219: For Firestone Walker Cofounder David Walker, Innovation and Collaboration Are in Craft Beer’s DNA

For this final episode of 2021, David Walker of Firestone Walker (https://www.firestonebeer.com) (Paso Robles, California) joins the podcast to talk about the brewery’s remarkable evolution—from the earliest days of making pale ale to getting lucky with 805 (and not screwing it up), and accelerating the innovation process in recent years with hop-forward series such as Luponic Distortion and Mind Haze. Walker shares his thoughts on everything from capital investment to risk management, fostering a culture of creativity and quality, and more. As the brewery continues to grow toward their goal of a million barrels by the end of this decade, they continue to follow concurrent paths that might seem contradictory on the surface, yet they reflect the love, respect, and connection with the idea of craft beer and those fellow brewers who make it. From their small-scale club delivering beers to diehard customers in California to their annual Invitational festival, they continue to sweat the small stuff. Still, scale brings the ability to make bold, values-driven decisions like investing in environmental sustainability, and Walker talks about their moves to reduce water consumption and replace grid power with solar. “American craft brewers brought flavor and innovation and disruption to a monolithic beer industry worldwide, and they changed the world of beer, and they changed the consumer,” Walker says. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): For nearly 30 years, G&D Chillers has set the mark for quality equipment you can rely on. G&D stands above the rest as the only chiller manufacturer that engineers your glycol piping for free. G&D stands alone as the only chiller manufacturer with an in house team of installers and engineers with 30 years of real world, field labor experience in breweries, wineries and distilleries. Contact the total glycol system design experts today at gdchillers.com (https://gdchillers.com). BSG (https://go.bsgcraft.com/) This episode is sponsored by BSG CraftBrewing. Explore a whole universe of hop sensory with unique varieties like Cashmere, Comet, Triumph, El Dorado, and many more. Sourced directly from growers and processed at BSG’s FSSC-certified facility in Yakima to bring you only the very best hops, from farmer to fermenter. For contracting, spot sales, and more info, reach out to them at LetsTalkHops@bsgcraft.com Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): The world of craft beer is a different place now. Margins are more important than ever, so why not lower your ingredient cost? Craft juice concentrates from Old Orchard are the cost-effective solution for your fruit-forward needs. Old Orchard produces high volumes of their retail juice brand, so economies of scale keep prices low for their bulk supply program. A little concentrate goes a long way, and you won't lose some of it through filtering like you would with purees. To start increasing your margins now, head on over to www.oldorchard.com/brewer (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer). ProBrew (https://www.probrew.com): What if you could take your favorite recipe and make a nonalcoholic version without sacrificing the flavor, color or beer quality? N/A? No Problem! The Alchemator from www.probrew.com (https://www.probrew.com) uses proprietary membrane technology to strip the alcohol from the beer without sacrificing all the elements—like flavor and color—that make the beer great! Are you ready to Brew Like A Pro? The Alchemator from ProBrew. NA? No Problem! Email contact@probrew.com for more info. Mountain Rose Herbs (https://mountainroseherbs.com): This episode is brought to you by Mountain Rose Herbs, purveyors of the highest quality, organic herbs, spices, and teas. Whether you want to add depth to your next golden tripel with classic notes of cinnamon, pepper and clove, or artfully layer exotic, zesty grains of paradise into a perfect ale, adding botanicals to your brewing is an easy way to customize a delicious flavor profile. Mountain Rose Herbs has been providing organic herbs and spices to chefs, herbalists, and dedicated brewers for more than three decades. Learn more at mountainroseherbs.com (https://mountainroseherbs.com) and get 10% off of any and all orders with the code “craftbeer10”. Clarion Lubricants (https://www.clarionlubricants.com/Welcome.do): As a brewery owner, you know how important it is to keep your machines running so you don't have to deal with the hassle caused by contamination, recalls and downtime. Clarion makes food-grade lubricants to protect your equipment from the wear and tear that results in breakdowns that cut into your bottom line. Clarion gives you peace of mind so you can focus on what you do best: pouring out great-tasting beverages. Learn more at www.clarionlubricants.com (https://www.clarionlubricants.com/Welcome.do)