Continuing on our quest to meet as many awesome humans in the beer industry as possible has led us to our interview/drinking sesh with Jake Williams Collins III.
Collins is currently killing it both in sales and behind the bar at Intergalactic Brewing Company (located at 9715 Carroll Centre Rd #107 San Diego CA 92126). It’s a brewery that we hold near and dear to our hearts for the sole reason that it reminds us of home. Intergalactic Brewing Company is, as you would imagine, heavily “space” themed. Sci-Fi movie posters deck out the walls, a giant Wookie cutout takes up most a side wall, and galaxy swirls adorn the bar top. The tasting room offers 20 taps including two nitro taps, with plans underway to install hand pumps in order to serve cask beer.
Collins’ official title at Intergalactic is North County Sales Rep, though he does slum it behind the bar from time to time. Collins began his beer career when long time
friend/neighbor/owner of Intergalactic Brewing Company Alex Van Horne made him “brew bitch” in 2013. To state politely, Collins assisted in the brew house; cleaning, prepping ingredients, and learning how to brew on a commercial system. Now a card-carrying beer nerd, Collins is able to spread his wings and tour around San Diego selling delicious beer to thirsty people. Other than talking and drinking beer, which are definite perks of being a sales rep, Collins enjoys the connections made with various humans in the industry.
When not killing it over at Intergalactic Brewing Company, Collins stays true to his passion and serves beer down the road at 2Kids Brewing Company (located at 8680 Miralani Dr #123 San Diego, CA). We asked Collins if he had any tips for entering the industry, even though he got by on his good looks and social circle. He confirmed that by saying it’s all in who you know. Collins also added, “Volunteering is key, attending festivals and events, making friends, and trying not to be an ass.”
When asked what he would do if he wasn’t in the beer industry, he simply stated, “I would own a record store”. An interesting answer considering there aren’t a whole lot of those left on planet Earth, but we applaud his enthusiasm and passion for all things creative. Collins did state that he plans to stay in the industry, with a personal dream of owning his own craft cidery, an industry which definitely has a lot of room to grow in San Diego. He has even won a few QUAFF awards for his homebrewed cider. We shall patiently wait for his dream to come true.
Kelly Cashman
Raymond
