Meet Joseph Kovach of Tortugo Brewing Company

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Kovach.

Joseph, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
From a young age, I was fascinated with reptiles and amphibians. I read every book I could get my hands on and started keeping everything you could imagine from tarantulas to lizards. I idolized 1920’s naturalist, Raymond Ditmar, reading his books on exploring foreign lands to seek out strange and mysterious animals. Which is how I ended up with my sense of adventure and ANNIE, our mascot at Tortugo Brewing Company. I named her Annie after my grandmother because the tortoise was the only pet she ever liked.

I started brewing back in 2005, in my parent’s kitchen. I quickly fell in love with the process and history of brewing. I was enamored with the endless amount of creativity in the ingredients that could be used in the brewing process. I hosted a weekly tasting at my house and I would have a bunch of friends and friends of friends critiquing my latest and greatest brews. Then something really amazing started to happen. I noticed that a little community started to grow because my beer was bringing people together. That was the moment I knew this is what I wanted to do with my life, share what I love about beer and bring people together.

After I was bitten by the brewing bug, I spent the next 14 years developing my skills, by working in every aspect of the brewing world. I bartended at a sports bar, worked at a beer warehouse, worked at a south hills homebrew shop, was on the packing line of a local brewery, Culver City homebrew shop, Whole Foods as a beer Specialist, and spent six years in sales at Beauchamp Distribution Company. All of my experiences allowed me the ability to really think hard about what Tortugo meant to me and what I wanted to bring to market.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The buildout was filled with hurdles, which took two years and four months to get all of my permitting and building approved.

Please tell us about Tortugo Brewing Company.
We are a small production brewery, with an on-site tasting room. I focus on exploratory beer styles and brewing in traditional methods.

Pricing:

• Pints range from $5-$9
• Current Hours: Monday: closed
  Tuesday: closed
  Wednesday: 4pm -12am
  Thursday: 4pm -12am
  Friday: 12pm – 12am
  Saturday: 12pm -12am
  Sunday: 12pm- 6pm
  *Hours are subject to change*

Pricing:

• Pints Range from $5-$9

Contact Info:

• Address: 916 W Hyde Park Blvd, Inglewood, CA, 90302
• Phone: 424-227-9963
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tortugobrewing/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tortugobrewing/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tortugobrewing
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tortugo-brewing-inglewood-3

Image Credit:
Jason Brawdy Photography

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