Trademark Brewing makes a 15 percent ABV (alcohol by volume) beer called a wash that they then truck to Portuguese Bend, a distillery down the block, which distills it and turns it into hand sanitizer. Screenshot courtesy of Ilana Steffen/Trademark Brewing

Brewing For Good

Brewing Up Something Different

Alum Ilana Steffen turns Trademark Brewing into a hand sanitizer production facility

When Ilana Steffen opened Trademark Brewing in June 2019 with her husband, Sterling, the plan was to handcraft their lagers, ales, IPAs, and stouts in small batches, blending art and science. And a little whimsy. Take the description of their IPA Hula Moon: “This tropical-inspired IPA evokes aromas of ripe pineapple, guava, and citrus. Take a sip and you’ll be teleported to your moonlit dream beach destination. Tiny drink umbrella not included.”

When they met in 2013, Ilana (CGS’06, SHA’08) and Sterling bonded over their love of craft beer—he had a passion for home brewing and made beer in his bathtub. That passion turned into a dream to run a full-scale brewery one day. They opened Trademark, on the site of a former auto-repair shop, in June 2019 and quickly gained a devoted following. 

But less than a year later, their Long Beach, Calif., brewery would be forced to close its taproom and halt beer production because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Heeding the state government mandate, the couple shuttered their business on March 16, 2020. 

“Hearing the news that we had to close our doors was heartbreaking,” says Steffen. They immediately went into crisis-management mode, halting all on-premises consumption of their craft beers, switching to pickup and local delivery only, and taking immediate steps to ensure financial security. They shut down their equipment, suspended services they no longer needed, like trash collection and cable, and furloughed most of their team, all within a span of 24 hours. 

The question in the back of their minds through all of this: “What do we do next?” 

The answer came from Portuguese Bend, a craft distillery a few blocks away from Trademark Brewing that makes gin, vodka, and rum. Portuguese Bend’s owner called the Steffens to ask if they were interested in teaming up to produce hand sanitizer at a time when many stores were cleaned out.

“We immediately said yes,” says Steffen. “We’re happy to help and glad that we can do our part to prevent the spread of the virus.” 

Sterling Steffen worked fast to figure out how to create a recipe for the base product that Trademark would then send over to Portuguese Bend for distilling. The goal was to come up with a base that would ferment quickly—the less time needed in a tank to distill, the more sanitizer can be produced.

Once they worked out the formula, Trademark switched 95 percent of its production to hand sanitizer, fitting in a beer brew day here and there. By May, they had produced more sanitizer in eight weeks than they had beer in the previous eight months.

To make the sanitizer, Trademark creates a 15 percent ABV (alcohol by volume) beer called a wash. They then truck the wash to Portuguese Bend, which distills it into 95 percent ethyl alcohol and combines it with small amounts of hydrogen peroxide and glycerin (according to FDA guidelines). To make one gallon of sanitizer, 10 gallons of wash is needed. The sanitizer, Steffen says, is being distributed to first responders and essential infrastructure and businesses like the local fire department and regional energy company Southern California Edison. Portuguese Bend is also giving complimentary sanitizer to those who place pickup or local delivery orders of $30 or more from its menu, including food, to-go cocktails, bottles of liquor, and branded merchandise. 

Producing sanitizer allowed Trademark to keep its head brewer on staff while the brewery was closed. Steffen managed sales—they moved to an online ordering system along with a zero-contact drive-through—and kept up with her usual responsibilities of accounting, social media, and managerial tasks. 

As of June 11, with restrictions lifted, Trademark Brewing reopened its taproom. The brewery is ramping up its beer production, but continues to produce sanitizer. 

“This is a difficult time, and from the very beginning we told ourselves that we had to stay positive,” Steffen says. “It has been a learning experience and continues to be. We are lucky to have a community that supports us.”