While enjoying a beer in a surf town in Australia, Cramer was introduced to the world of microbrewing. It was the first time he had seen the concept. Upon his return to the United States, excited and inspired, Cramer shared the idea with his family and friend, Matt Rattner. Cramer’s dad had informed him that there was someone in the family with a wealth of brewing experience, uncle and master brewer Karl Strauss.

Strauss grew up in Minden, Germany where his father was president of a small brewery. “As a kid growing up, I was always fascinated by the brewing process,” said Strauss, now 93. Strauss left Minden to study in Bavaria, where he earned his degree in the science of malting and brewing from the Technical University Munich at Weihenstephan. In 1939, Strauss immigrated to the United States where he worked for Pabst Brewing Company for forty-four years. Through expert craftsmanship, Strauss climbed through the ranks of brewmaster to become vice president of production and master brewer.

“Karl provided all the recipes and consulting work to help us get going on designing the brewery,” said Rattner, co-founder and president of Karl Strauss Brewing Company. “We always thought from day one that we could make a terrific beer with this master craftsman. His style of beer was very adaptable for San Diego, well balanced, a nice drinking beer.”

Through the marriage of knowledge and devotion, Rattner and Cramer fromed Karl Strauss Brewing Company, appointing Strauss to the position of Master Brewer. The juxtaposition of personalities from Strauss’s old world knowledge and Rattner’s and Cramer’s fresh young perspective formed a company the brews flavorful, balanced beer while still being committed to respectable values and ideologies.

“Karl brings old world, tradition, hard work ethic and charisma. He is a gentleman. However, the personality of the company is a little more hip than that, a little more laid-back. We appreciate the tradition and we want to stay true to that, but we celebrate it in our own way,” said Paul Segura, head brewer and production manager.

“Karl is really like the patron saint of our company. All of our core values came from him,” said Rattner. Values such as Karl Strauss’s commitment to craft and beer culture, authentic relationships and continuous improvement keep both the company and beer fresh and enjoyable.

On February 2, 1989, Karl Strauss Brewing Company opened its downtown San Diego brewery. It was the first brewery in San Diego in more than 50 years – since the days of prohibition – and it was also the first brewery in the downtown area. Their mission was to provide, great beer and great experiences. Today, Karl Strauss beer is served in more than 100 downtown area bars, restaurants and hotels and at more than 1,200 Southern California locations.

“Always make the best beer you know,” said Strauss. “People will the know the difference. The drinking public is smarter than you think.” Being unimpressed with the mildness of American beers, Strauss set out to create more full flavored complex beers inspired by the characteristics of German-style lagers and English ales. Karl Strauss Brewing Company now has 36 different beers with eight core flavors. These main eight – Karl Strauss Amber Lager, Red Trolley Ale, Stargazer I.P.A., Woodie Gold, Endless Summer Light, Windansea Wheat Hefeweizen, Downtown After Dark Brown Ale and Karl Strauss Oktoberfest – are the beers readily available throughout Southern California.

“The Karl Strauss Amber Lager or Red Trolley probably best reflect the personality of the company, both because are really balanced, but flavorful; they are fun, they represent Southern California well. They are just great drinking beers,” Rattner said.

The other 28 beers are seasonal and can only be found at Karl Strauss’s seven breweries. “Every month there are three beers we bring back. During one month out of the summer and for the month of December we have a brewmaster’s creation,”said Segura. “This year we have a brewer named Adam Ball. He brewed a batch of Nut Brown Ale. It is a cross between dark chocolate and roasted hazelnuts. It will be strong, like Newcastle on steroids.”

So what is it about Karl Strauss’s beer that gives it the kick most domestics lack? “Microbrewery tastes so good because it has the freshness of being local. Beer is best when it’s fresh,” said Rattner, who added that the company will not ship beer outside of Southern California to ensure outstanding quality. “The second thing is our ingredients. Mass-produced beer can have more than 200 adjuncts, fillers, preservatives, colors and flavors that don’t need to be listed on the label. If you drink another beer and have allergic reaction or a bad hangover it is usually because of the impurities in the beer.”

“We are pretty much purists when it comes to beer. We don’t use any artificial ingredients or preservatives,” added Segura. “Another thing that makes it unique in addition to the recipes are the care that the brewers take, the passion that they have for brewing beer.”

Because of Karl Strauss’s tight focus on one particular geographic region, the brewery has been able to become very involved with the San Diegan community. “One of our core values is being part of something bigger than ourselves, being part of the community, being good to the environment,” Rattner said. Karl Strauss is connected and is supportive of companies such as Surfrider and I Love a Clean San Diego. “Beer is a community thing, so it is great to have everyone together to celebrate and drink good beer,” added Rattner.

“Our goal is to become the most loved and best selling beer in Southern California,” said Rattner. “Our growth has allowed us to funnel the investment, to build our brand in the Southern California market. This has allowed us to keep gathering great equipment, good quality control and good personnel, to help us on our pathway to compete against larger people in the market. There are a lot of people here, 20 million. Until they are all drinking Karl Strauss, our job is not done.

Well, I guess there is proof. God does love us; he just loves Southern California a little more.