Mike Maass Co-founder It’s 5:00 AM on a Saturday. Why on earth did I agree to this? I struggle out of bed, grab a cup of coffee, and load up my truck with banners, stickers, flyers, bungee cords, and zip ties. Load-in time for the East County Craft Beer Invitational is 6:00 AM, and I want to be sure to snag some good fence real estate for our...
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Mike Maass Co-founder This time last week we were biting our nails, hoping we’d pass final inspection, receive our Certificate of Occupancy, and finally open the Beard. Well, as you now know, everything came together and we were able to open our doors at 3:00 PM on Leap Day, 2016. The week that followed was a whirlwind of friends, family, new and returning customers, and a whole lotta’...
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Burning Beard keeps El Cajon on tap Can't you smell that smell? San Diego Reader, March 4, 2016 By Ian Anderson El Cajon's brewing scene came back to life on February 29, the soft-opening date for Burning Beard Brewing Company. Founded by a pair of homebrewing friends, Burning Beard debuted — as many new breweries do — with a short list of beers. However, a professionally finished tasting room...
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Sip & Savor in East County: Burning Beard Brewing Company By Keri Bridgwater, Mar 4, 2016 Mike Maass and business partner Jeff Wiederkehr recently opened their new El Cajon brewhouse, where the (surprisingly beardless) brewers are currently pouring six debut beers. On tap are two hoppy West Coast IPAs; a coffee stout and coffee stout on nitro; plus Russian Imperial Stout and Russian Imperial Stout on nitro. They...
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120 Breweries in San Diego By Ryan Lamb, Mar 1, 2016 Within the last two weeks, three brewing companies commenced pouring in San Diego County, bringing the active brewhouse count to 120. For some perspective, just 27 local breweries were in operation at the end of 2009. Burning Beard Brewing held their soft opening yesterday in El Cajon. With the cessation of nearby URBN St’s brewing operations, they...
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Jeff Wiederkehr Co-founder Dear Customer: I have become obsessed with our juke box. It has become a living entity for me and I speak of her in a manner that illuminates my psychosis. There are layers to this obsession and they run deep. I want her for myself, but also for the Beard, but most of all (showing the true depths of my depravity), I want her for you. Mike...
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Chris Brown Head of Brewing Operations Oh day of days, Wood is something I’m familiar with; I spent most of my early days as a carpenter. It’s a versatile material, it’s strong, lightweight for its size, and has an unparalleled beauty. We feel drawn to the warm rich tones and swimming patterns contained in the wood grain. It was a natural (pun intended) decision to use wood as...
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Tough times for beer in El Cajon URBN St. closure leaves city beerless till the spring San Diego Reader, Feb 4, 2016 By Ian Anderson For a moment there, the El Cajon was on the verge of having three breweries. But last week, incoming Knox Corners Brewing announced via Facebook it had ended its efforts to open in El Cajon, instead securing a property in nearby Lakeside. Then news...
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Chris Brown Brewer There was a chill in the air, this bright January morning. Like any winter morning should be, however unaccustomed we are to them in these temperate climes. I should’ve brought a hoodie, the inside of this steel building must be like a refrigerator… Never mind that now though, plenty of work to be done to warm one up. We set about to counting out bags...
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Q&A: Jeff Wiederkehr West Coaster, Jan 12, 2016 By Brandon Hernández Last year, we introduced readers to Burning Beard Brewing Company, a start-up scheduled to spring up like fire from the follicles of El Cajon. Since then, a great deal of progress has been made. If all goes well, BBBC will open its doors before spring springs. This time around, we’re getting to know one of the business’...
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