STILL CRAFTY
{ AFTER ALL THESE YEARS }
SPIRIT OF INNOVATION Cherney oversees the process behind Cutwater ' s core brands as well as spearheads initiatives like the company ' s canned cocktail production .
Yet for those like Chris White , who knew Ballast Point from the beginning ,
and who knew Cherney well before that , there was no question . “ It wasn ’ t a surprise to me , honestly ,” he says . “ Having homebrewed with Yuseff for so long , I knew how much he understood the importance of the science in his technique . And I knew that he was just a really , really good brewer .”
Cherney is more reflective on the deal . “ Jack [ White ] put it best when he likened it to sending a kid to college . You raise this thing for decades and then have to let it go to become more than you ever thought it could . It ’ s definitely bittersweet — I drive by every day and there ’ s people I don ’ t get to interact with like I used to ; it ’ s hard to see something you helped build for such a long time go on without having a hand in it .”
Yet the sale didn ’ t include the company ’ s distillery arm , which left Cherney and the team able to keep running what was first pieced together in the corner of that break room . He continued to oversee the construction of the new distillery , yet they needed a few more new things as well — a management team to start , and most importantly , a name . The crew kept with the nautical motif and became Cutwater Spirits , a play on a ship ’ s bow plowing forward through the water , just as the team moves on to their next venture .
“ Given how long it took us to get where we were as a brewery , just this first year with Cutwater seems like we ’ re in hyperspace ,” says Cherney . “ But it ’ s also just as hard , if not harder , than it was way back as a startup , because we have so much invested . Before it was very slow growth , very organic . But now we ’ ve come right out of the gate as a national brand , and we need to perform .”
Cutwater is aiming to perform with expanded distribution across America , and offer innovations like canned cocktails made with real spirits , rather than the current trend of beverages made with ultra-filtered malt-based beer and sugar . And of course , Cherney will continue with the recipes that have consistently won medals and awards , and the process that has been developed and honed over the years since he sacrificed his office and scrapped together a still .
That ’ s the thing with Cherney : whether in the back room at Home Brew Mart , the break room at Ballast , the Craft Center on campus or a state-of-the-art distillery , it ’ s obvious that for him , craft is not just a word — it ’ s a compulsion . It ’ s not so much an industry term about being small or large ; it ’ s not a matter of something being an acquired taste versus mass appeal . Craft can come from a five-gallon bucket or a two-story copper kettle . It ’ s in the classes he teaches and the luminaries he learns from . It ’ s found not just in a glass , but in every step toward that glass . “ Craft is what it means when the people making a product really care about it ,” he says . “ It ’ s a measure of the dedication that goes into making something , and it ’ s what I strive for .”
The Craft Center at UC San Diego was a formative space for brewer and distiller Yuseff Cherney ' 92 , who taught there throughout his career with Ballast Point and Cutwater Spirits . “ I ’ d have highlevel biologists and chemists in those classes ,” he says . “ It forced me to really know my stuff .”
Established in 1972 , the Craft Center was a hub for students , staff , faculty and community members to learn and create together in a variety of media , from glassblowing and ceramics to screen printing and bead making . Yet with extensive safety upgrades deemed necessary to the building , the facility closed in 2012 , and its presence was sorely missed .
But that spirit of creation and connection will live on with a new Craft Center in the forthcoming North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood . The new center will mix classrooms , art studios , surfboard shaping bays and glassed-in instructional space to spark curiosity and invite participation . Connected dorms and neighborhood amenities will keep students and the community close , a testament to the living and learning culture at the heart of this new development .
Send your favorite Craft Center memories to tritonmag @ ucsd . edu and learn how you can take part in the future of craft on campus at tritonmag . com / craftcenter
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