About this podcast
On the ten-year anniversary of the founding of the Mare Island Brewing Co. in Vallejo, CA, Founders Kent Fortner and Ryan Gibbons take to the mic with Brewing Network host Justin Crossley to reflect on a wild ride that includes two winemakers brewing beer in the backyard, getting unexpectedly mobbed upon opening the doors, building a brewery in a 130 year old Coal Shed, a chaotic pandemic pivot, and trying to do right by an Island with 142 years of incredible (and colorful) Navy shipbuilding history.
Episodes
- Bonus Episode: Mare Island, American Nightmare, and a Tale of Survival · 1 h 14 min · Season 1In this bonus episode of Battleships to Beer, host Ryan Gibbons and Justin Crossley welcome to the Brewing Network studio two very special guests and former residents of Mare…
- Battleships to Beer | Ep 10, “30 Year Brand”: The Next Ten/Twenty Years · 1 h 25 min · Season 1 Episode 10Kent and Ryan crack a Shop 11—a “workshop" brew that may, or may not, make it into the long-term line up—and discuss where they—and the Brewing Co.—hope to go from here. Learn…
- Battleships to Beer | Ep 9 “Parked Facing the Wrong Way”: Vallejo · 58 min · Season 1 Episode 9General Vallejo is both the town’s namesake, and the Mexican Lager that Kent and Ryan enjoy as they talk about the challenges and opportunities of being based in Vallejo. Learn…
- Battleships to Beer | Ep 8 “47 to…7”: The Pandemic · 60 min · Season 1 Episode 8Kent and Ryan drink aptly-named Survivors Tale Pale Ale and recount their story of surviving the Coronavirus pandemic, and how they might need a couple pints each to get through…
- Bonus Episode: The Wolf · 39 min · Season 1Ryan sits down with Christopher Collins, aka “The Wolf” on the waterfront at our Coal Shed Brewery. Over the course of a couple of beers, we learn about the Wolf’s journey from…
- Battleships to Beer | Ep 7 “It’s NOT Kent and Ryan’s Excellent Brewing Adventure”: Branding · 1 h 13 min · Season 1 Episode 7Join Kent and Ryan for a bottle of General Order No. 99, and a rambling discussion of the tight box they put around branding, but how easy it is to stay within that box when you…
- Bonus: Chef David & His Dad, Gary Starr · 34 min · Season 1Kent sits with our own Chef David Starr and his Vietnam-vet father Gary Starr to talk about the multi-generational Mare Island experience, including the best fishing pier, seeing…
- Battleships to Beer | Ep 6 “How about Hungry Human Hippos”: The Yardbird Club · 56 min · Season 1 Episode 6War Bond California Common is the libation of choice for a discussion of the Yardbird Beer Club, Yardbird Parties, the Yardbird Games, Brew Cruises and Brewer’s Bootcamp. The…
- Bonus Episode: Steve Taugner · 37 min · Season 1Ryan coaxes Steve Taugner, electrician to the Island, over to the Admiral’s Mansion and teases out of him first-hand stories of the top-secret Ivy Bells mission. Is all this…
- Battleships to Beer | Ep 5 “This is no drill”: Mare Island History Part Two · 1 h 1 min · Season 1 Episode 5A cold Ivy Bells Pilsner leads Kent and Ryan into the Cold War, as well as WW2, and the base closure. It is the most incredible Bay area history that nobody knows about. Learn…
- Bonus Episode: Jake Sloan · 38 min · Season 1Kent interviews Jake Sloan, a member of the Original 21ers, who played a key role in advocating for civil rights at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in the 1960s. Jake shares his…
- Battleships to Beer | EP 4, “Small hands, smell like cabbage”: The Cast of Characters · 52 min · Season 1 Episode 4A pint of The 21ers Black Lager launches Kent and Ryan into a remembrance of the colorful cast of characters that has helped, or sometimes hindered, but always entertained, along…
- Bonus Episode: Jim Reikowsky · 16 min · Season 1Co-founder Ryan Gibbons sits down with Jim Reikowsky, a long-time patron, Yardbird member, and former Film Commissioner for Solano County. They discuss how Jim earned the…
- Battleships to Beer | EP 3, “Sorry, no rebar…”: The Coal Shed Brewery · 43 min · Season 1 Episode 3Crack a Coal Shed Stout and join Kent and Ryan as they reminisce—and wince—about building out new brewery in a 1901 Coal Shed that once fueled Teddy Roosevelt’s great white…
- Battleships to Beer | EP 2, "That's my pet pig Murphy" · 47 min · Season 1 Episode 2Enjoying a Farragut's Farmhouse Barrel Aged Saison, Kent and Ryan walk through the incredible early history of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, including a nine-year old bad-ass…
- Battleships to Beer | EP 1 "We got bum rushed...": The Early Years · 46 min · Season 1 Episode 1Kent and Ryan crack a Saginaw Golden Ale and tell the story of their ambitious dream of a borrowed tank, selling four beers on tap, and a lone hot dog machine. Learn more about…
- Battleships to Beer: 10 Years of Mare Island Brewing Co. · 3 minOn the ten-year anniversary of the founding of the Mare Island Brewing Co. in Vallejo, CA, Founders Kent Fortner and Ryan Gibbons take to the mic with Brewing Network host Justin…
