Tomme Arthur
Port Brewing Co. / The Lost Abbey
A native San Diegan, Tomme Arthur is part-owner of Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey. His day-to-day duties are summed up neatly under the fancy-pants title of Director of Brewery Operations. Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey opened its doors just three short years ago. In that time, the brewery was named 2007 Great American Beer Festival® Small Brewery of the Year and in 2008 earned the same recognition at the World Beer Cup®, thus becoming the first small brewery to achieve this distinction. Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey are two brands of beer produced under one roof. With two brands in the same building, there is never a dull moment. Throw in more than 300 oak barrels for aging beers, and life gets more interesting.
Dr. Charlie Bamforth is an Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting & Brewing Sciences at UC Davis. He has been part of the brewing industry for some 33 years. He is formerly Deputy Director-General of Brewing Research International and Research Manager and Quality Assurance Manager of Bass Brewers. He is a Special Professor in the School of Biosciences at the University of Nottingham, England and was previously Visiting Professor of Brewing at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland. Charlie is a Fellow of the Institute of Brewing & Distilling, Fellow of the Society of Biology and Fellow of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology. Bamforth is Editor in Chief of the Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists, is on the editorial boards of several other journals and has published innumerable papers, articles and books on beer and brewing – and also written prolifically on soccer. His latest contributions have been The Brewmaster’s Art (A 7-CD recording in The Modern Scholar series) and Beer is Proof God Loves Us: Reaching for the Soul of Beer and Brewing (FT Press). In October 2010 he was on The Honor Roll as one of the 20 professors who are changing the classroom in the US (Playboy magazine).
Justin is the founder of The Brewing Network and a veteran radio personality. He has created and hosted beer related programming on CBS Radio and KOFY TV20 in San Francisco, produced sports programming for the Oakland Athletics, provided web based radio coverage of every National Homebrewers Conference and Great American Beer Festival since 2006 and assists in developing, producing and airing all Brewing Network programs. He is considered by many as the one person who can talk the most about brewing and beer, while still knowing absolutely nothing about it.
Erin Glass has been kicking around the craft brewing industry since 1994, having worked with New Belgium, Magic Hat and Breckenridge Brewery as she tried to learn as much as possible about the art, science and business of beer. She has held various duties in packaging, cellar work, QC sensory panels, marketing, accounting, merchandise & point-of-sale, VIP tours, good old fashioned scrubbing and countless events while always waving the craft beer flag. In 2001, Erin moved on to become the Membership Coordinator and “Brewery Detective” for what is now the Brewers Association. In this position she uses her working knowledge of the industry to support members with networking, available research and further leveraging their BA benefits. Over the years she has witnessed amazing success stories from coast to coast thanks to the care and support of the entire membership community.
Dan Gordon, co-founder of Gordon Biersch Brewing Company, has earned a reputation as one of America’s leading brewing engineers. As the director of brewing operations for Gordon Biersch, he supervises the state-of-the-art brewing and bottling facility in San Jose, CA. Gordon is the first American in more than 40 years to graduate from the prestigious five-year brewing engineering program at the world-renowned Technical University of Munich in Weihenstephan, West Germany. Gordon Biersch and the concept it pioneered have both expanded dramatically. Although he spends most of his time brewing fine lagers for a living, he never tires of talking about his work. Gordon frequently lectures at the Stanford University School of Business, the Anderson School of Management at UCLA and the University of San Francisco. His hobbies include cooking and trap shooting. Dan is also a serious jazz trombone musician having performed professionally in the past and is still currently performing in various groups in the Bay Area.
Ron Jeffries began studying brewing science in the early 1990s and by 1995 was brewing professionally at Grizzly Peak in Ann Arbor, Michigan, quickly becoming well-known in Michigan’s emerging craft beer scene. In 1998, he was appointed to serve on the first Board of Directors for the Michigan Brewers Guild as Vice President of Brewers. In the spring of 2004, Ron opened Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales. Since that time, his passion has elevated him to one of the most respected world-class brewers of award-winning sour and artisan ales. Ron is one of four managing partners of Northern United Brewing Company which encompasses North Peak Beer, Grizzly Peak and Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales craft beer brands, as well as the soon-to-be-released Civilized line of spirits.
Colin Kaminski discovered brewing while briefly dating a woman with a degree in fermentation science from UC Davis. He brewed three homebrews and using one got a job at Beer, Beer and More Beer as a product designer. In 5 years he created 180 drawings and more than 30 products including the temperature controlled conical fermenters and grain mills. He then became the Master Brewer at Downtown Joe’s Brewery and has brewed more than 800 7bbl batches in 9 years as the head of a one man department.
Greg Koch is Co-Founder and CEO of Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, California. Since Greg started the company with his partner Steve Wagner in 1996, Stone has become one of the fastest growing and highest rated breweries in the world. Brewing nearly 115,000 barrels in 2010, Stone is the 15th largest craft brewery in the United States, a position it achieved without ever advertising, discounting, giving away freebies or harming puppies.
Geoff Larson and his wife Marcy are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their Juneau, Alaska-based brewery, Alaskan Brewing Co. Brewing craft beer in a remote town with no roads led Geoff and his crew to find better, more sustainable ways to brewing their award-winning beer, inspiring them to brew with the flavors and history of coastal Alaska. The brewery’ s flagship recipe for Alaskan Amber is based on a recipe pieced together from shipping and newspaper records from a Gold Rush-era brewery in Juneau. First brewed in 1988 with malt self-smoked over alder wood, Alaskan Smoked Porter became one of the first commercially available American smoked beers and one of the most award-winning craft beers in the nation. With decades of smoking malt under his belt, Geoff has co-written a book with Ray Daniels on the topic and become an expert on the use and finesse of smoke in brewing.
Tom Nickel is the owner of O’Brien’s pub in San Diego and a former World Beer Cup Small Brewing Company brewer of the year with Oggi’s Pizza. He also organizes many local beer festivals including the San Diego Real Ale, San Diego Strong Ale and the San Diego International Beer Festival. Tom graduated with a degree in Medieval History from Yale University where he was voted “most likely to drive a beer truck”. He is currently working on opening a BBQ brewpub in Julian, CA with Vince Marsaglia from Pizza Port. He lives with his wife Lindsey and his 120 pound puppy, Annabella.
Cyrena Nouzille wears many boots—Ladyface GM, designer, grain sherpa, foodie, and beer geekess. Call her the instigator. She started home brewing in 1999 when her husband and Ladyface Chief Number Cruncher, Jean-Luc, bought her “the kit” as a random mid-life birthday present. (Little did he know). When a batch of bottle-conditioned Belgian dubbel exploded one summer, Cyrena decided that it might be just as much effort to brew 10 barrels as it was 10 gallons (little did she know), and the dream was born. By 2007, the dream had become a plan. Ladyface Ale Companie opened in the fall of 2009, finding a home at the foot of Ladyface Mountain, in the northwest corner of Los Angeles County. The adjacent brewpub, Ladyface Alehouse & Brasserie, serves globally inspired Ladyface ales, including innovative seasonal and barrel-aged releases. Named a 2011 Best Brewpub by RateBeer.com, Ladyface has quickly become not just a local hangout, but also a destination for beer aficionados.
Sean Z. Paxton is the Executive Chef and Owner of Homebrewchef.com, where he creates, cooks and serves multiple course menus highlighting beer as an essential ingredient. He writes for Beer Advocate Magazine, DRAFT Magazine and is a guest author for a variety of other food and beer magazines. Sean hosts a monthly podcast “The Home Brewed Chef” on The Brewing Network and shares with listeners philosophies, techniques and ideas for cooking and pairing with beer. His travels take him to breweries throughout the US and Europe where he utilizes his beer and flavor knowledge to collaborate with craft brewers to create beer recipes for specialty events and releases.
Jeremy Raub is the President and co-founder of Eagle Rock Brewery. He learned to homebrew from his father, Steve, in 1994 and has been actively homebrewing in Los Angeles for over six years. He is a Recognized Beer Judge with the Beer Judge Certification Program and has completed the Web-Based Concise Course in Brewing Technology, from the Siebel Institute of Technology. Before starting Eagle Rock Brewery Jeremy spent thirteen years working in the film industry, and due to the nature of that industry, developed a relentless work ethic. He has applied this relentless work ethic to the Brewing Arts and his creativity and adventurous palate have earned him many awards for his unique beers.
Patrick Rue started homebrewing in 2003 during his first year of law school, which ignited a passion for great beer and the creative process of brewing. He followed his passion and founded The Bruery, which began production in 2008. Celebrating it’s third year in business, Patrick’s role at The Bruery has changed from doing just about everything to managing a company of 35 talented individuals. Recent accomplishments include opening The Bruery Provisions, a craft beer, wine and cheese store/tasting room in Old Towne Orange. The Bruery is distributed in 21 states and 4 countries. The Bruery strives to be a leading creative force in the craft brewing world.
Tom Schmidlin is a member and former president of the Cascade Brewers Guild on Seattle’s East side which has 40-50 active members and the Mt. Si Brewing Society which boasts 12 active members. He is one of the founders of the Washington Homebrewers Association, which functions as a statewide organization and resource for homebrew clubs in Washington. This organization was critical to the successful passage in 2009 of a state bill that allowed homebrewers to take their beer off premises. He is a newly elected member of the AHA Governing Committee, and no, he hasn’t finished grad school yet.
Mitch Steele is the Head Brewer and Production Manager for Stone Brewing Co. Since graduating from UC Davis in 1984 with a Fermentation Science degree, he has brewed at some of the largest and smallest breweries in the world. After starting on a 14 bbl system at the San Andreas Brewing Co. in California, Mitch joined Anheuser-Busch in 1992, managing Brewhouse and Fermenting operations in 3 breweries, and doing new beer development as part of the Anheuser-Busch Specialty Brewing group in the mid 1990’s. An active homebrewer during his time with Anheuser-Busch, Mitch joined Stone Brewing Co. in 2006 and has managed the brewing and packaging operation at Stone as it has grown from a 48,000 bbl operation to 115,000 bbls in 2010.
Gordon Strong is an award-winning homebrewer, beer judge and author. He is the only three-time winner of the coveted Ninkasi Award. He is the current President and highest ranking judge in the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). He was the principal author of the 2004 and 2008 BJCP Style Guidelines, and the Mead Exam Study Guide. Gordon is techical editor and commercial calibration panelist for Zymurgy magazine, and is a frequent contributor to several brewing and beer publications. He has spoken at national and international conferences. Gordon is the author of Brewing Better Beer: Master Lessons for Advanced Homebrewers.
Terence Sullivan is the Assistant Brewmaster and Field Educator at the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in Chico, Ca. He obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree from The University of California at Davis in 1994. During his studies, he worked for Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa Valley for two years and later worked for Golden Pacific Brewing Company in Emeryville before joining Sierra Nevada in May of 1994. Originally hired as a shift brewer, Sullivan was promoted to Cellar Manager when the brewery expanded in 1997. As Cellar Manager, he was responsible for CO2 recovery, yeast handling, yeast propagation, dry hopping and all aspects of fermentation including final release sensory on all Sierra Nevada beers. Recently, Sullivan was promoted to Field Educator, working closely with the brewery’s marketing department. In this new role, his technical brewing knowledge is an asset when working with consumers and wholesalers to educate them about the Sierra Nevada brewing process.
Rob Tod’s interest in brewing began when he worked for Vermont ‘s Otter Creek Brewery after graduating from Middlebury College. At Otter Creek he sampled many styles of beer and was struck by the inventiveness and depth of Belgian beers. Though Belgian styles were scarcely heard of in the US at the time, Rob knew that if people could experience them, they would love them. In 1995, Rob founded Allagash Brewing Company and began his venture with the release of the award winning Allagash White, which is modeled after the traditional Wit beers of Belgium. Since then, Allagash has added a number of beers to their portfolio, including barrel aged beers, four philanthropic beers and a couple that use Allagash’s own proprietary Brettanomyces yeast strain. In the spring of 2007, the Allagash team moved into a new state-of-the-art brewery right down the street from the original brewery. In 2008 they added a coolship room, which has allowed Allagash to experiment with traditional, Belgian style spontaneous fermentation. Today, they continue to grow and remain committed to brewing inventive, high quality beers in the Belgian tradition.
Wayne Wambles Cigar City Brewing’s head brewer, based in Tampa, Florida. He started homebrewing in the early 90′s and quickly became obsessed with brewing. He apprenticed at a local brewpub and decided to follow a career in the craft brewing industry. He has been brewing in brewpubs and breweries in the Southeast United States since 1997. In 2008, he was hired as the head brewer for Cigar City Brewing and began building the brewery from the ground up. In March of 2009, Cigar City Brewing successfully launched its first brands and has experienced 300% growth in its first two years. Wayne enjoys creating exotic beers with the use of unusual ingredients, process and wood aging. Cigar City’s Humidor IPA, an American IPA aged on Spanish Cedar, has placed the last two years in a row at GABF in the Wood and Barrel Aged category. Cigar City is also known for Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout, a Mayan chocolate inspired imperial stout.
Chuck West discovered great beer during travels to the UK in the early 1990’s. He began brewing at home in 1994, with an emphasis on British styles. Chuck has been a BJCP judge since 2001 and has earned multiple awards including Best of Show for beer, mead and cider. A big fan of Belgian styles, he has recently travelled to Belgium and Germany. Chuck joined the QUAFF homebrew club in 2000. He’s been a board member since 2001 and is currently president of the club. Chuck has organized three NHC 1st Round Competitions and is the Project Manager for the 2011 NHC Committee. In addition to homebrewing he enjoys music, playing bass guitar, travel and spending time with his family.
Chad Yakobson is the Owner and Brewer of Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project based in Denver, Colorado. After initially studying winemaking in New Zealand, Chad switched his focus to the brewing industry, concentrating on various micro-organisms present in sour beer during barrel-aging. In 2010 Chad completed his master’s thesis, titled: Primary Fermentation Characteristics of Brettanomyces Yeast Species and Their Use in the Brewing Industry, and was awarded a Master of Science in Brewing and Distilling from Heriot-Watt University and the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling in Edinburgh, Scotland.
