History and Other Odd Stuff

I don't know why, but I get asked about how I got started in brewing, what I do for a living, etc. This isn't quite complete yet, but I've started writing down some notes on my history for the curious few. For some odd reason, there are also a few deviant folks interested in what I look like. I'm not sure if it is so they can avoid me at conferences and brewfests or to just find out what kind of weird guy I am, but here you go. If this isn't enough to satisfy your curiosity, there is a nice interview about how I brew, competitions, and other such stuff which can be found on the beertools.com site.

My interest in beer and brewing started when my next door neighbor reached over the fence and handed me a beer he had made himself! I had never heard of such a thing and it sounded really incredible and tasted even better. I told my wife about how good the beer tasted and then forgot all about it. The next Christmas (1998) my wife surprised me with a Mr. Beer kit. I made a beer from the kit around June 1999 and it turned out like a box of boiled band-aids. I knew from my neighbor's sample that it could be much better, so I embarked on a quest to make the best beer possible.

My quest took me to a horrible old brew shop that has since gone out of business, R& R Fermentation Supplies in Sacramento, CA. My god that place was horrible. Stale old ingredients, bad selection, and outrageous prices. Even as a brand new brewer, I could guess that DME shouldn't be one giant brick that requires a chisel to break apart. Well, at least they sold me Charlie Papazian's Joy of Homebrewing book. Yes, yes, I know it isn't the greatest book on homebrewing. However, it is still a great book and a great read. I don't care how much brewing experience you have, everyone should read that book. What you'll get out of it is a love for the idea of homebrewing and some pretty darn good brewing advice. Charlie is a good brewer and a really wonderful guy, so even if you don't agree with what he writes, I can tell you that his techniques can make very good beer.

Luckily, I kept looking around for shops and found another one about a 45 minute drive from my home, The Original Homebrew Outlet. The owner there, J.J. Jackson, spent quite a bit of time explaining to me the benefits of things like a full wort boil, liquid yeasts, starters, and rapid chilling. The shop had a lot of nice pre-made kits, which really helped me get started. Everything was quite fresh, and the prices were reasonable. He also had an excellent assortment of brewing books and magazines. I bought everything I could get my hands on and read all of it. To this day, JJ is still very kind and generous and I still try to make sure to pick up some of my supplies from The Original Homebrew Outlet. I hope everyone is lucky enough to have a good shop like this to help them get started.

I had my first judging experience in June 2000, I took the BJCP exam in December 2000, and I was progressing rapidly in my understanding of brewing and beer.
Of course, The Original Homebrew Outlet didn't carry every little last item and eventually I found myself looking for some obscure parts on the internet. I found a place in Concord, CA, called Beer, Beer & More Beer. They seemed to have the parts I wanted at a very good price, but their web site was so bad, I ended up driving down there instead of ordering off the internet. That day I met Regan, Chris, and Olin (in that order) and found out how interested they were in building a company that could supply the best of everything (including advice) to the homebrewers like me. "Very cool," I thought. As I was about to leave, Chris asked how I had found them and I mentioned the web site. Well, to make a long story short, I ended up reworking their web site for them and that is how I came to own my first B3 Sculpture, a 1550. Overall, the folks at Beer, Beer & More Beer are really wonderful. They seem to only hire really nice people there. I'd name them all, but then they'd only deny being a "nice person."

Chris, Regan, and Olin also had lots of good advice on brewing and even more books that I could read. I brewed more and more and my beers improved significantly. I also began entering competitions and that helped me improve my beers. It is amazing what a good judge can tell you about your beer. A few competitions really helped me understand things about balance, bitterness, alcohol, flavors, etc. I also met lots of great people at competitions.

I really got into the judging aspect of it. Being able to judge helps you understand what is wrong and what is right about your beer. Until I could do that, it was very difficult to make improvements beyond a certain point. If you can't do it yourself, you have to send the beers into competition and then there is a lag time between entry and feedback that can make it difficult to accurately tie the two together.

There were two really great judges that helped me understand judging and sensory analysis during this time. The first was David Techam, who spent a great deal of time with me, explaining flavors, techniques, styles, etc. He was incredibly patient and kind during my learning process and I will never forget the debt I owe him for taking the time to teach me. I try to work with new judges as often as possible and I try to pass along what David taught me and I try to do it in an understanding and calm manner, just like David. I owe at least that much in return.

The second person that really helped me in judging (and still does to this day) is Dave Sapsis. Dave has incredible abilities in detection and memory when tasting beers. For example, I know for a fact he can taste two beers of the same style from the same brewer more than a year apart and tell you which one was drier by a matter of a couple points of gravity. What Dave taught me (is still teaching me) is more of the "artistic" side of beer appreciation. Heck, I'd even say he is teaching me a greater appreciation of the "spiritual" side of beer appreciation. He is my Sensei. Yes, I know that sounds a little goofy, especially coming from an engineering geeky guy like me. But there is a side to beer and brewing that goes beyond the scientific. You can do everything scientifically and mechanically right, but still not make a truly outstanding beer. It was about this time I started hanging a talisman on my mash tun (the little goat that comes on a bottle of Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock is my talisman). Dave did not tell me to do this nor does he do anything like it (and it isn't supposed to be some mystical junk), but it is a tiny little reminder to me that beer brewing and judging is about more than just the science of it.

Recently I've been getting more involved in the BJCP and the AHA. I've also been participating in some online forums and the excellent Brewing Network radio show. I'm working on several BJCP projects and I've been elected to the AHA Governing Committee. I've started writing some brewing related articles as well. It is a lot of work, but I don't mind. I feel such a debt to all the people that have gone before me. They laid such an incredible groundwork and selflessly taught me what they knew, that I'm duty bound to try and do the same for others if I can.

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