John Segal

Special guest

John was a hop geek at birth. Proof? He brought a block of hops to show-and-tell in first grade. He received his brewing legs at Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco, fresh out of college. After his stint at Anchor, John joined the family hop business. Five years later he parted company with his father to work in the media industry.

When his father passed away, John stepped back into the business. An alarming landscape in the hop industry awaited him. Craft brewers were paying exorbitant prices for their hops from intermediaries. Worse, to get hops, craft brewers had to sign five-year contracts.

At that time, Segal Ranch had been an Anheuser-Busch grower for over 25 years and Anchor Brewing Company was our only craft brewing partner. The direct relationship between our ranch and these brewers created opportunities for collaboration, experimentation and innovation. John envisioned broadening the range of craft brewers that Segal Ranch served and replicating this productive grower-to-brewer model.

Today, Segal Ranch has wonderful direct relationships with some of the top craft breweries in the world. And John is having a blast doing it.

John Segal has been a guest on 1 episode.