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Meet the Man Responsible for Light Beer's Craft Comeback
Manage episode 426016382 series 1234977
Content provided by San Diego Magazine. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by San Diego Magazine or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.
This week, Troy and Jackie are joined by Doug Haster, master brewer at Mission Valley’s Puesto Cervecería. Hasker goes way back with beer in this town–he moved to San Diego in 1998 to head brewing at Gordon Biersch’s then-Mission Valley location and stayed until Biersch sold its operations to Puesto in 2019. Not ready to hang up his skates, he stuck with the Puesto folks, tweaked his brewing style from German to Mexican lagers, and carried on the building’s legacy of being home to some of San Diego’s finest suds. These days, Hasker is catching attention for the beer he brewed for the Padres, Puesto’s Clara. He tells us about this special beer and shares stories from his decades spent brewing beer in San Diego.
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324 episodes
Manage episode 426016382 series 1234977
Content provided by San Diego Magazine. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by San Diego Magazine or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.
This week, Troy and Jackie are joined by Doug Haster, master brewer at Mission Valley’s Puesto Cervecería. Hasker goes way back with beer in this town–he moved to San Diego in 1998 to head brewing at Gordon Biersch’s then-Mission Valley location and stayed until Biersch sold its operations to Puesto in 2019. Not ready to hang up his skates, he stuck with the Puesto folks, tweaked his brewing style from German to Mexican lagers, and carried on the building’s legacy of being home to some of San Diego’s finest suds. These days, Hasker is catching attention for the beer he brewed for the Padres, Puesto’s Clara. He tells us about this special beer and shares stories from his decades spent brewing beer in San Diego.
…
continue reading
324 episodes
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Happy Half Hour

1 This BBQ Sauce Made Troy Johnson Break His No-Sauce Rule 1:17:20
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#384 This week’s Happy Half Hour is equal parts hot sauce origin story and full-blown love fest for San Diego’s indie food scene. Troy Johnson confesses he’s a BBQ purist—until one burger from Rosemary’s shatters his sauce snobbery with a tangy, tamarind-laced revelation. Enter Larz Watts, the founder of Oak Steak BBQ, who built his now-beloved sauce business during the pandemic with nothing but backyard smokers, a Co-Packer crash course, and a spider his son named “Oak Steak.” From humble PB roots (yes, Lars once lived on a boat) to hot chicken collabs at Shore Club, mustard deals at Smallgoods, and a mic-drop spicy version that won first place at the International Flavor Awards, this episode is a spicy, heartfelt romp through flavor, family, and full-circle San Diego hustle. To follow Oak Steak BBQ click HERE. Discover more at San Diego Magazine…
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Happy Half Hour

1 Inside Carlsbad’s Little Victory Wine Bar: Natty Wine, Local Bites, Zero Pretension 1:09:52
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#383 In this week’s episode of Happy Half Hour , Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant raise a glass to Carlsbad’s buzziest new opening: Little Victory Wine Bar. Co-owners Jeremy Simpson, a natty wine obsessive with a pedigree from LA’s Bestia, and Elliott Townsend, a hyper-local chef known for the pop-up Long Story Short, join the show to talk fermentation, formation, and forging a dream. The duo—half of a husband-and-wife Voltron of culinary minds—built a spot where natural wine and soulful, seasonal cooking meet with zero pretension. Natural wine gets demystified, tinned fish gets love, and the team shares what it really takes to build a restaurant rooted in connection. To follow Little Victory Wine Bar click HERE . Discover more at San Diego Magazine…
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Happy Half Hour

1 Little Fox Cups and Cones Turns Ice Cream into Art in Oceanside 1:16:26
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#382 Troy and Jackie dig into the story behind Little Fox Cups and Cones, the Oceanside shop that’s putting an inventive spin on ice cream. Owner Megan Koll started as a bartender at CH Projects, then honed her craft at Juju Lee before turning her obsession with flavor and local sourcing into a cult-favorite ice cream shop. With flavors like toasted cornmeal, brioche-swirl avocado from Jason Mraz’s farm, and spicy carrot hazelnut brittle made from local produce, Little Fox is serving up more than just scoops. It’s storytelling in a cone. To follow Little Fox click HERE . Discover more at San Diego Magazine…
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Happy Half Hour

1 The Three Year Search for the Best Damn Tequila with Bebemos Founder Preston Caffrey 44:29
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#381 In this episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant meet up with Preston Caffrey, founder of the brand-new Bebemos Tequila, to launch their “Joven Golden Hour” tour—a series of pairings between local restaurants and Caffrey’s clean, additive-free tequila made in partnership with small-batch agave growers in Mexico. Recorded at Ranch 45 with chef DuVal Warner, the group dives into Brandt Beef bone marrow luges, beef tallow–washed cocktails, and one of the best pastrami sandwiches in the city, while unpacking what makes Bebemos different and why Caffrey insists on starting small right here in San Diego. To follow Bebemos click HERE . To follow Ranch 45 click HERE .…
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Happy Half Hour

1 From TomTom to Old Town: Pietro Busalacchi on Restaurants, Reality TV, and a San Diego Legacy 1:06:23
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#380 This week, we head from a La Jolla strip mall to the glitter of LA’s reality TV scene before landing in the heart of Old Town. Pietro Busalacchi—bartender, hustler, and heir to one of San Diego’s most iconic restaurant families—joins us to talk about growing up in Little Italy, working at Lisa Vanderpump’s TomTom, and how he brought that chaos and charm back home to launch Trattoria Don Pietro, El Sueño, and TAKO, his bold Mexican-style sushi bar. We talk stories, like a tree catching fire on set, surprise tequila nights with Nickelback, and why escargot and Dover sole at Bistro du Marché still make Troy emotional. Plus: Bianchi opens at the Bahia, PopUp Bagels lands in San Diego, and College Area scores a maximalist burger joint. To follow El Sueño click HERE . To follow Trattoria Don Pietro click HERE . To follow TAKO click HERE . Discover more at San Diego Magazine…
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Happy Half Hour

1 This San Diego Chef Is Bringing Real Tortillas Back to the Table 49:06
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#379 In this episode of Happy Half Hour , Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Janet Flores Pavlovich, the force behind Coyotas, a local brand making cassava flour tortillas with just four ingredients and a lot of soul. Janet tells the story of growing up in Sonora, Mexico, where tortillas were handmade daily and tied to memory, ritual, and identity. After culinary school in San Diego and a stint behind the scenes at the Food Network, she realized the tortillas on grocery store shelves didn’t reflect what she knew. So she went back—literally—to the desert heat of Hermosillo to relearn the craft from master tortilleras. The result: a San Diego–based company now stocked across Whole Foods and indie markets, built on tradition, simplicity, and stubborn devotion to doing things the right way. To follow Coyotas click HERE . Discover more at San Diego Magazine…
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Happy Half Hour

1 The JuneShine Story: From a Sketchy San Diego Garage to Co-Starring with Willie Nelson 1:01:16
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#378 In this episode of Happy Half Hour, hosts Jackie Bryant and Troy Johnson crack open the origin story of Juneshine with co-founder Forrest Dein, tracing its unlikely path from a backyard kombucha experiment to a nationwide phenomenon. Dein recounts Juneshine’s early days brewing in a cobwebbed garage, its cult-favorite Blood Orange Mint flavor, and the brand’s meteoric ascent—including opening the country’s first hard kombucha bar, landing a Super Bowl ad, and expanding into new horizons with Easy Rider lager and Willie’s Remedy, a THC-infused social tonic launched with country legend Willie Nelson. To follow JuneShine click HERE . To follow Easy Rider click HERE . And to follow Willie's Remedy click HERE . Discover more at San Diego Magazine…
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Happy Half Hour

1 The Buttered Handshake, $19 Cocktails, and Why Nobody Drinks Anymore 1:22:49
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#377 This week on Happy Half Hour, two of San Diego’s sharpest hospitality minds—Christian Siglin of Happy Medium and Eric Johnson of Lou’s Deli—join Troy and Jackie to talk about the strange, scrappy, and often hilarious life behind the bar. They get into it: they unpack their careers spent working at the city's most iconic bars and restaurants; the three paths a bartender’s life can take, whether Gen Z is really skipping booze for less hedonistic pleasures, how traveling together (NOMA, Oaxaca, and one wild Mexican hotel party) reshaped their worldview, and yes, the story of the infamous butter handshake. We also chat neighborhood energy, the disappearance of old-school hospitality, and how to survive the job long enough to still be standing—sober or otherwise. Also in the mix: new eats at Petco Park, big shifts in East Village pizza, and why the USA should be screaming louder about Tara Monsod and her 2025 James Beard nom. To follow Happy Medium click HERE . Discover more at San Diego Magazine…
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Happy Half Hour

1 The Best House Cured House Smoked Pastrami in San Diego? 42:44
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#376 On this episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy gives us an inside take on what to order at Leu Leu, the new spot from celebrity chef Claudette Zepeda. And the dish you gotta try in central city is the house-cured, house-smoked, hand-cut pastrami from last year's SDM winner for Best Barbecue in San Diego—Grand Ole BBQ y Asado in North Park. In honor of this new pastrami destination (quality pastrami is a top-five destination determinant), we revisit our interview with owner Andy Harris—who went from managing all the popular pop-punk bands from the 90s (he still manages some) to the brisket champ of San Diego. To follow Grand Ole BBQ y Asado click HERE . Discover more at San Diego Magazine…
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Happy Half Hour

1 How Rosemarie’s Went from Food Truck Favorite to San Diego Gastropub Darling 1:14:04
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#375 Nick Balsamo of Rosemarie’s joins Troy and Jackie to talk about how a food truck full of killer sliders turned into one of San Diego’s best new brick-and-mortars. The crew gets into Nick’s rise from catering gigs and farmers markets to opening his own family-friendly gastropub, his Arizona street food hustle, and what it’s like feeding crowds that range from dive bar regulars to wedding guests. Also: Starlite’s long-awaited comeback, Puesto’s new chef flex, San Diego’s first women’s sports bar pop-up, and the return of the Spring Art & Wine Walk in Carlsbad. Plus, one of us may have pooped our pants at the movies. You’ll have to listen to find out who. To follow Rosemarie's click HERE . Discover more at San Diego Magazine…
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Happy Half Hour

1 La Jolla’s Dining Boom: Marisi’s Cameron Ingle on Elevating Italian in a Changing Scene 1:23:30
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#374 On this episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Cameron Ingle, executive chef of Marisi in La Jolla, to talk about his fine-dining approach to Italian food, from handmade pasta to sourcing top-tier ingredients. Ingle, who cut his teeth at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, shares what it’s like running a serious food spot in a neighborhood better known steakhouses. They also cover restaurant news, including China Max’s return, the opening of fine dining Lilo from the Wildland crew in Carlsbad, and the arrival of Slice House in Little Italy. To follow Marisi click HERE . Discover more at San Diego Magazine…
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Happy Half Hour

#373 On this week’s Happy Half Hour, journalist Claire Trageser joins hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant to talk about her latest piece: Is Ozempic Killing Restaurants? With more diners eating less and skipping drinks, could the blockbuster weight-loss drug be reshaping the industry? Claire breaks down what she found—spoiler alert: it’s complicated—while Troy and Jackie dig into shifting food culture, the backlash against semaglutides, and what it all means for restaurants trying to survive in 2025. Plus, Claire shares her go-to local spot, and Troy goes deep on a rabbit blood sausage. To follow Claire click HERE . Discover more at San Diego Magazine…
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Happy Half Hour

1 How a Cult Horror Filmmaker Became San Diego’s King of Bread 1:06:11
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#372 In this episode of Happy Half Hour, hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Charles Kaufman, the legendary mind behind Bread & Cie—San Diego’s iconic artisan bakery. Before he was crafting perfect baguettes, Kaufman was shocking audiences with cult horror films, including Mother’s Day, a slasher classic. From writing jokes for Bob Hope to sneaking out of Cannes Film Festival screenings to study French breadmaking, Kaufman shares his wild ride from Hollywood to Hillcrest, the early days of San Diego’s food scene, the struggle to bring European-style bread to America’s Finest City, and why a bakery should always have a little theatrical flair. To follow Bread & Cie click HERE . Discover more at San Diego Magazine…
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Happy Half Hour

#370 If you think debating sports gets heated, try pitting two seasoned food writers against each other in a fantasy taco draft. In this episode of Happy Half Hour, San Diego Magazine’s Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant take their taco opinions to battle, drafting their top picks from San Diego’s legendary mom-and-pop taco shops. From the OG Roberto’s to the smoky magic of Ed Fernandez Birrieria, they break down what makes each spot worthy of the list—and why some controversial omissions (looking at you, Lolita’s) might spark a citywide revolt. Who built the superior taco dream team? That’s for you to decide. Discover more at San Diego Magazine…
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Happy Half Hour

1 The Wild, Thirst-Trappy Story of San Diego's Fast Food Icon, Jack in the Box 55:53
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#370 This week on Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant get deep-fried in nostalgia with Ryan Ostrom, CMO of Jack in the Box, the fast-food giant that made San Diego its home. They talk about Jack’s weird, wonderful marketing legacy (yes, they did blow up their own mascot), the late-night taco cult, and why the brand has no business making a burger this good. Ostrom dishes on his move from GNC to Jack, why the company refuses to take itself too seriously, and how their ads still push the envelope. Also on the menu: Troy’s childhood breakfast obsession, Jackie’s pandemic-era Jack phase, and the secret behind those drive-thru tacos that probably shouldn’t work—but absolutely do. To follow Jack in the Bock click HERE . Discover more at San Diego Magazine…
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