Next Wave Awards Brewer of the Year: Derek Gallanosa
Despite the acclaimed work he’s currently accomplishing at San Diego industry darling GOAL. Brewing, not to mention the feat of creating a new beer style, the beginning of Derek Gallanosa’s brewing journey was something of a pivot. Disgruntled with unfulfilling entry-level marketing jobs he’d worked right out of college, the San Diego native decided to turn his home brewing hobby into a career. In 2010, he took a gig as a cellarperson at local Karl Strauss Brewing Company and sponged up all the knowledge he could. It was a choice that involved sacrifice, and the beer world is better for it.
“I had to work at Fry’s Electronics selling TVs to make up for the drop in pay,” Gallanosa recalls. “It was a tough start to my career, but well worth the effort.” Six months later, he got promoted to a brewing position. Two years in, Gallanosa made the move to the brewery’s marketing department to learn that side of the business before securing the head brewer position at nearby startup Abnormal Beer Company in 2014. There, Gallanosa unleashed the innovation that put his name on the entire brewing industry’s radar: imperial pastry stouts. The term is now synonymous with high-ABV, thick-as-molasses, pitch-black brews (also known as dessert stouts) that are bolstered with adjuncts ranging from coffee and vanilla beans to chocolate and chili peppers.
Credit: Kimberly Motos
“I started making these styles when I was homebrewing,” he says. “I was inspired by my chef friends and how they can take a particular protein or seasonal produce and add layers of flavor using additional ingredients to create a well-composed dish. The moment I knew I was onto something was when the first bottle sold out in literal seconds.”
Inventing a new style of beer is something every brewer dreams of. But Gallanosa quickly realized that while pastry stouts would inevitably put his name on the map and become a hearty source of income, he didn’t want to be relegated as a one-trick pony. The road ahead would require a balance between giving drinkers what he was known for and achieving prowess in a multitude of other beer styles.
In 2017, that path took shape. Gallanosa was listed among RateBeer.com’s top 100 brewers in the world, and he also left his hometown to pursue a new head brewer position at the then-new Moksa Brewing Co. in Northern California. With beer-industry hype around him, Gallanosa continued pumping out his signature pastry stouts alongside lagers to hazies and West Coast IPAs.
Credit: Kimberly Motos
But he missed his friends and family in San Diego. So in 2023, he pounced on the opportunity to join the opening team at GOAL. Brewing back home. Now, as head brewer and director of beer operations there, Gallanosa straddles the responsibilities of brewing, marketing, and sales management. He also teaches a class at San Diego State University called Marketing Craft Beer, which educates students on topics including company culture, brand imagery, and distribution. It’s a lot to take on, but it’s a task Gallanosa is up for.
“The upside to having all these responsibilities is that I get to meet not only fellow brewers, but also marketers, bar managers, beer buyers, brewery owners, journalists, and even chefs who are open to beer dinners,” he says. “Networking across this wide range of people creates many opportunities for the future.”
At GOAL., Gallanosa still makes the occasional adjunct-laden pastry stout, but he’s now focusing on more sessionable styles like lagers, fruited sours, IPAs that clock in below 7 percent ABV, and even hard seltzers.
Credit: Kimberly Motos
“The focus of the beers I produce at GOAL. is drinkability with the intention of them being drunk in a social setting,” he explains. In addition to curating a brewery where crushability is king, Gallanosa is putting elements of pop culture into the beer-naming process in a push to get craft beer out to a wider audience.
“We look for something that people can relate to,” he says of the brewery’s name development. “Whether it references cars, sneakers, sports, or [different] cultures — if that name can attract a new customer, it’s a worthy name.” One example would be GOAL.’s Ube Haze, a heavily hopped IPA brewed with ube, inspired by Gallanosa and brewery owner Jayson Pizarro’s Filipino heritage.
Credit: Kimberly Motos
As we enter an era when more craft breweries are closing than opening in the U.S., Gallanosa and GOAL. seem to be navigating the tides deftly. In just one year, the brewery has already maxed out its production volume and is struggling to keep up with consumer demand — not the worst problem to have. With plans to grow GOAL., Gallanosa still hasn’t lost sight of his endless pursuit of growth as a brewer.
“No matter what beer or seltzer someone orders, I want them to think that it’s one of the best versions of that style they’ve ever tasted, and then have the desire to get back in line to try something else,” he says. “Brewing unique beverages feeds my creative juices that inspire me to keep progressing.”
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