Erin Grey Kemplin

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

I’m sales manager at Ecliptic Brewing in Portland, Ore. I got my start bartending at a beer bar in Virginia and moved to Portland to get serious about the beer industry. After much convincing, I was able to get an on-premise sales job with a distributor. This led to a sales job with Stone Brewing before I joined up with Ecliptic.

What’s new at Ecliptic Brewing?

Everything all the time! We are only five years old and started canning about a year-and-a-half ago. We have a pretty aggressive beer release program and we are always switching up those styles.

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

The community. The people I have met through this industry are my favorite part—the other sales people, the brewers, the bartenders, the bar owners. This community is made up of almost exclusively good people, which keeps me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

Name a favorite food and beer pairing.

Strange but true: I do not like pairing beer and food. Every time I say this, I feel like I get dirty looks. I prefer my beers on their own.

What’s your biggest accomplishment unrelated to your job?

Moving to Portland with no job and ending up at a great brewery working with people I really like.

What’s your favorite beer from another brewery?

Chuckanut Helles Lager and Buoy Helles. You could say I like helles.

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

Hang out with my partner Colin and my dog Georgia, travel as much as humanly possible, drink beer, ride bikes, take walks, explore, and people watch.

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

I backpacked all over Belgium and that was life changing. We don’t get a lot of exposure for Belgian-style beers (whether local or actually from Belgium) in Portland and it has always been one of my favorites. Drinking fresh Orval in a cafe in Brussels is a pretty special experience.


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