Valiant’s Brew Crew: Jack Thomas
You’ve probably seen Jack Thomas hustling around the brewery, pouring 
behind the bar, or working one of the kajillion festivals we’ve attended recently. In addition to being Kelly’s brother, he’s Valiant’s (and Brian’s) assistant brewing technician. He’s our sales rep. And he may just be our number one fan. But he is so much more than that! Check him out.
Previous job?
Harvest Intern at Owen Roe, a winery in St Paul, Ore.
“I worked on the sorting line for the grapes. Punch-down crew. I took wine samples almost every morning to determine sugar levels and if any byproducts like EA or oxidation were occurring. I pitched yeast into new fermenters, and basically helped to take care of all fermenting red wines.”
Beer or wine?
“I like brewing better than I like wine-making, but both sciences are very wonderful and I loved every minute up at the winery.”
Favorite part of brewing?
“The ability to make a product however you want. You can make the beer to whatever specification you like, super hoppy, really strong, very delicate, or extremely strange. You can make something very different or very traditional. If you do a good job, people will love your beer. This is one of the few arenas where you can let your mind and artistry shine through in your creation. It’s very personal.
“The other great thing about beer is that there is a quick turnaround and this allows you to quickly find out what the people love or dislike. Very few industries can get such quick feedback.”
Most interesting part of working at Valiant?
“The most interesting is whatever I am doing that day, but I always have a great time picking names and writing stories for the beers we make.”
How important is taste-testing?
“Taste testing is VERY important. If you don’t know what sort of flavors or aromas your beer has, you won’t know if something goes wrong or if you have made a mistake. Also beer tastes great, and why not taste-test what is good? You are allowing your taste buds some exercise.”
Valiant’s secret weapon?
“All of our beers have three layers that work together. I find that most beers lack in balance and instead focus on gimmicks or one outstanding feature. Our beers have a fantastic aroma, a strong flavor, and a delightful finish. All three of these levels lead you from one to the other, none trying to outperform the other.”
Besides brewing…
“I play soccer, take pictures, read lots of science fiction, fantasy, and classics. I love camping and long walks on the beach.”
Famous last words?
“Try as many beers as you can, support the locals, and puns are a valid form of humor.”
To Pour and Drink in LA
You’ve heard about half our crazy-busy weekend, pouring our kegs dry at the Backyard Brewfest. Well, here’s the other half–a six-hour extravaganza at the Los Angeles Beer Festival at Paramount Studios. It’s a mammoth event, and a seriously good time–check it out.
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- It was so cool to be on the Paramount Studios lot! We were inside an area where water scenes are filmed—we even spotted some miniature ships floating in a big pool. The buildings around us were painted to look like the horizon. Well, if we had to be “lost at sea,” we’re sure glad we had plenty of beer on hand!
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- We blasted through both kegs of Veranda (Biere de Garde) that we brought, and our Jericho Imperial IPA was a hit too. We poured nearly a full keg of Mighty Maximus (premium bitter)—but it seemed like attendees were in favor of higher-ABV beers (MM is an easy-drinking 4.8%).
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- This was a crowd that knew what it wanted–great beer, and plenty of it! More than once we met up with a customer who claimed not to like hoppy beers…. until we gave them a taste of Jericho (100+ IBU). It was awesome to see those doubting drinkers change their minds and ask for a full pour of our Imperial IPA!
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- The crowd was incredible–4,000 enthusiastic beer-lovers in each of two sessions. We got to introduce Valiant to lots of people–and we got to connect with a bunch of people who came to our Grand Opening. So cool!
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- It was awesome to see a line of people waiting to try our beer! We had quite a few “repeat customers”–some came back as many as four times!
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- Did we mention that part of the event takes place in a mock city with sets made up of fake highrises?
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- The high point of the day? Just being part of the craft beer industry and being stationed next to our neighboring breweries. We get so caught up with Valiant beers and events and accounts and everything else—it was amazing to realize we’re part of a much bigger picture.
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- For Brian, hanging out with colleagues from Old Orange, Noble, Rock Bottom, and Cismontane was the best part of the day.
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- Beer in the spotlight–there is everything right about that!
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- This is a seriously big event. We’re already looking forward to next year’s!
Why I like brewing
This is somewhat a complex question for me to answer. Yeah I can say, it’s because I’m passionate about beer, I enjoy the challenges that comes with creating fairy big beers that are drinkable, or I like being part of an industry that is growing at a pace that’s faster than light partials traveling through space (ok that’s a little over exaggerated), waking up at 2am with coffee in hand excited about firing up the kettle knowing that another creation will be taking place today, being around good friends and exploring the cultures of life while pouring grains into the mill. Yes these are all very good reasons why I like brewing but it goes to show that brewing, as a whole, means much more to me then I can talk about if trying to answer this question in one sentence – it simply cannot be done.
It’s interesting given my experiences and background with automotives, more directly drag racing of how the two (brewing and racing) are similar. Drag racing itself is simple, drive a vehicle as fast and safe as you can 1,320 ft while hoping that you can beat your opponent. However prior to going down the track, you have endless amounts of time in building the car, performing maintenance, ensuring all your safety equipment is still up to date, packing for the weekend at the track, setting up the pits, etc… All this so you can drive down the track for a total of 7 seconds! Yes large amounts of time spent for such little in return but we love it. Brewing is very similar to this in that you spend a great deal of time ahead, during and after making beer to ensure that the one perfect moment, when someone takes a sip of our beer, gives them that unique experience that only comes from all that hard work. This moment, quick in time compared to everything leading to that one event is what is so precious to us and why we love brewing!
I’d like bore you with all the technical stuff that comes into play with brewing, remember I’m a gear head and the more knobs, switches and valves I can push/pull the happier I am but that is only interesting to a small number of you but is important to understand about me. However I’ll spare that time for when we get the chance to talk in person or perhaps for a future update.
-Brian
All Beer Is Not Created Equal
There are many craft beer companies in Orange County, but there are not many offering ales (over 8%) with good flavor. That is our niche. We are “Your Ale Specialist”
