![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Though I’m a hop head myself (look for our Double IPA coming soon!), our sessionable spiced IPA with clove and ginger is a nice change. Our spiced IPA, Bio Beer, which won a Silver Medal, does very well also, though if some are expecting a super hoppy, bitter and floral West Coast IPA, it is not. It won a Gold Medal at the Los Angeles International Beer Festival this year. We brew it similar to the Früh style of Kölsch. It is not a traditional dry Kölsch in that it is mildly sweeter and has a hint of grapefruit in the finish. TC: Beer Belly, our American Kölsch, is our main seller as it is a lighter beer that appeals to a broader consumer base. SI: Which of the three beers is selling the best so far? Besides, more and more folks are brewing with interesting ingredients, like juniper berries, basil, sage, habanero, peanut butter, Acai, many thanks to Dogfish Head Brewery for leading the way. So when some say we are not traditional because we are brewing with “adjuncts,” in fact, we are. Ironically, what we are doing is as traditional as it gets, meaning even before the German Purity Law of 1516 (Reinheitsgebot) which states only hops, water, malt and yeast can be in beer, the Egyptians were putting all kinds of botanicals in their wine and beer, many for medicinal purposes. ![]() We feel we are offering great tasting, high quality, superior products in every sense of the word. Many consumers do scrutinize what’s in their food and drink, and they should, and they look for ingredients that are good for them to include products being organic and non GMO. It’s all out there in the public domain… on the web, in books, magazines, etc. The superfoods we brew with are widely known to have certain benefits, just as hops are known to be medicinal and promote a strong immune system and the silicon in beer supports good bone density. Most consumers realize there are benefits to many of the foods they eat and drink. TC: We virtually had no issue with the labels as we are not making health claims. Were they any issues with making health claims? SI: The TTB is notoriously picky about labels. So we teamed up with a biotechnology food and beverage company to develop a proprietary brewing process using their patented nanoencapsulation technology which allows us to brew with ingredients that do not mix in water or alcohol. We quickly found out that no matter how aggressively you stirred flaxseed oil into beer, or any essential oil for that matter, it would not mix and just float to the surface, and it tasted terrible. TC: A lot, from initially buying 10-20 growlers at a time from BJ’s and adding everything you could imagine to include ginkgo biloba, green tea, acai juice, marigold oil, turmeric, ginseng, garlic, just to name a few, to then brewing countless batches of beers each with a different line up of super foods. SI: How much trial and error was involved? and I took up where I left off, and started brewing out of my garage. He’s a traditionalist, but thought the idea was intriguing, so he came on board as our brewer. Ray’s a master brewer who has 15 international and domestic awards under his belt. After some marginal but promising results, I presented the idea to my friend and brewing mentor Ray McNeill of McNeill’s Brewery in Brattleboro, Vermont. My wife thought I was nuts and didn’t appreciate the constant mess in the kitchen. Out of the blue, he looked over and said, “You know, everyone drinks beer, what if you could get an added benefit from it, like Vitamin Water?” I said, “Great idea, as long as it tasted good!” Years later when I moved back east for a bit, I started dabbling with the idea, literally being the mad scientist like Dr. He was an all-natural body builder, nutrition buff and scientist working at Glaxo SmithKlein at the time. TC: I’ve been brewing for 25 years, but the basic idea of brewing with superfoods came from my High School best friend one day while we were drinking beer by the pool on the west side of L.A. SI: Were superfoods always part of the brewing equation? Jekyll’s as what we are doing is creating unique beers by adding exotic superfood ingredients in such a way where they complement each other in synergistic ways, in aroma and flavor, and by adding overall wellness benefits. Jekyll is a mad scientist who creates potions and elixirs in his laboratory, one of which transforms him into Mr. How did the name and brand come about and will there be a Mr. Jekyll conveys gothic horror and not superfoods. Jekyll’s Founder and CEO Tom Costa some questions to find out a little more about this new beer brand. If you look closer, you would notice that this Altadena based brewery is doing something a little different. You may have seen the dapper gentleman with the monocle on beer bottles when you have been doing your beer shopping. ![]()
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