We’ve all heard the stories of homebrewers following their passion into professional brewing. There’s an engineer or a lawyer who homebrewed for years and after lots of encouragement, decided it was time to give it a go. But how many Wall Street investment bankers turn down lucrative salaries to open a brewery? There’s at least one in San Diego, and it’s Doug Constantiner from Societe Brewing Company.
Doug is one of those people that is accomplished and humble, always ready with a smile, a pint, and a listening ear. Being a part of the San Diego craft beer community is to be a part of a world-class industry, and sometimes egos or ambition can sour the experience. That’s not what you’ll hear today. Instead, Doug describes the steps he and the other leaders at Societe take to keep their mission simple: treat others how you’d like to be treated, and focus on the beer.
Of course, it’s never just beer. We also talk about how he tries to lead by quiet example by building bridges and open lines of communication that he believes may be a key to improving the world. Later on, we’ll discuss the split Societe faced when co-founder Travis Smith left the company in 2019, and how that difficult separation changed the future of the brewery just before the pandemic changed the world’s entire way of life. There have been ups and downs, highs and lows, but some things remain the same: Doug’s commitment to quality in beer, joy in life, acceptance of people, and love of family. Let’s hear from the banker turned brewer, right now.