Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Meet Fathom Brewing Company

A pair of San Diego homebrewers’ long lead brewing aspirations

Back in the day, the homebrewers I knew had pretty predictable goals: learn how to make beer, make beer, drink beer, repeat as needed. Nowadays, many of the recreational fermentation fanatics I meet are either entertaining the notion of turning their hobby into their vocation or actively pursuing that goal. Local homebrewers Greg Malone and R.J. Ward fall into that last category. A duo with nearly a decade of combined brewing experience, both on their own and as collaborators, Malone and Ward are in the very early stages of making the jump to the pro ranks. When they do, the name of their business will be Fathom Brewing Company.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Ward studied physiology, neuroscience, and biochemistry at UCSD. His scientific background and mindset have helped him to grasp the science of brewing. Meanwhile, Malone brings business and economic experience as well as more University of California education (he’s a graduate of UC Santa Barbara) to the equation. The two have been friends for ten years and have been brewing partners for nearly four. Their shared mission is to produce flavorful, high quality beer. Specifically, they hope to make a name behind “San Diego-style” beers. For them, that means bold beers that are big on hops and dare to stretch traditional style guidelines here and there.

Homebrewers Greg Malone (left) and R.J. Ward

At this point, they’re in a constant state of garage-based brewing as they work to refine a handful of recipes they plan on introducing via Fathom. That set includes a whopping five India pale ales—Cannon, Black Beach, Decepticon, Optimus Primo, and UnFathomable NEWT. Cannon’s named after the Carlsbad beach near Ward’s home and, fittingly, is a model West Coast IPA, while Black Beach is a black IPA. Drawing their names from the Transformers franchise, Decepticon and Optimus Primo are double IPAs brewed with opposing Belgian yeast strains. As for UnFathomable, it’s an imperial IPA developed in collaboration with a Seattle hombrew contingent called NEWT. A British session beer made with strawberries and Belma hops, and a dark Belgian-style strong ale will add variety to the hoppy mix. Several of the beers above were entered in this year's edition of the San Diego County Fair’s annual homebrewing competition.

Content to take things slow, Malone and Ward plan on starting the licensing process for Fathom in late 2013, the shooting for a 2014 debut. They’ll be looking to set up shop in a small space in their hometowns of Carlsbad or North Park, but will also consider being the first brewery to settle in downtown Encinitas. Once open, they hope to install an educational component for homebrewing rookies as well as a service where rec leaguers can rent out brewing equipment. But for now, it’s back to the garage for more “repeat as needed.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Didja know I did the first American feature on Jimi Hendrix?

Richard Meltzer goes through the Germs, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, Elvis, Lavender Hill Mob

Back in the day, the homebrewers I knew had pretty predictable goals: learn how to make beer, make beer, drink beer, repeat as needed. Nowadays, many of the recreational fermentation fanatics I meet are either entertaining the notion of turning their hobby into their vocation or actively pursuing that goal. Local homebrewers Greg Malone and R.J. Ward fall into that last category. A duo with nearly a decade of combined brewing experience, both on their own and as collaborators, Malone and Ward are in the very early stages of making the jump to the pro ranks. When they do, the name of their business will be Fathom Brewing Company.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Ward studied physiology, neuroscience, and biochemistry at UCSD. His scientific background and mindset have helped him to grasp the science of brewing. Meanwhile, Malone brings business and economic experience as well as more University of California education (he’s a graduate of UC Santa Barbara) to the equation. The two have been friends for ten years and have been brewing partners for nearly four. Their shared mission is to produce flavorful, high quality beer. Specifically, they hope to make a name behind “San Diego-style” beers. For them, that means bold beers that are big on hops and dare to stretch traditional style guidelines here and there.

Homebrewers Greg Malone (left) and R.J. Ward

At this point, they’re in a constant state of garage-based brewing as they work to refine a handful of recipes they plan on introducing via Fathom. That set includes a whopping five India pale ales—Cannon, Black Beach, Decepticon, Optimus Primo, and UnFathomable NEWT. Cannon’s named after the Carlsbad beach near Ward’s home and, fittingly, is a model West Coast IPA, while Black Beach is a black IPA. Drawing their names from the Transformers franchise, Decepticon and Optimus Primo are double IPAs brewed with opposing Belgian yeast strains. As for UnFathomable, it’s an imperial IPA developed in collaboration with a Seattle hombrew contingent called NEWT. A British session beer made with strawberries and Belma hops, and a dark Belgian-style strong ale will add variety to the hoppy mix. Several of the beers above were entered in this year's edition of the San Diego County Fair’s annual homebrewing competition.

Content to take things slow, Malone and Ward plan on starting the licensing process for Fathom in late 2013, the shooting for a 2014 debut. They’ll be looking to set up shop in a small space in their hometowns of Carlsbad or North Park, but will also consider being the first brewery to settle in downtown Encinitas. Once open, they hope to install an educational component for homebrewing rookies as well as a service where rec leaguers can rent out brewing equipment. But for now, it’s back to the garage for more “repeat as needed.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Next Article

Summit Fellowship wants to be a home of belonging

Unitarian Universalism allows you to be exactly who you are in the moment
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.