downtown San Diego, developing strong relationships and assisting in the continued growth of the East Village neighborhood and downtown San Diego. It’s through these strong connections with the community that we will find opportunities to give back. Similarly, we look forward to inspiring, and being inspired, by the brewing community which we love.
About The Owners
Aaron Justus
Aaron Justus was born and raised in Kansas City. He attended the University of Kansas and received a BS in Atmospheric Science. During college, Aaron enjoyed early craft beer pioneers like Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, and his hometown favorites Boulevard and Freestate. After graduation, Aaron worked in television for nearly thirteen years as a meteorologist.
During this time, he was an avid homebrewer and eventually decided to change careers. He packed his bags and moved to San Diego to pursue a career in brewing. Aaron started at Ballast Point in the summer of 2011. Aaron has worn many hats at Ballast Point. He started as a keg washer and eventually finished as the brewmaster.
Aaron is a graduate of the American Brewers Guild and has passed the internationally recognized IBD Diploma in Brewing (Module 1 and 2). He is an active member of the Master Brewers Association and has given numerous talks at national conventions and podcasts. In addition, Aaron's research on beer bitterness was published in the brewing journal Technical Quarterly and was awarded best article in 2018. He also taught the Raw Materials course for the UCSD Brewing Certificate program for ten semesters. Aaron enjoys beer judging and has been fortunate to judge at the Great American Beer Festival for the last two years.
Brandon Green
Brandon Green was born and raised in the Central Valley of California. Throughout high school, he visited his friend in San Diego every summer and quickly fell in love with the city. When it came time to apply to colleges, there was just one (literally) that he applied to - SDSU. After graduating with a degree in Business Finance, Brandon stayed in San Diego, however a fateful trip to visit his sister in Chico led to a tour of Sierra Nevada and a light bulb moment – the brewing industry was his calling.
He started at Ballast Point in early 2012, working part-time on the bottling line. He quickly climbed his way through the ranks, to Filter Tech, Brewer, first Cellar Manager in Ballast Point history, Brewing Manager, Director of Brewing, and Head Brewer.
At its peak, Brandon supervised all brewing and cellar operations at the two main production facilities in California and Virginia, directly managing up to 30 employees. Managing breweries on opposite ends of the country required extensive time working with the Lab Team and getting sensory calibrated to ensure beer consistency and flavor matching. He has been intimately involved with multiple brewery build outs, vast production expansion, as well as six harvest seasons in Yakima, WA hand-selecting hops used in all Ballast Point beers. Throughout all of this, Brandon has become knowledgeable and very passionate about brewery processes. He believes that great beer starts with simple brewing fundamentals, an eye for detail, almost-obsessive cleaning practices and consistent execution of process.