Brian Chiara and Josh Garcia just may put Oakdale on the map for more than its Western heritage. The paramedic/firefighter team has spent much of their free time the past several months securing space, acquiring equipment and developing a product bearing the name of Last Call Brewing Company.
The two-man team, with no outside financial backing, has spent much of their off time resourcing and researching to develop craft beer which leaves the beer enthusiast wanting for more.
“We just want to bring good craft beer to our community,” Garcia, a full time firefighter with Stanislaus Consolidated Fire stated. “We’ll start with the local market and slowly grow.”
The current goal is to have production up and running from their southeast Oakdale location so that kegs may be distributed to local eateries.
“We’re putting it together one piece as a time,” Chiara said of the process.
A paramedic by trade with Manteca and Oak Valley, the brewer indicated that the duo is building the business with their own funds.
“We didn’t buy a turnkey process,” he stated. “It’s a lengthy legal and overall process.
“Oakdale was very important to us,” Chiara shared of making sure they could locate in the community.
“Wherever we were going to go in town, we were going to be in Oakdale,” Garcia added. “This is our home. Being a part of this town was a big factor in our decision.”
The brewers are equally excited about their brewery process and look forward to its first launch being local by early fall. The duo currently has perfected recipes for a variety of different brews, including an apricot, blonde, IPA, brown and a pale ale.
“We do a lot of research and build our recipe off of similar styles (of beer),” Garcia said.
“We changed the hops in the IPA multiple times,” Chiara added. “We only stick with a recipe if both of us love it.”
As for the clever name and catchy graphic the duo shared that also came easy.
“Everyone knows what last call is,” Chiara said. “Then we found some artwork we liked and worked with Apparel Graphics. They did a great job with the artwork.”
The retro feel to the artwork is perfectly suited to the Brewing Company name and the unique state logo on the back gives a nod to their local roots with the popular clock tower in shadow image.
“We’re proud of our town,” Garcia said. “We wanted to show it off a little bit.”
And progress is being made as they look forward to ‘going public.’
“We’re not out there yet,” Garcia said of their product. “We’re still working on the system. We put a lot of planning into this.”
“Having a flexible schedule has played a big part in helping us start the business,” Chiara said. “That’s also part of the reason it’s taking so long. We have our day jobs and our families to commit to.”
“A lot of patience from our wives,” Garcia added. “We could not have had this progress without the patience and support of our wives.”
Last Call Brewing Co. had an impromptu crowd pleasing appearance in early June at the Oakdale Farmers’ Market. They will return again to the popular Wednesday town mixer on July 1.
“We’ll be sampling our 108pricot (an Apricot Ale), Pale Ale and Brown,” Chiara said. “We’re excited to share what we have with our community.”
Brew enthusiasts can stay updated on Last Call by following them on Facebook, Last Call Brewing.
