High Side + Sojourn Fermentory: Jinson Chan Brings the Love

September is packed with beer events, but this episode cuts through the noise with the one you do not want to miss: Jinson Chan’s return to break down **Tiny Summer Fest** at High Side in Fairfax, the evolving **Sojourn Fermentory** cider program, and the brewing philosophy that turned him into one of the DMV’s most connected beer people. Jinson Chan, owner of **High Side** in Fairfax and partner at **Sojourn Fermentory** in Suffolk, shares how Tiny Summer Fest has grown from a beer-only gathering into a broader community festival with 20 craft beers, tiki drinks, sake, wine, live music, a dunk tank, and a very real, very ridiculous “dad bod” splash-off. He also talks about why event planning has gotten harder in an overcrowded festival landscape, and how adapting the format helps keep the energy high and the crowd engaged. You’ll discover: - How High Side’s tiny footprint forced Jinson to build a hyper-curated tap and can program - Why Sojourn is leaning hard into cider, and what it takes to keep a cider lineup balanced, local, and not overly sweet - How Jinson went from disliking beer in Malaysia to building a company culture around a Friday beer club that became a “health club” - Why lager still rules his personal drinking life, and how that shapes the way he thinks about beer menus - How beer festivals and collaborations helped connect brands like Shilling, Lost Generation, and others across the DMV The conversation also gets into the real stakes behind running events in 2026’s crowded beer scene: if you are not offering something memorable, local, and community-driven, it is easy to get lost. Jinson’s approach is a blueprint for creating festivals people actually show up for, and for building beer spaces that still feel personal, surprising, and worth the trip. Perfect for anyone who loves Fairfax beer culture, wants the inside story on a smartly run festival, or just enjoys hearing how one brewer-operator keeps finding new ways to make the DMV beer scene more connected.