Q&A: Scot Blair—Part 1

Owner; Monkey Paw Pub & Brewing, South Park Brewing Company & Hamilton’s Tavern

Big Beer conglomerate AB-InBev’s 10 Barrel Brewpub project seemed to come out of nowhere. Slated for entry into downtown San Diego’s East Village, it’s actually the latest in an ongoing string of strategically placed brewpubs AB-InBev is installing in the country’s foremost craft-beer communities under the name of the Bend, Oregon-based former craft-brewery it bought out in 2014. The arrival of this faux-craft, brewery-equipped restaurant has sparked the ire of the San Diego Brewers Guild. Last week, members of the local brewing industry and fans of independent local breweries rallied at a meeting of the Downtown Community Planning Council where, despite concern from San Diego businesses and citizens, the neighborhood use permit was approved. A public protest period is coming up, but the probability of the project being denied at any point isn’t likely. Seeking the voice of someone who, first off, will be the closest legitimate craft-beer competition for the 10 Barrel pub and, secondly, isn’t the least bit afraid to speak his mind, we sat down with Scot Blair, the owner of the East Village’s Monkey Paw Pub & Brewery (as well as nearby South Park Brewing Company and Hamilton’s Tavern). He responded with equal parts honesty and verbosity. The following is part one of a two-part question-and-answer exchange.

Why do you think AB-InBev and Big Beer in general would want to come into a community esteemed for its local beer, especially using an acquired brand from Oregon?
Scot Blair: It’s simple, really. They are expanding their footprint by any means necessary—assimilate and destroy.

With the Guild, CCBA and BA vehemently opposed to the 10 Barrel Project, how can it be viewed as a positive development by anyone?
SB: Obfuscation. Not only from Big Beer, but from our glorified real-estate moguls. Think of the people behind this. First you have Makers Quarter with developers Lankford & Associates and Hensel Phelps. Next you have HP Investors LLC and, mind you, they both partner together for a group they call L2HP. These are the puppet-masters. Now look at “Makers Quarter.” This is a tag-phrase they created when the only “maker” that was even doing anything in the area was Monkey Paw. If you listen well, their shills will tell you that this is going to bring millennial tech and residential to the East Village, and it will be a huge boon companion for growth in the community, and how wonderful all of this is for San Diego’s booming “craft” beer scene. This is absolute bull. These snakes, I’m sure, they could also tell us how SDG&E raising rates as the “only game in town” after year-in and year-out record profits is “great for the community,” too! The only entity this does any good for is them by way of giant cash windfalls directly benefiting their greed and, to be frank, it’s sickening to me and really shows what they are made of by way of caring about the community. They are simply doing everything and anything they can to lease property at all cost while trying to make up insane angles to convince unwitting consumers that this is such a good thing. It’s no different than Big Pharma or Wall Street, in my opinion.
— Editor’s note: When reached for comment, Michael Burton, the commercial broker for the bindery building and its property owner, told us that “the property was publicly marketed, and 10 Barrel was the only brewery to show interest in the location.”

How do you feel the arrival of the 10 Barrel project will impact other local brewing businesses such as your own, Half Door Brewing Company and Mission Brewery?
SB: I can definitely find a silver-lining and make lemonade as I’ve done my whole career, but in reality, brewpubs like Monkey Paw and Half Door will have to work even harder with far less with which to fight that uphill battle on quality. So obviously and most certainly it will have an impact. You have to understand the common consumer has been, and continues to be, so misguided. The real fans and independent thinkers of great beer are still a strong minority. The vast majority of beer-drinkers are simply enamored with marketing, hype and all things with a sheen that glimmer. To think that, in this day and age, making fantastic, award-winning beer is not enough, is sad. Great beer still falls deaf to the ears of too many of our San Diego locals who aren’t getting the right message from these deep-pocketed snake-oil salesmen standing at their pulpits hyping to fleece.

Can beers brewed at the 10 Barrel project be regarded as “local”?
SB: They are local as much as Citgo gas-stations are local. This is a classic wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing scenario. Of course it’s not local! Sure, it will create some local jobs, but the money spent by the people will go right into the hands of AB-InBev. People can play technicalities, but in the end, what folks should be supporting is small, independently owned mom-and-pop establishments. This is the moral ethos that people think about when they try to spend local, not billion-dollar companies, large restaurant groups, big real-estate conglomerates. C’mon…really?! There is no integrity in them and, at its core, it personifies despicable greed.

What can be done now, and by whom?
SB: First off, it starts with you and other people like you and all of us, really. We have a voice in our spending habits. Let’s use it! I have never had a problem calling out bullshit or speaking out against what I feel is injustice. I get that folks may not like the obtuse nature of my opinion and that’s okay, because I’m trying to prevent people from drowning and I’m trying to continue the mission. We need to continue to shove our way to the front and pull the curtain back on these mistruths, call out these scumbag real-estate developers who would have you believe that the only option for them was to sign AB-InBev to this deal. What a crock of shit that is! They care about the community? The industry? Yeah, so much they are bringing in our biggest threat without exhausting efforts elsewhere. Obviously, telling someone they can’t open a business isn’t the answer. It’s un-American, even if the rich get richer and the small businesses go under. The local beer community should be in outrage and should be vocal, imploring folks to simply not go (to the 10 Barrel brewpub). Instead, dump twice as much support into these very small, independent places because if you are about “local” and you are about “indie” and you are about “community,” then it’s your obligation to HELP SMALL BUSINESS SURVIVE! People need to walk the walk when it comes to this specific dilemma. I think we have a lot more hypocrites than we do pioneers and it shouldn’t be that way in this day and age.

This is only the start of some eye-opening and thought-provoking back-and-forth. Check back to our website for the second-half of our Q&A with Scot Blair on Tuesday, March 1.