The Stone Blog

Life on the keg line ain’t easy. Every shift is an eight-hour marathon of non-stop keg-filling, but Steve Via makes it look like a breeze. Steve recently shattered the record for amount of kegs filled in one eight-hour shift, filling a whopping 304 full-sized kegs—and all while the rest of the world was sleeping (he works the overnight shift).

The previous record was 282 kegs (nothing to scoff at!), held by Brandon Uhl who now works as an Assistant Brewer. Apparently Steve had a hunch that he was going to make Stone history. Before his shift he told Brandon, “Dude, I’m gonna break your record today.” Steve may have eaten his Wheaties and anticipated a stellar performance, but I doubt he expected to surpass the previous record by a staggering 22 kegs.

Steve Via, keg-filling machine

Steve is a keg-filling machine. Cheers to him for a job well done. Of course, kegging isn’t a completely solo affair; Steve had a bit of help from his compatriots. At the beginning and end of every shift, guys on the keg line clean up from the previous shift and set-up for the following shift. In Steve’s case, Rob Curnutt set up the equipment for Steve before his shift, and Erick Szaras cleaned up after Steve’s shift. That’s why it’s called “Team” Stone.

Steve has set the bar incredibly high, but we have no doubt that our fantastic keg line can rise to the challenge. Keep up the good work guys!

-Matt Steele

Sometimes you just get lucky. Maybe you take a chance on an obscure beer and happen to discover your new favorite. Or perhaps you stumble across a poor orphaned $20 dollar bill and decide to give it a home (after an exhaustive search for it’s owner, of course). Recently, our luck came in the form of Dr. Bill. If you don’t know who Dr. Bill is, then you haven’t been going to the right parties.

Bill Sysak, or “Dr. Bill,” as he’s known in the inner circle of craft-beerdom, is a master of zymurgical knowledge (made famous in part by his lavish beer tasting parties) and general beer wizardry.

We’re pleased to announce that he’s our new Beverage Coordinator of Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens.

Our new Beverage Coordinator, "Dr." Bill Sysak

Right now you’re either going, “Oh my god! Dr. Bill is working at Stone?!?” or you’re asking yourself, “OK, so who the hell is this Dr. Bill guy and what is he a doctor of?” If your response is the latter, let me bring you up to speed.

This is Dr. Bill’s first professional foray into the beer industry, but he has long been a bit of a beer celebrity in the craft and specialty beer scene. Thanks to some well-guided mentoring from his father, Dr. Bill was exposed to great beer earlier than most. Every other Friday, Bill and his father would sample a dozen new beers, educating Bill about the variety of styles and complex flavor profiles available in the world of great beer (most of us aren’t so lucky, and have to endure years of misguided beer drinking before realizing the errors of our ways!).

Though Dr. Bill was ahead of the curve on great beer, he didn’t earn his nickname through his near doctorate level of real-life beer scholarship. He earned it as a combat medic in the military, constantly responding to calls of “Hey Doc!” from fellow soldiers. Somehow the moniker stuck and Bill remained Dr. Bill long after he left the military to pursue a career in the medical field. So ingrained was his nickname that even actual Doctors referred to him as “Dr. Bill.”

Dr. Bill enjoying a choice libation in his personal cellar

Bill’s passion for beer continued to grow throughout his 25 years in the medical field, inspiring him to travel the world and visit over 500 breweries (he always respectfully declines the brewery tours after seeing his share of mash tuns). During one decidedly prolific three-year stint in Germany, Dr. Bill visited Belgium 30 times and stepped foot in roughly 300 breweries.

After his time in Europe, Bill moved to Seattle to immerse himself in the beer scene. He then moved back to his birthplace, Orange County California, where he spent the last eighteen years amassing one of the most extensive personal cellars in the world. Currently, Dr. Bill has about 1,000 bottles in his home cellar, but at its peak it contained nearly 2,500 bottles.

Do I spy a Stone 02.02.02 Vertical Epic Ale?

Throughout his tenure as a beer connoisseur, Bill has displayed a true talent for tracking down the rarest, tastiest beers from around the world. During his travels he garnered an impressive roster of connections in the beer industry, aiding him greatly in the acquisition of rare beer and augmentation of his cellar. However, Bill’s deep roots in the industry and awe-inspiring cellar aren’t the only things he’s known for. His numerous extravagant beer-tasting events are nothing short of legendary.

For a span of ten years, Dr. Bill hosted the “most extreme” private beer festival in the world. Along with a sizable gathering of SoCal beers, Bill and fellow beer enthusiasts would taste beers stretching from New York, England, Belgium, Washington and beyond. The largest festival Bill ever hosted featured 162 beers in two columns. One column consisted of all the rarest Belgian beers in the world, and the other had beers over 8%–but these weren’t just any beers. They had to meet a certain standard to make the cut. (see below)

Page 1 (of 2) of the decadent beer list of Dr. Bill's 10th & Final Festival, complete with serving times...wow.

After a while the festivals evolved into Dr. Bill’s birthday bash, and reached crazy levels of beer consumption. It was commonplace to go through 150 cases, which amounted to many thousands of dollars of beer. As if that wasn’t enough, Bill used to provide up to twenty additional kegs courtesy of his brewery friends to quench the thirst of the patrons during the nine minutes between pours. Some of the kegs provided were Cuvee de Tomme, Fred from the Wood, and dry-hopped Stone 10th Anniversary IPA.

The festivals became such a monstrous undertaking that Bill eventually enlisted the help of his good friend Steve “Steiny” Steinberg to co-host the 7th through 10th festivals, and the 6th through 8th were actually held at Steve’s house.

Dr. Bill and his festivals grew to an astonishing level of prominence. According to Dr. Bill, they used to say that Dr. Bill’s house was one of the top three beer destinations in Orange County.

Dr. Bill's 10th and Final Beer Festival

Despite Bill’s decadent past, the self-appointed “Grandfather of Beer Geeks,” knows he has his work cut out for him here at Stone. The bar has been raised pretty high by our previous Beverage Coordinator, Peter Reeves. Peter put on an incredible Stone Sour Fest last year, and Dr. Bill admits that it won’t be easy to top him–but he’s up for the challenge:

“I love a challenge. I’ve always been able to accomplish whatever I set my mind to. We have a very nice, eclectic beer list, but I think we’re going to make an even more eclectic beer list. I’m going to try to push the limits as much as I can, yet keep a wide range of beers for every palate and every person.”

With events like Stone Sour Fest and San Diego Storm (more info coming soon) coming up, Bill will have plenty of opportunity to showcase his talent:

“I would love to be able to have the best Sour Fest ever. I’m going to be spending the time up to Sour Fest looking for the most rare sour beers I can possibly get, so it should be even better than before—if that’s even possible.”

Beer has been Dr. Bill’s passion for years, and he’s finally “bringing it to fruition by actually getting into the industry.” So what took him so long?

“I’ve wanted to do it for a long time and it just so happened after 25 years in the medical field everything fell into place that I had the opportunity to take some time and look for something. I’ve known Greg and Steve since Stone’s First Anniversary Celebration and I know how they run things. I know there’s only one way, and that’s the right way. So I put in an application, started talking to everybody and here I am.”

We’re confident that Dr. Bill will be a fine addition to Team Stone, and we can’t wait to try all of the fantastic beers he’ll get his hands on. Bill is also committed to communicating with the public on what he’s getting on tap, so watch out for his Bistro “Beer Lineup” email newsletter. And just for the record—the doctor is in.

Get your Dr. Bill Trading Card Today!

-Matt Steele

Check out our Dr. Bill flickr set for more peeks at his incredible personal cellar and general beer craziness

Check out our Third Annual Stone Sour Fest on July 19th, where Bill will be showcasing his talent

If you’ve been to Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, you’ve probably noticed that we have an entire acre of completely organic, fully sustainable Gardens attached to the Bistro. Some refer to them as our “Beer Gardens,” not knowing just how accurate that label really is. Truth is, we maintain our Gardens using by-products from the brewing process, resulting in real honest to goodness “Beer Gardens.”

Maintaining such a large expanse of Gardens is no easy task. So how do we do it? Meet Chili, Stone’s resident botanical wizard, and the keeper of our beautiful Gardens (he earned his nickname because he grows chilies and likes his food HOT). By reusing by-products from our Brewery and Bistro, and utilizing a few clever gardening techniques, Chili maintains our Gardens using nothing but what Mother Nature provides.

The man behind our Gardens

I recently caught up with Chili in his natural environment, which he lovingly refers to as his “cage.” While it’s true it isn’t exactly a window office, his “cage” is actually a fenced-off, covered storage area wedged between the Gardens and the Bistro kitchen where he keeps his desk and all of his gardening tools. Despite the jokes, Chili is quite fond of his decidedly unconventional office, and I get the sense that he prefers it to a view of Fifth Avenue. Actually, the real reason we keep Chili in a cage is to contain his unbridled passion for gardening (I apologize for that one, I couldn’t resist).

Chili hard at work in his "cage"

I stopped by just as Chili was preparing to plant a few early yield tomatoes, and he was kind enough to share some of his secrets with me. He explained that the most important step in maintaining a healthy perma-culture is mixing the proper soil. He then divulged his secret recipe:

Chili’s proprietary (patent pending) soil blend works wonders in our Gardens, contributing to a fruitful year-round harvest. We’ve also noticed it makes the food taste better, due to the proliferation of essential micro-nutrients that petrochemical fertilized foods lack.

When I asked Chili why he uses spent grain from the brewery in his soil recipe instead of another fertilizer, he responded with a straight-faced “because it’s there.” I promptly reminded him that gardening is no laughing matter, and he gave me the real reason. Apparently the spent grain flourishes in the soil, creating an abundance of microbial activity and general liveliness. Chili also emphasized that it’s time proven. He’s been using spent grain since his days as a gardener at Pizza Port, and it’s worked wonders time and again.

Chili gathering spent grain from the Brewery

Spent grain isn’t the only brewing by-product that Chili recycles. He also snatches up the used oak chips that we use to brew OAKED Arrogant Bastard Ale. These lovely, odoriferous chips not only have a beautiful deep silky brown color, but they retain their alluring bourbony smell for about a week. Chili puts them to use as a decorative top layer, propagating the pleasing smell and thick brown sheen of OAKED Arrogant Bastard Ale throughout our Gardens. Their purpose isn’t solely decorative, however, as their acidity helps neutralize the alkaline properties of the decomposed granite that makes up our natural topsoil.

The fragrant Oak chips used to brew OAKED Arrogant Bastard Ale

Our Gardens are proof that sustainable gardening works. Aside from the occasional use of manure, Chili procures everything he needs for the Gardens here at the Brewery. He takes what would normally be discarded and sent to a landfill and re-uses it to create a vibrant, flourishing perma-culture. So the next time you see Chili sipping on an after shift beer or tending to the Gardens, be sure to raise him a glass on a job well done.

If you want to learn more about our Gardens, the plants therein, and lessons that could translate to your own garden, join us for “A Stroll Through the Gardens with Nan Sterman” on March 15th from 1-3pm. Nan is a popular speaker at garden shows, botanical gardens, garden clubs, and botanical societies throughout the State, and she’ll provide insight into how we “created an imaginative garden from an ugly, hole-in-the-ground sedimentation basin.”

-Matt Steele

Check out the flickr set: Gardening Stone-style with Chili

Click for more information about this upcoming event

It’s been a full forty days since New Years, and you’re still adhering to your New Year’s Resolution with ironclad resolve. Nothing can get in your way as you charge headlong toward a healthier, more productive lifestyle. Right?

We’re realistic here at Stone. We know it’s not easy to stand by the fleeting promises we make to ourselves every year amid the clinking of celebratory beers and the invigorating prospect of a clean slate. While it may not be smart to make life-altering resolutions while adorned head-to-toe in confetti, dodging cheap fireworks and worshiping giant disco balls, the overall premise remains valid. We do believe in taking steps to improve ourselves and our communities, even though the odds are stacked against us. That’s why we started New Beers Revolution.

We thought you might enjoy knowing what we're doing here at Stone with ourselves and our coworkers.

This TEAM STONE ONLY competition is our way of inspiring self-improvement and community service while providing a solid support system to ensure we stick it out. New Beers Revolution encourages Team Stone participants to improve their bodies, minds, and communities for a period of three months. Contestants are given the option to compete as a team, and prizes are awarded to the winners thanks to the generosity of our co-founders Greg Koch and Steve Wagner.

Speaking of Greg, he is the creative mastermind behind New Beers Revolution. Greg not only wanted to address the growing epidemic of broken New Years Resolutions, but he also wanted to dispel the popular myth that there exists such a thing as a “beer belly.” Armed with information from the American Medical Association (and common sense), Greg proved that there is no such thing as a “beer belly,” but rather a “lifestyle belly.” New Beers Revolution provides all the enthusiastic beer drinkers here at Stone another opportunity to prove to the world that enjoying craft beer can be part of a healthy lifestyle.

Here are just some of the goals that Team Stone members have set for themselves:

Physical Goals:
-    “Lose 40 pounds” (nearly everyone wants to lose weight)
-    “Train for and complete a marathon”
-    “Not just lose weight, but learn to live healthier”
-    “Drink more water”
-    “Run laps around Stone on my breaks”

Intellectual Goals:
-    “Write over 50,000 total words (blogs and novel projects)”
-    “Take and study Yoga to balance my mind, body, and spirit”
-    “Start my own blog and stick to it”
-    “Make the move to all-grain homebrewing”
-    “Read a minimum of one book per month”

Community Goals:
-    “Volunteer to read to people, probably at a retirement home”
-    “Work with a local elementary school to teach more about ‘green’ practices”
-    “Volunteer and assist with the Youth Group at my local church”
-    “Donate clothing, books, and other items laying around my house to charity”
-    “Buy only local produce and items from my local Farmer’s Market”

Fun quotes:
“Fit into my skinny jeans!”
“STOP smoking!!”
“Teach myself to juggle and learn Caligraphy.”
“Look more like Cary Grant (when he was 40, not 80).”
“No sugary cereal, no donuts!”
“Give Blood”
“Lose the ‘lifestyle belly’”
“Use my reusable Stone Chico bag!”
“No more energy drinks!”
“I’m going to give free golf lessons”
“Rally for cyclists rights!”

We’re very proud of all 42 Team Stone participants, and we wish them the best of luck. We also encourage our fans to join us in striving for positive change. Just because you’re not part of Team Stone doesn’t mean you can’t make a difference. New Beers Revolution isn’t about the prizes or the thrill of competition, it’s about lighting the fire under people and setting them on a life-long course of self-betterment and civil responsibility.

Good luck to all!

-Matt Steele

Learn more about our New Beers Revolution Competition