Today we’d like to introduce you to Brent Reger.
Hi Brent, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
When I went to college in 1990, I was blessed to have gone to Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO, one of the few amazing craft beer hot spots in the country back then. When I graduated, I realized very quickly that good beer was not readily available so I started brewing my own. Fast forward 15 years and I met our Head Brewer Rives Borland and we danced around starting a brewery for nearly a decade. I finally wore him down and despite his engineering job at Boeing, he agreed to be our brewer. Our love for live music also played a factor as my band Barley was playing all over So Cal and we thought if we could make amazing beer and have killer live music, we’d be in heaven. Aug 2019, we opened our doors and have done exactly that, made award-winning beers and have a sweet live music venue with some great bands rolling though weekly.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Our build-out took just over a year and a brewery is a pretty intense process so we definitely worked our tails off to get open. We started off great with a bunch of really awesome bands and some great beer, but unfortunately our success was cut short six months in when we were shut down due to COVID. We pivoted as much possible to try to make ends meet but it was definitely not part of the plan. While COVID is still affecting businesses like ours tremendously, we used the time to put in Pizza Kraft at the brewery and have opened a new tasting room in Redondo Beach. We continue to have live music, trivia, comedians, and show sports, etc….so we hope to see a light at the end of the tunnel soon.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’ve always been a hard-working guy whether playing college football at Colorado State, playing/coaching professional volleyball, or being the frontman for my band Barley in addition to simultaneously working full-time. As Founder/CEO of Project Barley Brewery & Pizzeria, this has been by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done. There are so many working parts from the consumer facing stuff like branding, cool labels, social media, beer releases, to the back end like maintenance, designing beer recipes, booking bands, and honestly constantly being the janitor. One thing that sets Project Barley apart is we make a beer for everyone. I always disliked hitting a brewery that had 7 IPAs on tap and just a few other styles. We have so many different styles our taproom at any given time and take pride in that, something for everyone. Since we started just over two years ago, we have already won a gold medal for our Belgian Quad from the San Diego International Beer Festival, a gold medal for our Good Boy Barleywine, and a bronze medal for our Limelight Key Lime Pie Sour. Medals for three totally different styles of beer is not an easy task for a new brewery. Kudos to our Head Brewer Rives Borland for that amazing accomplishment! One of the other big things that set us apart is our live music. This isn’t an afterthought for us, it was intentional and is obvious when you see our stage, sound system, and lighting rig. We host a bluegrass jam night with some of the best pickers in So Cal, a singer/songwriter night with incredible talent (it’s LA ya know), and have live music acts most nights of the week. Who doesn’t like great beer, amazing pizza, and awesome music?!?
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Our COVID addition to our space is Pizza Kraft. Located in the same space as the brewery we have put together the perfect pizza! It’s all in the dough and premium quality ingredients. Our Redondo location has recently partnered with Proudly Serving smashburgers to take over the kitchen there. Most amazing burgers in all of LA!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.projectbarley.com
- Instagram: @projectbarleybrewery
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProjectBarley
Image Credits
Brent Reger
