Hidden Splendor!
Hello Friends!
If you're reading this, it's because I thought you might want to hear a little more about my new project. And for those of you who already know about it, consider this your invitation to follow along via the links below (if you are so inclined).
Hidden Splendor is shaping up to be a deeply personal expression of everything I love, starting with beer, of course. It's time for me to brew again and that beer is the anchor of this project.
But beer is just the beginning. As you may know, for me, it's always been about the experiences people have while drinking my beer, the environments in which they do so, the food they eat alongside it, the cocktails or wine they have when they don't feel like a beer, the people they meet, the connections formed, and the community that gets stitched together with beer as the common thread.
I've tried to follow that ethos with every project over the years. But now more than ever it feels like it's time to lean into that approach, to reimagine and expand the kind of experiences people can enjoy around beer.
So, Hidden Splendor starts as a beer brand this summer. You'll see it turn up on draft here and there at bars and restaurants (suggestions welcome!) and at a few special events. Come fall, Hidden Splendor will open its first restaurant/pub (in San Rafael). As we grow, the hopeful path leads toward a small universe of diverse hospitality concepts, connected and united by the beer, each adding another node for new experiences and different ways beer, food and hospitality can be woven into everyday life.
What kinds of things can I expect from Hidden Splendor, you ask?
classic beer styles (hello, British ales, continental lagers and clear IPAs) and some new twists
emphasis on the joys of beer dispense (cask-conditioning, nitro pours, side-pull faucets, traditional Kölsch service, and gravity kegs)
regional ingredients, especially malt (for freshness, local connection, and sustainability)
plenty of collaboration beers brewed with friends
a team that loves to talk about beer
eclectic, casual menu inspired by global beer culture, NorCal agriculture, and my east coast roots
a pretty solid cocktail program
a small but thoughtful local wine list
low and no alcohol drinking options
some blasts from past adventures (Southern Exposure, I've missed you)
excellent merch—apparel, glassware, and more
quality sound and obsessively curated music
live music!
verbose emails
All in all, this can be summed up by one of my favorite sayings: "How you do anything is how you do everything".
Keep an eye out very soon for a series of upcoming collaboration beers on tap (and the occasional cooler shelf). It's been incredibly fun and inspiring to reconnect with so many brewer friends about beer and brewing after a few years focusing mostly on supplying them with malt. The community and camaraderie among brewers is really special and spending time in other people's breweries bringing beer ideas to life together reaffirms just how much I love this industry. It's just the best.
Perhaps some of you got to try the first of these collaborations during SF Beer Week earlier this year—Hands of Time, brewed with Harmonic Brewing. That was a great place to start, an English-inspired pale ale with a few modern twists: new world hops, a bit of malted corn, all Admiral malt—one foot each in the past and present. Stay tuned for the next beer!
Stay tuned how? That was the main purpose of this email. Talk about burying the lede.
As the journey gets more interesting, as things progress from where they are right now—raising capital, license applications, building a team—to brewing and releasing Hidden Splendor beer, participating in events, renovating a space, welcoming team members—I'll share as much as I can as often as I can.
if you want more long, rambling info like this (how could you not??), and on a regular basis, no less, Hidden Splendor's email newsletter has you covered. Head on over to hiddensplendor.beer and sign up for it.
If you're more of a scroller and would like Hidden Splendor to be part of your social feeds, follow us on Instagram and/or Facebook.
Or do both!
And now you have my new email address. Don't be strangers. I truly cannot wait to have a pint of Hidden Splendor beer with each and every one of you.
Cheers,
Dave
