Ready to know more about San Diego?

Subscribe

Amplified Ale Works’ founder Alex Pierson shares how he went from cooking kebabs to brewing up beers

Happy Half Hour Podcast 182
Photo courtesy of Alex Pierson

By Jenna Miller

Today’s guest is Alex Pierson, the founder of Amplified Ale Works. Alex got his start in the restaurant business when he opened a Middle Eastern restaurant in 2009, California Kebab. While running the restaurant he started brewing his own beer at home, which led him to start a brewery in Pacific Beach in 2012 and adopt the name, Amplified Ale Works. In 2016, he moved production to Miramar and opened a tasting room there where they expanded annual production from 300 barrels to 2,000 barrels. In 2018, he opened a third location in East Village. Along with beer, Alex focuses on working with musical artists and has created over 12 collaborations with local and touring bands, including Motörhead. Today, Alex is turning his attention to Lemon Grove where he wants to open his third beer garden. He started a Wefunder page to raise money for the new project and has already collected over half of their $300,000 goal.

For Two People, $50, Alex chose Lola 55 for their affordable tacos and the mezcal menu at Tahona Bar in Old Town. David chose SKA Bar because he says their wasabi mashed potatoes are out of this world. And Troy chose the goat birria at Birrieria Y Menuderia Guadalajara.

In Hot Plates, Cardellino is a new Italian-American restaurant from the team that runs Fort Oak. It is now open in Mission Hills and Troy got the First Look. Chris Carriker, who recently won an episode of “Chopped,” just opened his second ramen restaurant in Pacific Beach called Wokou Ramen and Yakitori. A new vegan Mexican restaurant, Oleri Cultura, just opened up in Grossmont Center. It was started by the founder of Chicano Soul Food, who we had on the podcast in December. Jose Luiz Hinostroza, who worked at Noma in Copenhagen and now is the chef at ARCA in Tulum, Mexico, is coming to San Diego to cook at a dinner series at the Hotel Del with Chef JoJo Ruiz.

Valentine’s Day is this Friday, and about 70 percent of Americans plan to dine out. Industry people have long called Valentine’s Day “amateur night,” and Gordon Ramsay even said that “it’s the worst day of the year to go out.” So where does the HHH team side on this issue? Tune in to find out and to get some Valentine’s Day tips if you still haven’t come up with plans.

Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, or let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast.

Subscribe to the Happy Half Hour on Spotify, iTunes or Google Play, or listen below.

Alex Pierson of Amplified Aleworks

Photo courtesy of Alex Pierson

Share this post

LATEST EPISODES

Podcast

JuneShine’s Rise From a Garage to a Collab With Willie Nel...

JuneShine’s Rise From a Garage to a Collab With Willie Nelson

Listen now

Podcast

The Buttered Handshake, $19 Cocktails, & Why No One Drin...

The Buttered Handshake, $19 Cocktails, & Why No One Drinks Anymore

Listen now

Podcast

The Best House Cured House Smoked Pastrami in San Diego?

Listen now

Podcast

How Rosemarie’s Went from Food Truck Favorite to SD Gastro...

How Rosemarie’s Went from Food Truck Favorite to SD Gastropub Darling

Listen now

Podcast

Marisi Chef on Elevating Italian Cuisine in a Changing Scene

Listen now

Podcast

Listen: Are GLP1s & Ozempic Changing the Way We Dine?

Listen now

Podcast

How a Cult Horror Filmmaker Became San Diego’s King of Bre...

How a Cult Horror Filmmaker Became San Diego’s King of Bread

Listen now

Podcast

San Diego’s Ultimate Taco Shop Showdown

Listen now

Podcast

The Wild, Thirst-Trappy Story of SD's Own: Jack in the Box

Listen now

Podcast

Communion: A Rooftop Revelation in SD’s Dining Evolution

Listen now

Podcast

The Story Behind San Diego's Only Community-Owned Grocery Co...

The Story Behind San Diego's Only Community-Owned Grocery Co-Op

Listen now

Podcast

Inside Oceanside’s Hottest New Restaurant: 24 Suns

Listen now

Podcast

The 83-Year-Old Diver Who Revolutionized SD's Seafood Scene

Listen now

Podcast

10 Restaurant Pet Peeves & Ideas for Better Dining

Listen now

Podcast

High-End Dining at Sessions by the Bay

Listen now

Podcast

The Story of Oceanside’s Hot New Space: Merenda

Listen now

Podcast

San Diego's Biggest Moments in Food & Drink Culture This...

San Diego's Biggest Moments in Food & Drink Culture This Year

Listen now

Podcast

The Chicken Pie Shop Legacy: 87 Years of Comfort Food in SD

Listen now

Podcast

Making an Ocean Beach Legend

Listen now

Podcast

How Monarch Del Mar Became a North County Icon

Listen now

Podcast

Why Thompson Heritage Ranch is Changing San Diego’s Menus

Listen now

Podcast

Rumorosa Chef Marcos Seville Shares His Thanksgiving Day Tip...

Rumorosa Chef Marcos Seville Shares His Thanksgiving Day Tips

Listen now

Podcast

How Randy Smerik Turned Solare into a Local Icon

Listen now

Podcast

Celebrating 10 Years of Juniper & Ivy with Chef Jon Sloa...

Celebrating 10 Years of Juniper & Ivy with Chef Jon Sloan

Listen now

Contact Us

1230 Columbia Street, Suite 800,

San Diego, CA