Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company is the quintessential craft brewery. Almost everything is handcrafted and we’re not just talking about the beers.

Owner/brewmaster Chris Garrett is something of the handyman, owing in part to having grown up on a fairly remote ranch in New Mexico, where “do-it-yourself” is a necessary part of life. As we tour the new brewery in San Carlos, California that’s nearing completion, he points out all the things that he and his crew are doing by hand: the wiring, the piping, the machinery. He even takes us into a cavernous, cluttered room of tools and random spare parts. Are they going to open a hardware store inside their brewery? No, but they reacquisition and recycle everything they possibly can from other sites slated for the dump heap. It’s all a part of their sustainable business practices, which are an integral part of the craft brewing industry.

But beer, of course, is Devil Canyon’s reason for being, and it brews some excellent varieties from all across the style spectrum. Their Full Boar Scotch Ale first caught our attention with a body so malty and chocolaty you almost want to chew on it. We quickly explored other beers in their line-up and were equally impressed. Why were these beers so relatively undiscovered by the craft-beer loving public in Japan? We decided to delve into their history and philosophy. Surely there were stories Japan would want to know.

Chris first dabbled in brewing at his university as a major in Biotech Management, explaining, “I was drawn to fermentation science and chemistry. We learned that drugs are grown in labs through fermentation. I was very excited by that concept and found that making beer was almost identical.”

Unfortunately, his university discontinued his major and he switched to marketing. His choice led him into the corporate life of travel and high-paced work. Brewing fell by the wayside.

After five years of slagging away in the business world, he had an epiphany: this lifestyle sucks. In 2001, he rented a building in Belmont and launched his brewing company. The original brewery consisted of a tiny 8 kettle Brew on Premise system, with each kettle having a volume of 17 USG (64 liters). So much for not working long hours every day; this would require constant, daily attention.

His story, though, is reminiscent of Bryan Baird’s, who started out in Numazu on a mere 30-litre batch brewhouse at Baird Brewing. Daily brewing on such a small scale translated into a steep learning curve. Says Chris, “I brewed thousands of batches and hundreds of recipes on that small system. At one point, I brewed 1300 bbls (about 155 kiloliters) in a year.”

Such madness is not sustainable and Chris opened a larger brewery in an industrial complex in 2003. Despite the size increase, home brewing still informed Chris’ beers.

“For our Deadicated Amber, I started with an historical IPA recipe that I came up with while home brewing. The recipe was created by researching the ingredients that would have been available when IPAs were first brewed. With a few tweaks, I came up with this beer.”

A few years later, the brewery became a kind of home and day care. Chris’ wife and co-owner, Kristiann (the descendent of a brewer at a famous Czech brewery!) gave birth to their daughter.

“I labored for the majority of the 35 hours on the couch in the brewery. Our daughter has been coming to the brewery daily since she was 5-days old. It was very interesting in those first months because I shared an office with three other men. She napped there and I nursed her at my desk. They took it all in stride, as it was our reality. She has never been in day care and we appreciate that we are the ones raising our daughter. There have been difficult phone calls with a baby crying in the background, and many meetings and beers served when she was either on my back or on my hip. Overall, having her grow up here extends the family atmosphere that we try to convey to our community, and for the most part, our fans love the family environment that we have created.”

As the Garrett family grew, so too did the brewery. Normally a cause for celebration, Devil’s Canyon was slowly expanding into spare rooms in the industrial complex and even using shipping containers in the parking lot. Chris explains one interesting economic disadvantage.

“Spreading horizontally is problematic because a major cost of the tanks is in the engineering for the covers. It’s more cost-effective to use taller tanks if you have higher ceilings.” Continuing on engineering aspects of the tanks, he relates, “I prefer to ferment my ales in flat-bottomed tanks. I feel that this gives the beer a more desirable ester profile. Cone-bottomed tanks ferment in a more violent manner, removing much of the esters.”

What are esters?

Chemical compounds that are created by yeast during fermentation. They typically impart fruity flavors and aromas to beer. Yeast strain will determine the level and type of esters. Also, the temperature of fermentation is important. Ales, fermented at higher temps, have noticeable esters. Lagers, fermented at lower temps, hardly have any perceptible esters. In fact, most lager style guidelines frown on esters. Esters from German weizen yeast have an easily-recognized banana or clove-like aroma. But even with ales, too many esters can be bad for balanced taste.

Perhaps the sublime aromas of a Devil Canyon creation are nowhere more apparent than in the Bier Brut (Belle), a very complex beer made with champagne yeast, pilsner malt and cane sugar. In both flavor and aroma it drifts between wine, beer and champagne. It took the brewery two years to formulate the recipe, though it takes them little time to sell out of its stock of this beer.

With the new brewery reaching completion and Chris’ team able to turn more of its attention to brewing again, perhaps we can expect more of such masterpieces. Their limited-run and specialty brews often reveal future direction. The Barrel of Monkeys barley-wine style ale has garnered quite a bit of attention as a high-octane alternative to California’s famed IPAs. As possibilities for pairing continue to become a rich topic in the craft beer world, the Hades Habañero (which balances Cascade hops with real habanero spice) will impress foodie and beer-lover alike.

Many of these brews will never make it to Japan because of limited production and strong local demand. Which makes it all the more worthwhile to visit Devil’s Canyon. Located just a short drive from SFO, the brewery houses an expansive tasting room open to the public on Fridays (with live music at the end of every month). San Francisco Bay Area imbibers just recently voted Devil’s Canyon “Favorite Bay Area Brewery” (2013) and “Best Bay Area Beer Bar” (2014) on A-List (a consumer-voted “best-of” website). If the costs of a trip to San Francisco are prohibitive, then take comfort in knowing that the regular line-up is available in Japan through Antenna America and Nagano Trading. Otherwise, visit the bars and retail shops that offer a selection or two and know they’ve got something really good.

Devil Canyon’s Label Art

Deadicated Amber. The name is a nod to the Grateful Dead, one of America’s most famous rock bands. Known for its improvisational style (they were the original “jam band”), the “Dead” toured for 30 years, from 1965 to ‘95. Chris and Kristiann went to more concerts than they probably remember (Japan Beer Times publisher Ry Beville, too). Imagery from the label and the beer’s description on the side of cans echo lines from the band’s songs. All of DC’s label art, in fact, has a story behind it. The “Full Boar” is a reference to the wild boar of the region. In the Silicon Blonde Ale, a woman turns her back on Silicon Valley (representing the fast-paced life) and looks out to hop farms, representing the quieter life. That’s how they want you to appreciate their beer!

This article was published in Japan Beer Times # () and is among the limited content available online. Order your copy through our online shop or download the digital version from the iTunes store to access the full contents of this issue.