Meet Nathaniel Schmidt | Brewer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nathaniel Schmidt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nathaniel, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
Most people are enamored by the idea of starting their own brewery, yet few can imagine how difficult, repetitious and low returns that are involved in brewing. For those who go all in and are sucessfull it is more passion than profit.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a Marine/Fisheries Biologist by training, I came to Baja to grow Bluefin Tuna, which i did for many years, expanding into Stripped Bass, Flounder and Totoaba. I got into brewing because i realized there were no hoppy beers here in baja back in 2005, and during my college years in Northern California i realized that hops is what i like most in beer. So I started out making hoppy beers in my kitchen, and slowly have grown over the last 17 years to what Agua Mala is now. Strarting from scratch has many challenges as so many things one does not know how to do. I would say that setting up a buisness in Baja my biggest challenge was and is government permits and oversight. Something as easy as getting a permit can turn into a harrowing 3 to 6 month affair, and having the permit does not mean that a few years down the line they decide to change the rules and you have to start from scratch. This leads me to one of the most important and difficult things i have learned, and that is to have patience. Our brand started from my first pasiion, the ocean, our name “Agua Mala” that means jelly fish or bad water is a nod to my marine origins, and came to me while diving in the ocean in a sea of jelly fish. Since then all our beers have to do with the ocean, and most have a story related to how we came to the name. For example Mantarraya or Sting Ray Stout is a beer that came of a camping trip on a remote island in central baja where i was stung multiple times by stingrays, and we were miles from any hospital or farmacy.. all we had were some expired pain pils and a newly bottled nameless stout.. I am happy to report that after a four pack of Mantarrayas the sting was all but forgotten. We love adventure and you can see on our webpage that we love to create new things we are always inovating with new beers, we try to have a new beer every week!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would set up an itinerary based on the out doors and the incredible food and drink of Baja. The first day I would start out with an early morning fishing trip in the bay to catch some yellowtail, followed by a mid morning dive along the pinnacles to see the awesome underwater forests the kelp make and the variety of animals it protects. Then back to ensenada to Agua Mala to enjoy some exceptional craft beer and small bites. Early afternoon to the wine valley to try some great wine from finca la carrodilla then off to a late lunch at Deckmans where with a little luck the chef might prepare our fish we just caught. Here we sit and enjoy the view till the sun goes down.. that would be a perfect day in Baja for me.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would have to say that the persons who have helped and without them this company would not be what it is today is Tomas my partner and Ashley my wife. Both have been very supportive, especially in the begining when everything was new and challenges seemed insurmountable. This continued thru the years with ideas and guidance that has hepled us achieve our current success. Sometimes what is needed is someone to listen to the problems and help find solutions. Thru thick and thin they have been there and i owe a great part of all we have built to them

Website: www.aguamala.com.mx

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