Meet the Sons of Four Sons Brewing: Deven, Derek, Dustin, & Drew
The brothers of Four Sons are brewing up some delicious and unique beers that are certainly worth a try. The beer that initially caught our interest was their Coconutorious Coconut Amber. It is a smooth amber beer with hints of coconut that even a non-coconut lover will enjoy. Besides the amazing beer, the amazing family dynamic behind this brewery is even better. Each son has a different role to play that helps keep their brewery running smoothly.
Deven Dufresne: Son #1 – Director of Operations
Derek Dufresne: Son #2 – Head Brewer
Drew Dufresne: Son #3 – Creative Director
Dustin Dufresne: Son #4– Assistant Brewer, R&D Head
Get to know the brothers of Four Sons Brewing below and be sure to check out their tasting room in Huntington Beach, CA!
Tell us more about how each of you support the brewery.
Son #1 Deven:
My background is heavily in business so that is where I tend to focus most of my time. As Director of Operations I have a part in running everything outside of the actual brewing. Some of these duties involve: managing our sales team and distributor relationships, managing the taproom, any legal aspects of running the brewery, a LOT of paperwork, and emails for day-to-day operations. We also all do our part of working in the taproom as well.
Son #2 Derek:
Head brewer, handle all aspects on the brewing side.
Son #3 Drew:
As the Creative Director at Four Sons, I support the brewery by contributing my artistic vision and creativity in every facet possible. From designing and creating the original Four Sons logo to maintaining and updating the chalkboard menus in the taproom.
Son #4 Dustin:
While each of us have our own positions and roles to fill within the brewery on both the production and business sides of the operation, we all do a bit of everything, from canning runs to paperwork.
What do you like best about working with your brothers?
Son #1 Deven:
We are and always have been an extremely close family. Even before the brewery whenever we all got off work we’d get together at a bar or restaurant to have dinner and hang out. This was almost a nightly occurrence. Being able to all work together every day is like being able to hang out with your best friends all day every day, and we get to drink while doing it!
Son #2 Derek:
We’ve always all got along so its fun to be able to operate a business together. We all bring something different to the table, and we’re all constantly bouncing new ideas off of each other whether its a new beer idea or ways to continue to grow our business.
Son #3 Drew:
Before we opened up the brewery and we all had different jobs, we wouldn’t have very much time to hang out together, but since opening the brewery we get to hang out and drink beer together all the time!
Son #4 Dustin:
We have always been a close family due to us moving many times while we were younger because of our Father’s job, but now that we each have families and lives of our own, it is amazing to get to see and work alongside my brothers every single day.
How did you get started/what interested you about brewing industry initially?
Son #1 Deven:
We’ve all been fans of beer in general for a long time. Combine that with the fact that my brother had been home brewing for 10-years made it a really easy decision to go into this industry once my dad retired from his job. When we go on vacations, we plan them around what breweries we can hit, and then see what else there might be to do around that!
Son #2 Derek:
Started out as a hobby when my parents got me a brewing kit for my 20th birthday. Enjoyed making beer at home for friends and family and experimenting with different flavors.
Son #3 Drew:
My brothers and myself have always shared an interest for good beer, and my brother Derek brewed beer as a hobby which only deepened our interest and knowledge into the industry.
Son #4 Dustin:
From the moment I turned 21 I instantly feel in love with craft beer. I would spend each and every Friday driving around to various stores searching for anything I hadn’t yet tried. So many unique styles and different approaches to brewing displayed in a variety of bright, colorful bottles. So once the idea of starting a brewery was born from my Dad’s enthusiasm for starting a family business and my brother Derek’s experience in home brewing, I was overjoyed to start this new chapter in our lives.
Share an interesting brewing experience.
Son #1 Deven:
I’m going to have to piggy-back on Derek’s interesting experience here (I cheated and read his!). I remember that day very specifically. It took an insane amount of effort to get that hose back on the tank so we wouldn’t lose the entire batch!
Son #2 Derek:
I believe it was our 3rd or 4th beer we had brewed when we first opened. Had just moved it over to the brite tank to get carbed up, and was removing the transfer hose. I was removing the tri-clamp attaching the hose to the valve on the brite tank, and wasn’t paying enough attention. I was actually removing the tri-clamp that held the valve onto the bottom of the brite tank. The second that popped off, we had 300 gallons of beer spraying all over me. Had that moment where you’re in disbelief and just staring at the geyser of beer, not knowing what to do. Was able to get the valve back on and stop the flow, but after we lost about 100 gallons, most of which soaked me from head to toe. Haven’t made that mistake again.
Son #3 Drew:
I remember when we first started brewing the Coco Amber, my brother Derek would order fresh shaved coconut and toast it in his oven himself, then after that first batch was brewed we loved it but wanted MORE coconut, so the following week we had to toast SO much coconut that we had to use not only Derek’s oven, but my brother Deven’s oven and BOTH ovens at my Mom’s house all day to toast enough coconut.
Son #4 Dustin:
Our first triple brew day on our new 30bbl system was certainly an interesting one. Brewing three times in one day can be quite hectic as it is about a 16 hour process, requires precise timing, and there are moments where you must be in multiple places at once, but alas, there is only one of you. Performing all of this on a system we were still getting accustomed to, made for quite the interesting day.
What advice would you give people who want to break into the craft beer industry?
Son #1 Deven:
Take extra time to really plan it out. Everything takes WAY more time and WAY more money than you will initially plan. Reach out to existing breweries and ask them for advice. We’ve been approached many times over the years and have always been happy to help. This industry is in no way at its peak, we can always use more breweries!
Son #2 Derek:
Just be passionate about the industry. It is a lot of work, and takes a lot of dedication. But if you are passionate about it that will show in your work and will help open doors.
Son #3 Drew:
Make as many friends in the industry as possible! From sales reps to brewers, it’s the best way to learn about the industry and there’s always new info to be learned!
Son #4 Dustin:
The hardest part about entering the craft beer industry, like with many other industries, is getting your foot in the door. Brewing is an extremely passionate industry so naturally we look to hire people that get just as excited as we do when we start talking about beer, so the most important thing for anyone trying to get into the industry is to show your passion for craft beer. Whether it be a Certified Beer Server or Cicerone achievement notated on your resume, or a bottle of your own homebrewed beer dropped off with your application, show us that you love this industry, and beer, as much as we do.
On your days away from the brewery, what activities do you indulge in?
Son #1 Deven:
Unless we are out of town we don’t really get days off from the brewery. Up until recently we were even working the taproom every day on top of all our normal duties, thankfully now we get a couple shifts off a week from that! Over time we’ve tried to shift a lot of duties on to our awesome team to give us a bit more space to perform our main roles, we are also trying to now work minimal hours on Sundays so we can spend some time with our families. With all that noted, when I do get time away from the brewery my brothers, dad and I all play on an ice hockey team. I also love to spend time with my wife and son.
Son #2 Derek:
Don’t get too many of those! But I enjoy going to other breweries and checking out their beers and their setups, and we all play on an ice hockey team on the weekend.
Son #3 Drew:
When I’m not at the brewery I spend a lot of time with my friends and family. Although work never REALLY seems to end, from checking on local accounts to appearing at tap takeovers and various beer festivals and events, but when you have so much fun doing these things, it doesn’t really feel like work!
Son #4 Dustin:
Days away from the brewery? What are those? 😉
What style of beer do you enjoy drinking the most?
Son #1 Deven:
Pale Ale’s
Son #2 Derek:
Right now I generally go for Pale Ales. Fruity, refreshing, and low enough in alcohol I can keep working.
Son #3 Drew:
The style of beer I enjoy drinking the most is barrel-aged sours, however on a day-to-day basis I love a good session IPA.
Son #4 Dustin:
Stouts
Anything exciting coming up with Four Sons that you can share?
Son #1 Deven:
We are always working on something exciting. My brother likes to brew a lot of ‘out of the box’ beers that we typically serve in the taproom only. Once we see how the beer performs in the taproom, we will look into packaging it for some sort of distribution. We’ve had several that we now have in the works to have go out for distribution, and I’m really excited about some of these hitting the marketplace! The first one that comes to mind which we just ordered the cans for is a version of our Coconut Amber that we brewed with rum soaked pineapple making it have the taste similarities of a pina colada!
Son #2 Derek:
With our production facility up and running now, it gives a lot more flexibility to brew seasonals and experimental brews on our smaller system. That is what I enjoy doing most, to take traditional styles and put my own spin on it. Should be seeing a lot more of those type beers coming out from us in the near future.
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