A college job with an uncertain future turned out to be ideal for Noah Regnery and for Port Brewing. He was working his way through UC San Diego and had the opportunity to work with renowned brewers Jeff Bagby and Tomme Arthur. Their influence helped to inspire bigger beer-related dreams for Regnery, who stayed on with the Port family after graduation. He worked as Bagby’s assistant in Carlsbad before landing the head brewer position in San Clemente. The promotion yielded even more payoff last year, when Regnery and Pizza Port San Clemente earned Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year honors at the Great American Beer Festival. We recently touched base via e-mail, where Regnery further explained his background and approach.
How did the Pizza Port opportunity come about?
It was really a matter of right place, right time. I was making pizzas at the Solana Beach location while I was attending UCSD, and during my senior year, with no real post-college plan, the brewery needed someone to deliver kegs and I took the job. As luck would have it, this was around the same time that Tomme was leaving Solana to start up Port Brewing/Lost Abbey, and Jeff Bagby had just recently returned to the company. With all the shake-ups it wasn’t long before Bagby needed an assistant in Carlsbad and I was the man for the job. After a year as Jeff’s whipping boy, the brewer up in San Clemente left, and again right place/right time, I got my chance to run a brewpub and ran with it.
What’s your first beer memory?
That’s a tough one… I guess that would be eighth grade-ish. My dad and I went to Germany to visit my sister who was living there at the time, and after landing in Munich we went directly to the Hofbrau House. I didn’t have much more than a few sips, but what left an impression was the way beer was celebrated. It wasn’t just a bunch of dudes killing cases and doing keg stands. There was tradition. It wasn’t just getting drunk, it was part of life.
What was the first beer you homebrewed, and how did it turn out?
Funny thing about my brewing experience… I’ve never homebrewed. I’ve watched people homebrew, helped them develop recipes, and offered general brewing advice, but the smallest batch of beer I’ve ever made myself was 7 barrels in Solana Beach.
What’s the most recent beer that you brewed, and what was your approach with it?
The beer I just made today was the Carlsbad Chronic, it’s one of our standard brews that has been a mainstay for years, and thus not much fun to discuss, as all I really tried to do was keep it the same as always… However, last week I made my Feeding Frenzy Imperial Red Ale for only the second time ever. The first batch was really good, but in my opinion turned out as more of a red double IPA- Big hop character that overpowered the caramel malt backbone. So this time around I scaled back the hop schedule, used a few lower alpha varieties, and upped the alcohol a bit to give the beer a little more balance and let the delicious crystal malt shine a little more… But it’s still nice and hoppy!
Would you say that you have any brewing mentors? If so, who, and what did they teach you?
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