Colby and Friends Part II
Jeff is joined by Lord Chandler, Chuck Silva, co-founder and brewmaster of Silva Brewing and Pat McIlhenney, part-owner of Mcilhenney Brewing Company in part two of Colby’s three-part anniversary series.
The hop-fathers of brewing look back on how homebrewing brought them together, their careers before brewing became full time, and the San Diego establishments they’ve had the pleasure of working at over the years. They talk about West Cost IPAs (how could a bunch of San Diego brewers not?) and their introduction to brewing hop heavy beers. Later, the three discuss their favorite hops and Colby chats about the 2005 origin of flagship IPA, Sculpin.
Chuck Silva:
Chuck Silva is an American Brewers Guild graduate who has spent 18 years brewing in San Diego (1998-2015) with the last 11 notably at Green Flash Brewing, well known for poignant hoppy beers, Belgian-inspired creations, barrel aged stout, wild ales and many more before moving on to ignite his very own passion project, Silva Brewing. Other breweries included in his San Diego tenure include Hang Ten Brewing Co., Hops! Bistro & Brewery, and Karl Strauss Brewing Co.
Chuck is currently operating Silva Brewing with wife MJ in a small (3,000 sqft) Paso Robles facility with a 10bbl Brewhouse producing less than 1,000 bbls/year.
Beer profiles range from fresh hop infused delights to uniquely wild ales like the latest release “ve va che”, convergent French & Belgian influenced styles, fruited tart brews, new versions of classic styles like Hefeweizen, Kolsch, Altbier, Smoked Porter and Pilsner, plus stouts that are barrel aged to perfection!
Ever inspired, you will discover Chuck’s wine country influenced beers at Silva Brewing such as The Pink Stuff and new release The Bruewt. Not one to be idle on the creative front, Chuck and wife MJ are working on a new passion project, Amok Cellars, a winery operating in the same space as Silva Brewing. More fun creations to follow!
Pat McIlhenney:
Pat McIlhenney created the Alpine beer company in 1999. He’s a multiple World Beer Cup and GABF medal winner and the inventor of awesome beers like Pure Hoppiness, Duet, Nelson, Chez Monieux, Odin's Raven, Great, Exponential Hoppiness, Mandarin Nectar, McIlhenney's Irish Red and HFS.
Pat is currently the part owner of Mcilhenney Brewing Company. He is married to Valerie McIlhenney and is the father of Shawn McIlhenney. He enjoys biking, kayaking, traveling, good music and good beer.