Ocean Beach has a new collaborative craft brew to boast about with a colorful label courtesy of local freelance photographer Jim Grant.
San Diego-based Resident Brewing Co. and Pizza Port OB have teamed to create Ocean Beach Hazy IPA, which was released on July 7. The new brew is the latest iteration of Resident Brewing’s San Diego Series, with labels showcasing photos of the neighborhoods from which the brewery draws inspiration.
“Ocean Beach is an IPA designed and brewed in appreciation of San Diego’s quintessential beach community,” said Jordan McDonald, Resident’s marketing director. McDonald noted Resident’s head brewer, Bill Lindsay, and assistant brewer, Keith Holter, joined with longtime OB institution Pizza Port OB head brewer Matt Palmer and assistant brewer, Alexis Gutierrez, to brew a hazy IPA utilizing a combination of hop varieties from New Zealand and the Pacific Northwest.
“The result is an approachable and flavorful IPA with relatively low bitterness and vibrant aromas reminiscent of lime, tangerine, and white peach,” said McDonald.
“Those two entities just have an unbelievable history with prestigious beer awards. It’s ridiculous,” said Jim Grant, one of OB’s most prolific and talented photographers who freelances for the Peninsula Beacon. It was Grant who provided the image for OB Hazy IPA’s label.
“One of my photos of the Ocean Beach Pier and a green flash shot will be the new label for Ocean Beach Hazy IPA,” Grant said, adding both breweries involved have “stellar reputations in craft beers. The brew team was aiming for a bright, citrus-forward IPA with aromas of tangerine, grapefruit, and refreshing lime. They believe they have hit the bullseye.”
The tale of how Grant got involved with OB Hazy IPA is interesting.
“I was approached by someone at Resident Brewery about a year ago to do this San Diego Series, and they asked if they could use one of my images,” he said. “And I said, ‘Sure, what do you guys want?’ I was flattered. But then I didn’t hear anything from them, and a year goes by. I figured they found someone else’s photo to use in OB.”
Then Grant got a letter from Resident Brewing that read, “We’re getting ready to go forward and we need to get the OK to use your image for the label.”
“That’s when they went into high gear. And they’ve been working on it ever since,” Grant said.
Grant, who does photography as a sideline, and whose day job is cleaning and sealing exterior lumber tropical hardwood decks, is well known for his OB Pier and green flash photos. Green flashes are optical phenomena that sometimes occur around sunsets or sunrises. When the conditions are just right, a distinct green spot is briefly visible above the sun’s upper limb; the green appearance usually lasts for no more than two seconds.
Such pier and flash photos led to Grant’s being featured on “Good Morning America,” an ABC morning television broadcast. Grant, however, is modest about his amateur photography, claiming there isn’t anything “magical” about his images, other than their being the product of long experience and knowing where and when to be in the right place at the right time.
Grant admitted though that he’s “having fun” having one of his trademark photos on a local craft brew label. “All my friends are asking me, ‘You son of a gun, how did you make that happen?’” he said. “And I tell them, ‘They came to me. I didn’t do anything. It just fell into my lap.’”
Grant added, “That was my first (label) image – and probably the last also.”
Ocean Beach Hazy IPA will be available on draft and in four-packs of cans at Resident Brewing’s Downtown tasting room at 1065 Fourth Ave. starting on July 7 at 4 p.m. At that time, canned 4-packs will also be available for shipping statewide via the brewery’s online store. Additionally, the Hazy IPA will be available for purchase on draft and in four-packs of cans at Pizza Port OB.
For more information about Resident Brewing visit residentbrewing.com.
