With a common cause to honor a friend and fan, Tempe’s Pedal Haus and Modern Times of San Diego teamed up recently to create a beer after the death of Ian Campbell-O’Neill.
Campbell-O’Neill, a 27-year-old assistant brewer at Pedal Haus, died in a motorcycle accident in February. Modern Times was a favorite of his and Pedal Haus Brewery Beer Director Derek “Doc” Osborne teamed with Mat Sandoval to release “rICON”, a rye New England IPA, as a tribute.
It was Modern Times that approached Pedal Haus about doing the collaboration after meeting Ian and really making a connection with the brewer.
“Dani Jackson, our Arizona sales rep, and Morgan Tenwick, our lab manager, both knew Ian and were big fans of his,” said Modern Times’ Cellar Manager Mat Sandoval. “He was a big fan of our beer according to them and Doc.
After Campbell-O’Neill’s death, Jackson talked to Osborne about doing a commemorative brew.
“Initially, my response was “no thanks,” as I was overwhelmed by Ian’s passing and trying to do all the work myself,” Osborne said. “Also listening to the wonderful stories and giving hugs to people who were visiting that were impacted by Ian kept my plate full. “
But time passed, and Osborne realized everyone had great intentions and he felt he was holding back a great tribute for a great brewer.
“Modern Times was truly passionate about this cause because they didn’t give up and that helped keep the conversation going until we met on the day Mat originally planned to come out and brew the beer,” Osborne said.
Sandoval made the trip to Arizona in May to help promote the Modern Times brand for work and also got a chance to meet Osborne and founder Julian Wright for the first time.
“At that meeting, Dani, Doc, Julian, and myself got to start laying the foundation for our beer,” Sandoval said. “We took inspiration from Ian’s favorite Modern Times beers, which are both pretty hoppy, and decided to do an aggressively hopped Northeast IPA but with a bit of experimentation on the malt side.”
This was Osborne’s first time making a “Hazy IPA” so Sandoval had quite a few process discussions along the way.
“We brewed the beer a few weeks later and it has become a hit ever since it was tapped,” Osborne said. “Modern Times will always be part of honoring one of the greatest people we know and that’s a pretty significant role to take on. We are proud to have them as our partner on this initiative.”
The goal and reason for doing the beer wasn’t to raise money or reflect upon the tragedy, Osborne noted.
“The goal was to do a nice tribute for a great person with the best way that we know how. The beer can easily be brewed at both breweries so opportunity for profit is definitely there and it allows for a small independent brewery like Pedal Haus to have exposure in San Diego and vice versa for Modern Times,” he said. “The bigger brewery is homing in on a relevant community cause and supporting a state that they currently distribute within — so it’s a win-win for everyone.”
1 Trackback / Pingback