A native of the Finger Lakes region of New York, I was born in 1985 and have been involved in the food & beverage industry since 1999.  I fell in love with craft beer sometime around 2006 and I have been brewing, studying, learning, experimenting with, and imbibing outstanding craft beer ever since.

In 2012 I was hired on as the first full time employee at West Seattle’s premier beer bar and bottle shop, The Beer Junction; later that same year, I began my adventures in homebrewing.  I passed the level II Cicerone® (beer sommelier) exam in 2015 and I am now a Certified Cicerone®.  In March 2015, I began a nine week BJCP (Beer Judge Certificate Program) class and look forward to becoming a Certified Beer Judge.

In 2014 I helped my good friend and brewing partner, Gregory Marlor, blend a chenin blanc grape sour that he had brewed for a friend’s wedding.  We entered it into our first homebrewer’s competition and the beer won a gold medal in the specialty beer category.  We also entered a kumquat & ginger saison that we had brewed together, and although it didn’t medal, it was one of only two beers to receive an honorable mention from the judges.  The following month, I entered a cherry & kumquat berliner weisse into a second competition and was honored with a silver medal in the fruit beer category.  Gregory and I had brewed the sour wort base together, but each put our weisse beers onto different fruits.  Below is a current list of beers that Gregory and I have brewed together or had a hand in finishing that have medaled in competition.  We’re looking forward to the next chance to have our beer evaluated.

BJCP Sponsored Homebrew Awards

• Gold (Specialty Beer Category) — Vitis Vinifera, Cenin Blanc Grape Sour
• Silver (Fruit Beer Category) — The Cherry Ghost, Cherry & Kumquat Berliner Weisse
• Silver (Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer Category) — Lavender Coffee, Vanilla Bean Gig Harbourbon Barrel Stout
• Bronze (Specialty Beer Category) — Wild Blackberry Sour Ale

This blog is a document of the recipes and brewing processes that Gregory and I have been exploring.  Though you’ll find many techniques we entertain involve sour, funky and brettanomyces fermented beers, we are also great fans of “clean” barrel aged stouts, west coast IPAs, Belgian and French style saisons and many other traditional styles.  It is my hope that this blog will inform and delight other craft beer enthusiasts and I hope to learn from those who wish to comment on any of the topics found herein.

Besides being an avid homebrewer and staying active in the Seattle beer scene, I am also a long time musician.  My current project, WE BUY GOLD, recently released our debut EP which can be streamed for free here.