SLO LIFE Magazine AugSep 2020

| BREW
A REAL
HUMDINGER
BY BRANT MYERS
recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk with
one of the founders and brewers at the newly opened
Humdinger Brewing, Lee Samways. Unfortunately,
he was distracted as he brewed beer while we spoke
by phone. It was very inconvenient for me. All that
background noise really disturbed the relaxing quietude
I was enjoying whilst lying prone in my recliner.
Luckily, I’ve known Samways for many years, and the
conversation came easy. After some idle chit-chat, we got
down to the nitty-gritty. IFirstly, when I say newly opened, their grand opening was postponed
this March, which makes it tricky to nail down their start date, kind
of like having an anniversary with someone you’re dating. However,
they have been in operation at their location in the Village of Arroyo
Grande since this spring and have been cranking out delicious beer
from day one. I’ll get to those in a bit. Still, it’s important to know
that Samways has been brewing for many years both as a homebrewer
and in collaboration with local breweries, most notably SLO’s Central
Coast Brewing, where you can occasionally find his Pro-Am offerings
on tap. The other half of the equation, co-owner and brewer, Justin
Amy was a fellow member of the South County Home Brewers
Club, where they both connected and began to dream. As a matter of fact,
it was Amy’s idle hands that started him brewing in the downtime afforded
to him while working the administrative side of a family business from the
convenience of home. Like many things in life, brewing is a hurry-up-andwait
proposition with furious work followed by the long wait for ingredients
to boil or yeast to propagate.
While talking to Samways, I wanted to ask the question burning a hole inside
me all year: “What’s with the name?” It turns out that it came naturally during
a breakout session between him and Amy. While brainstorming ideas, they
would create a list of possible names and start winnowing it down with yays
or nays, until the list got smaller. One such response to a name was that it was
“a real humdinger,” and inspiration hit. Digging deeper, Samways explained
the etymology of the word itself to me, which also answered the second
burning question I had about their logo—a battleship shooting beers out of
its cannons. Hummer, as in a powerful engine. And dinger, as in a powerful
hit. The boys hit it out of the park with bold beers and tasty offerings from
day one. Said battleship was nearly a challenge to their graphic designer, Scott
Greci of Guru Designs. He incorporated brewing equipment on the deck of
the ship after reviewing rough drafts sketches on bar napkins. I’m starting to
think the saying “get the creative juices flowing” is a direct nod to drinking
and thinking. I know it works for me.>>
80 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | AUG/SEP 2020