Harmonic Convergence: Meet the Craftsmen Behind Harmonic Brewing

The founders of Harmonic Brewing in their new brewery and tasting room are (l to r) Eric Tisch, Jon Verna and Eddie Gobbo.

Harmonic Brewing.  The name alone makes one feel calm and ready for a brew.  And so does the sleek, industrial yet modern space with its gray painted walls and sleek table tops.  The 5,000 square foot space carved out of a larger warehouse space includes a brewery visible to the public, a small tap room and seating with office space overlooking the entire operation.  The site of a former nut factory, Harmonic Brewing subleases this part of the warehouse from ShopFloor Design, a metalworking shop that designs high-end furniture and sculptures. 

With the arrival of The Wine House down the road and all the new businesses planned for the area around 26th and Minnesota, it seems that this area of Dogpatch needs its own designation, maybe -- SoDoPa -- Southern Dogpatch. 

Eddie Gobbo, Jon Verna and Eric Tisch -- partners in Harmonic Brewing would prefer BrewPatch but we will let the denizens of Dogpatch decide.

The small, privately funded brewery hopes to ramp up production to 1,000-2,000 barrels and will sell to local SF bars like the Dogpatch Saloon.   They will have six to seven beers to start and consistently on tap.  They also hope to offer seasonal offerings and special brews as the inspiration strikes them. 

Although the brewery will not offer food for sale, the partners hope to have food trucks onsite as well as bring in soft baked pretzels from The Salt Point Pretzel Company. And of course with a name like Harmonic, live music is a possibility in the future.  

Gobbo and Verna met long ago when they both lived on the East Coast then reconnected when they moved to California.  Tisch and Verna met through their online marketing careers.  All shared a common interest in home brewing.  And all three partners kicked off the dust of their corporate lives to form Harmonic Brewing.  

With the smell of grape nuts in the air, we sat down with the partners and sipped their flagship Rye Old Fashioned Pale -- a nod to the classic American cocktail.

Harmonic Brewing Co-Founders Eddie Gobbo and Jon Verna at the Harmonic Brewing tasting room in Dogpatch, San Francisco, CA.

Why do you do what you do?

EG:  I'm a chemical engineer and scaling home brew to major production was very similar to my previous career of scaling drug processes from lab to production.  I love the science aspect of the work -- to tinker with the recipes and see what works and what doesn't work.  And then the creative aspect of creating something and sharing it with customers and to get that feedback whether good or bad.  I want this to be a place where people want to come again and again -- to make it their hang out. I want it to be like the old school places in San Francisco that we used to go to when we first came to SF and that we feel are now disappearing.  We know we have to earn that and we are up for it!

JV:  It feels so great to be making a tangible product versus working on spreadsheets and being in client meetings and chained to a desk.  I love interacting with people who care about the product we are making.

ET:  This is strictly a passion project for me.  It is what I always enjoyed doing when I wasn't working so the opportunity to turn this into my career was a no-brainer for me.  I feel so fortunate that a hobby has translated into a career.

Why Dogpatch?

JV:  This neighborhood is the perfect vibe for us.  It's industrial but it is also a real neighborhood. We love how neighbors have stopped by while we were under construction to wish us well and to welcome us to Dogpatch. Everyone is so friendly and wants us to succeed.  It is perfect for us.
Eddie did a pub crawl here with his wife and had a chance to explore the neighborhood.  We looked for more than eight months for a place for Harmonic and we were getting discouraged.  We finally saw a listing on Craigslist from ShopFloor Design and the way the listing was worded, it almost seemed liked they were looking for a tenant like us to share space with.  We signed our lease in November 2015.

Harmonic Brewing Co-Founder Eric Tisch oversees the process at the brewery in Dogpatch, San Francisco, CA.

What would you be doing if you weren't doing this?

EG:  Make my living as a musician -- form a band and play bass.

JV:  I would be a music promoter like Bill Graham which is what I originally came to California to do!

ET:  This is the only thing that I want to be doing -- this is it, no other option!

Why did you decide on the name Harmonic Brewing? 

Well, we are all music lovers so the name reflects that but it also refers to the fact that we want all our offerings to be in balance -- smooth -- not too bitter or too strong of an alcohol taste.


Editor's Note:  Harmonic Brewing passed their final inspections and is now open for business!
Business Hours:  Thursday & Friday 3pm-11pm, Saturday noon-11 pm and  Sunday noon-5 pm

That Voodoo That You Do: Meet Greg Kitchen of Triple Voodoo

Greg Kitchen at the bar in Dogpatch's new brewery, Triple Voodoo. 

Dogpatch is quickly being brewpatch with the addition of Triple Voodoo Brewery and Taproom between 19th and 20th at Third in a ground floor location in the new Potrero Launch apartment complex.  No complaints here as co-owner Greg Kitchen-- or as he describes himself -- "CEO, COO and everything else," lined up four of their craft brews for us to taste.  We thought Kitchen might enjoy actually getting to sit down given his hectic schedule of not only moving into their first brick and mortar location, but also overseeing the SF Beer Week activities that were in full swing the day we visited.

But Kitchen remained standing as he described the beers we were tasting, talked to a new employee, looked at the schedule for that evenings activities and talked excitedly about the strains of yeast they use that give their brews such unique characteristics.  Perhaps there was a bit of black magic going on or maybe Kitchen was super energized by finally having a home for his three year old company but it was obvious there would be no rest for him in his immediate future. 

Why do you do what you do?
I want to wake up each morning and know I'm going to work at something I love.  And I love the community and the culture of the beer brewing world.

I grew up in California and I have a computer science degree.  I worked in the technology world for about 15 years.  But I loved brewing beer and so did my friend Aaron Chan and we became avid home brewers. It isn't legal to sell home brewed beer so we gave it away at parties for several years.  More and more people started asking us for the beer and once we realized we were giving the beer away to more than 200 people we knew we might actually have a business.

We did a lot of soul searching as well as creative financing and started our craft brew business in 2011.  Our goal was to take the best aspects of the Belgian and California styles of brewing to create our own unique beer style. 

While we certainly appreciated other brewers letting us use their space, it is hard to be a gypsy brewer.  You never really get to know the equipment as well as you would like and you have to adhere to their brewing schedules.   So we are excited to finally have our own space.

Craft Beers from front to back: Inception, King Leopold, Breaka' Dawn, 8 Tentacles

We have a 10 barrel brewing system here and most of the beer we produce will be used in our own taproom although we have our wholesale, retail and collaboration projects that we will supply with our beer as well.  We want to create an interesting and varied tasting experience for our customers so we plan to have rotating taps featuring new styles every month.

We plan to offer tours and sessions with our head brewer, Phil Meeker, to educate folks on craft beer and on the brewing process. 

We don't have a kitchen but we plan to partner with various restaurants and food trucks to provide food for customers.  Right now, we are working with The New Spot, a Mexican restaurant that is a local favorite. 

Why Dogpatch?
We always had the goal to have our own space.  We love the vibe in Dogpatch -- we call it modern industrial.  It suits us.  We looked all over San Francisco for the right sized space.  It was hard to find a space that was under 3000 square feet.  We really wanted an artisan-sized brewery and tap room.  We have about 2800 square feet here.  And we used local artisans whenever possible to finish out the space.  In fact, I was having a burger at Serpentine one day and sat next to a guy who I eventually hired to do our bar counter. 

What's the story behind the name -- Triple Voodoo?
Originally the name was Cherry Voodoo.  We thought is sounded cool but people thought we made cherry beer so we knew we had to change it.

We came up with the name Voodoo to represent the science of brewing -- take simple ingredients but produce these complex flavors.  And triple because at the time there were three partners.  So, Triple Voodoo!

Where Everyone Still Knows Your Name: Meet Marc Goldfine of Dogpatch Saloon

Marc Goldfine sits in the newly remodeled Dogpatch Saloon. The bar has been updated, windows have been added, but the original bar top remains. Photographed on August 20, 2013 in San Francisco, CA.

Most residents of Dogpatch welcome the new food and drink venues that seem to be opening in the neighborhood at a furious pace.

But there were more than a few furrowed brows and crossed fingers that not much would change at the Dogpatch Saloon, long a neighborhood anchor, when owner Mike Apicelli decided to retire and sell to Chris Barry, Derek Jostad, Sky Wegman and Marc Goldfine -- the team behind financial district watering hole, 83 Proof .

For months we walked by the construction at 22nd and Third and wondered what changes would the new owners make -- would there still be jazz music on Sunday nights and what about that never ending crock-pot of chili?  Would they make it into a "fancy" bar or would we still feel a sense of belonging no matter what drink we ordered or how we were dressed? 

When the doors were flung open on a warm Monday in July it seemed that most of the neighborhood had turned out to see what had changed and what had remained the same.

And it seemed that a collective sigh of relief was heard as many in attendance voiced that the bar "felt good."  The enlarged windows meant a welcome breeze would flow through the bar and no one regretted the remodeled bathrooms.  The crock-pot is gone as well as any possibility of food service since the small kitchen was also removed.  Live music remains a possibility but for now the Sunday night jazz tradition has been retired.

The original Dog still stands guard in the stained glass window over the front door and the brass bell by the bar remains at the ready for last call.  The last bar stool is still reserved for the original owner, Tugboat Annie, and Mike Apicelli's name has been added to the brass plate. 

The Bell for last call at the Dogpatch Saloon is one of the pieces remaining from the old salooon before the recent remodal.

But the majority of the bar was completely renovated and designer Tess Parker added furnishings and other touches that fit right in; such as the 100 year old bar stools that came from a Stanford University science lab and the benches that were formerly church pews.

Owner Marc Goldfine left his post at the bar to welcome customers and to chat about the renovation. His radio-ready voice was easily heard above the large crowd. It truly felt that hardworking Apicelli had turned over the bar to a like-minded team who provided a much needed refresh to the Dogpatch Saloon.

A few weeks after the opening Goldfine agreed to chat with us about his background and the process behind reopening the Dogpatch Saloon.  As we chatted, Mike Apicelli poked his head through an open window to say hello and to check in.  Delivery men pounded on the locked door and one of the bartenders stopped by before their shift to see if anyone wanted her to pick up a sandwich for them.    We uncrossed our fingers.

Why do you do what you do?

It sounds simplistic but I love bartending and luckily it pays the bills.  I enjoy the social aspect of being a bartender and I like the creativity of creating cocktails.

I grew up in Chicago and first visited San Francisco when my brother came out here to live.  I fell in love with the city and knew I would be back.  I currently live in the Sunset neighborhood and I've been in SF for 15 years.  I was in the food business in Chicago and I also had always been told that I should go into voice acting.  So for awhile bartending paid for my voice acting classes!

When I came to SF my brother helped me get a job at a bar where I worked my way up from working the door to a barback to eventually one of the bartenders.  From there I worked at various other bars including The Black Cat in North Beach.  I met the other 83 Proof guys while working at LuLus.  Chris Barry had always had a goal of opening a bar.  At the time I had zero interest in being an owner but I loved bartending.  He and the other guys opened 83 Proof in 2007 and I started out as their sole employee and over time became one of the owners.  But I'm still the anchor bartender at 83 Proof!

Why Dogpatch?

Former owner Mike Apicelli approached Derek and indicated that he was ready to retire and wondered if we might be interested in taking over his saloon.  I had heard about the neighborhood but hadn't spent much time here.  When this opportunity came along, I walked around the neighborhood and liked what I saw.  I loved the Pelton Cottages, the weather and liked that the grittiness is still here despite all the changes.

We felt that the bar had good bones and just needed a refresh -- it hadn't really changed with the neighborhood.

Who is another fascinating person you have met in Dogpatch?

Everyone has been so welcoming to us -- merchants and neighbors.  And we are very thankful for Hard Knox Cafe and Just For You Cafe because we were frequent diners there during renovation! 

What is an interesting story that has happened to you in Dogpatch?

This isn't really one story but once we got into the renovations we were just amazed to find out how much this place was jury rigged!  Just one example -- turns out the bar had been using the electricity from the wine bar next door, Yield, for years.  But somehow it all worked anyway!

What would you be doing if you weren't doing this?

Probably voice acting.  I broadcast the sports and news on college radio but beer and girls made me less dedicated than I might have been.


Article written by Patricia Kline
Photographs by Scott R. Kline