Writer, Speaker, Photographer, Beer Guide and Historian
Like beer? What a coincidence! So do I! Beyond figuring out which beer I’m going to taste next, a few things are guiding my beer fueled exploits these days:
- Creating informed craft beer consumers. Not folks who will roll their eyes if their server doesn’t know the exact malt bill of each beer on tap, or return a can to the fridge with a scoff because it was canned more than a week ago. I’m talking about people who know what they like, make the conscious decision to buy craft beer and won’t feel intimidated by the craft beer intelligentsia.
- Exploring the community building power of beer. Beer has always brought people together from the Mesopotamians and Egyptians to the English and the Germans. We could do with a little more of that these days.
- Showcasing the rich story behind beer. Humans and beer go back about 12,000 years. As you can imagine, the two have had their share of hijinks over the centuries. The story of beer is the story of us.
- Reminding everyone that beer should be always be fun. If that means harvesting yeast from bottles to clone your favorite beer, awesome! If that means crushing some light lagers while watching football, hell yeah! If that means running a tasting for your friends, I’m right there with you. The second beer stops being fun, is the exact second that beer loses its essence.
So join me on this journey of epic proportions! Check out one of my online classes, scroll through my pictures or read a couple of articles. I hope you leave here with at least one tidbit of new knowledge and just a bit more appreciation for the wonderful liquid in your glass.
How I Got Here
My fascination with beer started with a shelf in college. During my junior year, the house I was living in had two shelves running almost the whole length of the living room. The guys in the house came up with the brilliant idea of filling up the shelves with as many different beer bottles as we could find and drink. While the vast majority of the bottles on the shelf weren’t memorable, I loved trying them. I was slowly introduced to different styles like pale ales and tripels and started buying six packs of new stuff instead of cases of the same old beer.
I visited my first brew pubs while on a cross-country road trip after college. Chama River Brewing in Albuquerque and Montana Ale Works in Bozeman are two that I remember more than a decade later. Not necessarily because any of the beers blew my mind, but because I loved the experience. Tasting flights arranged from light to dark, a menu with tasting notes and the option to buy a growler of whatever beer I liked the most. This was how I started to learn not just the names of the styles, but the unique tastes that they offered. By the time I got home, I was hooked. I slowly waded deeper into the world of craft beer and haven’t looked back.
For quite a few years, I was content enjoying my beer on the sidelines; making weekly visits to craft beer bars, loading my fridge with brews from around the US and visiting the occasional brewery. Soon, however, I started to take pictures, becoming the dreaded “Instagram Husband,” ignoring glares from my partner as I tirelessly staged shots of the liquid in my glass. A blog eventually followed where I combined my lifelong love of history with a growing obsession with beer. Then, in 2017, much to my own surprise, I made the leap into the brewing industry. Leaving behind a tenured teaching position in New York City, I began working at Captain Lawrence Brewing in Elmsford, NY.
Between time on the packaging line, serving beers, brewing on the pilot system, attending beer festivals and giving tours, I continued to dive into the world of beer and I loved every second of it. Once I was given the opportunity to hold classes at the brewery, sharing my love and knowledge of beer with equally enthusiastic visitors, I knew I had found my niche.