What’s your current position at your brewery, and how did you get started in the craft brewing industry?
I’m head brewer at Bone Hook Brewing Company [in Naples, Fla.], which involves everything from production management to washing kegs. With my homebrewing experience, I scored a full-time assistant brewer job at Shanghai Brewery in 2013, and became brewmaster there just two months in. I stayed there for three-and-a-half years, during which time my wife and I had two kids.
What’s new at Bone Hook Brewing?
We’re pumped to start a second year of hop farming and to demonstrate that hops can indeed be a viable crop in Florida.
What’s the best part of being a part of the craft brewing community?
Hands down, the camaraderie with other brewers. Most everyone is friendly and ready to lend resources to help out one another.
Name a favorite food and beer pairing.
Delirious and jet-lagged from a series of flights 16 hours long, relaxing with an old friend at a cozy pub, devouring a large bowl of mussels and sourdough with a dubbel.
What’s your biggest accomplishment unrelated to your job?
Keeping my two young sons alive and well.
What’s your favorite beer that your brewery does not produce?
Flanders Red, and in particular, Duchesse de Bourgogne. Nothing else comes close.
What’s the most memorable travel destination at which you’ve had a chance to sample the local beer?
Leipzig, Germany. Tasting the extant gose at Bayerischer Bahnhof and Gosenschenke Ohne Bedenken was eye-opening and one of the most exciting beer experiences I’ve had. Simultaneously tasting fresh examples of other German beers was also not a letdown.
What do you like to do in your time away from the brewery?
I love spending time at home with family, although I often get distracted with gardening, housework, and studying for whichever IBD exam is looming over my head.