SAN ANTONIO — At Second Pitch Beer Co. they are serving up cold brews, while also filling the cups of owners Samantha and Jim Hansen.
“It was always a goal of ours to open up a brewery and to have our own business and San Antonio is a great place to make that happen," Second Pitch Beer Co., co-owner, Jim Hansen said.
Their name, Second Pitch, inspires their product.
“We chose the name because you can pull a pitch of yeast from a beer that is all done fermenting and create a new beer with it," Jim Hansen said. "So the idea with it is that we were able to take something old and make something a little bit new with it."
And that’s exactly what brewmaster Jim is doing --- creating classic crafts that hold on to the true traditions of brewing beer.
“We try to make the perfect pint at all times, so really our goal at second pitch is its always going to be perfect, and correct, and true to style and something that you can really trust in," Jim Hansen said.
Their beers winning accolades both nationally and internationally.
“Our hometown lager which is one of our flagship beers just won gold at the U.S. beer open for the second year in the a row, and also won silver this year at the World Beer Cup which we were extremely proud of," Jim Hansen said. "So basically it means that we have the second best amber lager in the world at the moment.”
Jim actually started chasing his chance in the beer industry after college.
“I called every brewery within 50 miles of my house once a week for three months until one of them was like if you stop calling we will let you clean kegs,” Jim Hansen said.
But as life would have it, Jim found himself going in a different direction.
“When we met he was actually working contract work with the government,” Samantha Hansen said. “Once we moved in together we were like ok, why don’t you get back to what you are passionate about,” Samantha said.
Thanks to some encouragement by his wife Samantha, he took his ‘second pitch.’
“A lot of the things that you do in the world with work is you move things from left to right or you just shuffle papers forward," Jim Hansen said. "This is actually we take raw ingredients and we use craft, and knowledge, and technique to make a beautiful product.”
Now in their second year of business, Second Pitch Beer Co., is looking to the future with high expectations.
“We are starting to hit our stride and making really, really, really good beer. Just constantly trying to make new products for the public and the beer lovers in San Antonio,” Jim Hansen said.
But it’s not just about the beer, Second Pitch Beer is also all about their community. They offer a number of markets, trivia nights and educational classes on beer.
Check out their website to find out more.