The Brief

Campus administrators may cringe when they see the words beer and college next to each other.

But in late 2014 Cal Poly Pomona leaders opened Innovation Brew Works to change the relationship between those two concepts.

In addition to a beer brewing operation, IBW also has an Assistant Brewer Training Program, a seven-week Cal Poly Pomona professional development course that offers a certificate for people who want to enter the brewing economy. The program helps people find jobs in a $117 billion industry.

“This is a college pathway,” said Eric Bassett, production manager at IBW and an instructor for the training program.

Diversifying the brewing industry

There’s a stereotype of the microbrew brewmaster.

“It's a white male with a beard,” Bassett said.

But Innovation Brew Works is helping to change that.

A student in the Innovation Brew Works certificate program at Cal Poly Pomona learns how to use brewing equipment.

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Courtesy Cal Poly Pomona

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The training program enrolls about six students, who bring their varied backgrounds into their learning.

Kevin Limón took the Cal Poly class in 2019 while finishing his geology-geospatial analysis bachelor’s degree.

“[Growing up] we had a little lemongrass plant and my grandma would always make her little tinctures and teas with it,” he said.

His parents and grandparents were born and raised in Jalisco, Mexico.

Now he works at Highland Park Brewery, where he proposed and made a ginger and lemongrass saison beer as a tribute to that cultural experience.

Other efforts to diversify the brewing industry have come along since Cal Poly Pomona's program began. San Diego State University, for example, offers a Diversity in Craft Beer Award that includes free tuition and a brewing internship.

More Latino-themed breweries have opened in recent years across the country.

“The brewing community was one demographic for so long, but we're starting to break that wheel and get more representation out there,” Limón said.

Making beer as an education pathway

The idea for Innovation Brew Works was crafted by G. Paul Storey in 2012. He’s former executive director of the Cal Poly Pomona Foundation and sought to create a “learn by doing” educational laboratory that included a microbrewery and cafe. The university said Innovation Brew Works is the first brewery-restaurant on a college campus open to the public in the United States.

For some graduates, the training program came after working in very different industries.

Shaun Eozzo grew up in Butler, Pa., where he got an associate’s degree in computer forensics from his local community college.

Eric Bassett, right, teaches the Innovation Brew Works class at the program brewery facility at Cal Poly Pomona.

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Courtesy Cal Poly Pomona

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“I ended up kind of transitioning to IT consulting for roughly 15 years and kind of went through the ranks in that industry and just kind of found that it wasn't very fulfilling,” he said.

He wanted to find something more hands-on, more creative, he said, something that engaged the senses. He liked the vibe in microbreweries. So he took the course and is now working at Campsite Brewing Company in Covina, Calif.

“When you go there, you feel like you're transported to a campsite,” he said, and that makes him feel like he’s creating a product people enjoy while being connected to the environment and the earth.

“I'm from Japan. I just moved here three years ago,” said Yuki Endo.

She took the course that wrapped up this month. In Japan, she worked in logistics for a shipping company.

“I just decided to move here to go to school, get [a brewing] certificate and start my career as a brewer here,” she said.

Her previous work was not satisfying, she said, and the Innovation Brew Works program’s hands-on approach to learning the craft gave her satisfaction away from a computer and a desk.

Yuki Endo moved from Japan to the U.S. to learn how to become a brewer. She enrolled in Cal Poly Pomona's brewing certificate program.

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Courtesy Cal Poly Pomona

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For others, the certificate program provided training that opened big opportunities within their current company.

“I've always been really big on continuing education,” said Michael Zalapa, who earned his associate’s degree in business at Orange Coast College in the early 2000s.

He’s worked for 12 years for a Southern California company that manufactures and sells pomade products. The owners of the company bought a brewery in Santa Ana in 2020, he said, and hired a brewer to develop the beers. That brewer left to strike out on his own.

“That's when I started considering going back to school,” Zalapa said.

He had lots of experience in sales and other aspects of business but knew nothing about brewing beer or running a brewery, so he enrolled in the Cal Poly Pomona certificate program last year to learn how a microbrewery works top to bottom. Now, he’s the general manager of Cerveza Cito Brewery in Santa Ana.

Growth in the craft beer industry has slowed in recent years as sales flatten out and some microbreweries close, though several have opened in downtown Los Angeles. There are more than 80 locally based breweries in L.A. County.

“Beer is very high profitability for cost of goods,” Bassett said. At Innovation Brew Works, he said, it costs from 50 cents to $2 to make a pint of beer that sells for $8.

Entry-level jobs offer the grunt work of cleaning vessels, tubes, kegs and all other aspects of the brewing process. Assistant brewers help brewers come up with beers that are consistent in taste and quality.

Limón brewed and worked on beers that won four gold medals last year and led some to say the brewery is the best in the country. He and other graduates say they are very satisfied and did not struggle to find jobs in the industry.

Pay, though, is still an issue.

“I've heard some of my students out there getting about $17 to $20 [an hour] for entry level jobs. Up to $22 bucks, $23 for the brewing positions,” Bassett said.

Give me a flight of beers with Lunch Lady, Study Buddy, and Home Ec.

On a visit to Innovation Brew Works, this LAist reporter tasted a flight of four beers made by Bassett and his students. The ube extract used to flavor the Home Ec. beer gave the brew a purple color, and the smooth taste of the purple yam melded well with the alcohol in the beer.

Reporter Adolfo Guzman-Lopez sampled the beer that students helped make at Innovation Brew Works

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

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Bassett at times uses produce grown on the Cal Poly Pomona campus farm to flavor his beers. He used campus-grown Meyer lemons with ice tea hard seltzer for the beer named Study Buddy. He’s used orange juice from the campus harvest and combined it with pineapple juice for a Lunar New Year beer.

Innovation Brew Works celebrates its 10th anniversary on April 26, 2025 at Cal Poly Pomona.

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/LAist

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This reporter even lifted his pinkie as he brought the 5 oz. glasses (one at a time) to his mouth to savor, because this is not a beer to be chugged a pitcher at a time at a Friday afternoon college party.

A decade of experience shows that beer on a college campus doesn’t have to be crude — it can be an art to be appreciated.

In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena and Pasadena’s music community have really shown up to support fire survivors, especially fellow musicians who lost instruments and record collections.

That effort continues this weekend with a special donation concert at a Pasadena record store, with the aim of getting vinyl records back in the hands of survivors who lost their collections.

“You know, our name is Healing Force of the Universe, and I think that gives me a pretty clear direction… especially after the fires,” said Austin Manuel, founder of Pasadena record store, where Sunday’s show will be held.

The record donation effort is the brainchild of musician Brandon Jay, who founded the nonprofit Altadena Musicians after losing his home and almost all of his family’s instruments in the Eaton Fire. Through Altadena Musicians’s donation and registry platform, Jay said he and his partners have helped some 1,200 fire survivors get their music instruments back.

Brandon Jay.

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Robert Garrova

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Now, that effort has fanned out to restoring vinyl record collections.

“All of that stuff evaporated for thousands of people,” Jay said. “Look at your own record collection and be like, ‘Wow, what if that whole thing disappeared?’”

You might know Jay from several bands over the years, including Lutefisk, a 1990s alt-rock band based in Los Angeles. He and his wife, Gwendolyn Sanford, composed music for TV shows, including Orange is the New Black and Weeds.

Jay plans to play some holiday tunes at Sunday's record donation show (which LAist is the media sponsor), along with fellow musician Daniel Brummel of Sanglorians. Brummel, who was also a founding member of Pasadena’s indie-rock sensation Ozma, said he was grateful to Jay for his fire recovery work and to Manuel for making Healing Force available for shows like this.

Brummel, who came close to losing his own home in the Eaton Fire, recalled a show he played at Healing Force back in March.

Ryen Slegr (left) and Daniel Brummel perform with their band, Ozma, on the 2014 Weezer Cruise.

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Even Keel Imagery

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“The trauma of the fires was still really fresh,” Brummel said. After playing a cover of Rufus Wainwright’s “Going to a Town,” that night — which includes the lyrics “I’m going to a town that has already been burnt down” — Brummel said his neighbors in the audience told him the rendition hit them hard. “It felt really powerful. And without that space, it just wouldn’t have occurred.”

Details

Healing Force of the Universe Record Donation Show
Featuring: Quasar (aka Brandon Jay), Sanglorians (Daniel Brummel) and The Acrylic.
Sunday, Dec. 14; 2 to 5 p.m.
1200 E. Walnut St., Pasadena
Tickets are $15 or you can donate 5 or more records at the door. More info here.

Topline:

The case: In September, the city settled a lawsuit brought forward by two brothers in their 70s who said they suffered serious injuries after an LAPD officer crashed into their car. Days before the $18 million settlement was reached, lawyers for the brothers said Feldstein Soto called an expert witness testifying for the plaintiffs and “attempted to ingratiate herself with him and asked him to make a contribution to her political campaign,” according to a sworn declaration to the court by the plaintiffs’ attorney, Robert Glassman.

The response: Feldstein Soto did not respond to an interview request. Her spokesperson said the settlement “had nothing to do” with the expert witness. Her campaign manager told LAist the city attorney had been making a routine fundraising call and did not know the person had a role in the case, nor that there were pending requests for her office to pay him fees.

What Jurado says: In a statement to LAist, Jurado said she wants to “make sure that the city’s legal leadership is guided by integrity and accountability, especially when their choices affect public trust, civic rights and the city’s limited resources."

What’s next: The motion needs to go through a few committees before reaching the full City Council. If it passes, the motion calls for the city attorney to “report to council in closed session within 45 days regarding the ethics breach violation and give updates to the City Council."

Every year in Santa Ana, Luis Cantabrana turns the front of his home into an elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe that draws hundreds of visitors.

Along the front of the house, the multi-colored altar is filled with lights, flowers and a stained-glass tapestry behind a sculpture of the Lady of Guadalupe. Cantabrana’s roof also is lit up with the green, white and red lights that spell out “Virgen de Guadalupe” and a cross.

Visitors are welcomed with music and the smell of roses as they celebrate the saint, but this year’s gathering comes after a dark year for immigrant communities.

Luis Cantabrana stands in front of the stunning altar he built in front of his home in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe. Every year, his display draws hundreds of visitors.

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Why do they celebrate? 

In 1513, the Virgin Mary appeared before St. Juan Diego between Dec. 9 and Dec. 12, asking him to build a church in her honor. Her image — a brown-skinned woman wearing a green veil with her hands together in prayer and an angel at her feet — miraculously appeared on his cloak.

To celebrate in Santa Ana, worshippers gathered late-night Wednesday and in the very early hours Dec. 12 to pray the rosary, sing hymns and celebrate the saint.

Cantabrana has hosted worshippers at his home for 27 years — 17 in Santa Ana.

The altar started out small, he said, and over the years, he added a fabric background, more lights and flowers (lots and lots of flowers).

“It started with me making a promise to la Virgen de Guadalupe that while I had life and a home to build an altar, that I would do it,” Cantabrana said. “Everything you see in photos and videos is pretty, but when you come and see it live, it's more than pretty. It's beautiful.”

The Santa Ana home's elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe draws hundreds of visitors each year.

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Destiny Torres

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LAist

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Gathering in a time of turmoil 

Many also look to the Lady of Guadalupe for protection, especially at a time when federal enforcement has rattled immigrant communities.

“People don’t want to go to work, they don’t want to take their kids to school, but the love we have for our Virgen de Guadalupe,” Cantabrana said. “We see that la Virgen de Guadalupe has a lot of power, and so we know immigration [enforcement] won’t come here.”

Margarita Lopez of Garden Grove has been visiting the altar for three years with her husband. She’s been celebrating the Virgencita since she was a young girl. Honoring the saint is as important now as ever, she said.

“We ask, and she performs miracles,” Lopez said.

Claudia Tapia, a lifelong Santa Ana resident, said the Virgin Mary represents strength.

“Right now, with everything going on, a lot of our families [have] turned and prayed to the Virgen for strength during these times,” Tapia said. “She's a very strong symbol of Mexican culture, of unity, of faith and of resilience.”

See it for yourself

The shrine will stay up into the new year on the corner of Broadway and Camile Street.