Dave Hyndman is the one-man show behind Wet ‘N Reckless. Today we ask him about his brewing, his brewery’s name, and what’s next for the small Mira Mesa outfit.

What size system do you brew on?

My brew system is a 1.5 barrel system but I often brew smaller batches as the need arises. This is the perfect size that allows me to have as many as 13 beers on tap at the same time and permits constant experimentation. I like to be able to provide a large variety of tastes and beer experiences for my patrons.

How often do you brew?

I typically brew one day a week on Sundays because I still have a full-time job as a Biologist during the week. I am able to do up to three batches a day that allows me to keep up with my growing demand.

What beer releases do you have coming up?

Today I’m releasing two beers based on my popular Golden Boy. One is a dry-hopped version called Clever Boy and one has jalepeño peppers and it’s called Spicy Boy. I am also bringing back the very popular Applicious Ale this week.

Your brewery’s name has caused some controversy because of its association with drinking and driving. Can you clear the air for us on this topic?

I have to give credit for thinking up the name to a previous associate of mine named Marc. Once we found the name it was clear that it was catchy and summed up what the brewery is about. In short: beer is wet and I am reckless.

What do I mean by reckless? Well, I have found in life that doing things that are unexpected and risky without having all of the information can lead to great things. It seems that the most important things I’ve done in my life have been somewhat reckless – from dropping out of college halfway through, to joining the Marine Corps, to deciding in the middle of writing a Master’s Thesis to just drop everything and move to Japan to teach English, to becoming a fire breather who can spin huge freaking balls of fire while on giant stilts at Burning Man. In all of these cases I made a rash and perhaps unwise (some might say reckless) choice and each one has enriched my life to an indescribable extent.

The most recent reckless decision that I’ve made is to open a brewery all by myself investing my life savings with the dream of making something awesome. There were many things I did not know before going into this business but once I started down that road I was required to figure things out. Ultimately this has been the most amazing experience I’ve ever had. Whenever the brewery is packed with people having a great time I just bask in the feeling of joy and say to myself, “Yea, I did this.” Or when, as happens almost every day, someone is doing tasters and they get to Honey Badger Don’t Care. They don’t know what to expect. They take a sip and their face lights up with surprise as they can’t help but say under their breath, “Ohhh. That’s really good!” It’s like I have given this person this wonderful gift. The feeling I get at moments like that are what make all the hard work worthwhile and convince me that I’ve got something really good going here.

Recklessness also informs my beer making. I’m reckless because I don’t follow the rules. I don’t let myself be constrained by the way things are supposed to be or what a beer style is supposed to be like according to some established standard. I do things as they make sense to me or as I feel compelled to do them by virtue of divine inspiration and my inner muse. I don’t think of myself as a craftsman, but rather an artist, and every new beer is a new work of art – some of it abstract. And I even feel that the naming of the beer is also part of the art and having fun names adds to the enjoyment of the entire experience. So far, it really seems that a good part of the beer community wants and embraces what I am doing. In my humble opinion, drinking beer should be fun, not serious.

Of course my beer and style is not for everyone. There are people that prefer a more finished feel in a brewery or beers that they can recognize, but the beer I sell the most of is Honey Badger Don’t Care which is of no beer style I know of, but it’s the beer that keeps lots of people coming back. On the other hand, I recognize that beer preference is a matter of personal taste, so if someone doesn’t like my beer I offer a money back satisfaction guarantee with no hard feelings.

As for the controversy about the name, I don’t know if I’d describe it that way. Apparently there were some brewers early on that didn’t like the name of my brewery. The best understanding that I can imagine is that they seemed to think that I was somehow marketing myself as advocating drunk driving. I was so stunned by this that I actually considered changing my name, but everyone I suggested that to said that would be a mistake (because pretty much everyone loves the name) so I just figured these individuals would get over it. Anyway, I haven’t heard anyone saying anything like that in a long time and obviously nothing bad has come of it so I think it’s behind me. As an aside, anyone who’s been in my brewery or seen my website knows I am a strong advocate of safe driving and responsible drinking. In fact I have personally given rides home to patrons that have become unable to drive themselves.

What do the next 6-12 months look like for Wet ‘N Reckless?

I’ve always got a running list of new beers to try in my head and one of two of these should really set new limits on what beer can be. Besides inventing new brews, I will continue improving my system to allow greater throughput to accommodate the growing demand. Ultimately I will expand to another location with a brew pub (I’m thinking a Mexican food place- maybe called Hot and Reckless) but that probably won’t be for more than a year.