What’s your current position at your brewery, and how did you get started in the craft brewing industry?

I am the brewmaster for Heavy Seas [in Baltimore, Md.]. I got into the beer industry in 1997 when I realized no one would ever pay me to play hockey or guitar. I left a career in engineering and attended the American Brewers Guild, then in Woodland, Calif.

What’s new at Heavy Seas?

What isn’t? Lots of new products on the horizon; collaborations with Maine, Tr egs, Terrapin, and Stone; a Hop Gun and three 200-bbl FVs on the way in October.

What’s the best part of being a part of the craft brewing community?

The camaraderie; feeling like we are all in this together.

Name a favorite food and beer pairing.

Deep Six porter with grilled skirt steak (plenty of black pepper).

What’s your biggest accomplishment unrelated to your job?

Raising my six-year-old son.

What’s your favorite beer that your brewery does not produce?

Usually, the one I haven’t tasted yet. I did have a wonderful cask conditioned Wells Bombardier recently that was as close to perfect as a beer gets (for me).

What do you like to do in your time away from the brewery?

What time away from the brewery? I don’t understand the question.

What’s the most memorable travel destination at which you’ve had a chance to sample the local beer?

Tough call. Tossup between drinking Pilsner in the Czech Republic or tasting a variety of lambic blends with Frank Boon in Brussels.