Too Many to Thank

The sun is shining through my bedroom window, the birds are chirping and I know it is going to be a day to remember. I get out of bed, take a shower, cook up some eggs and bacon, and get ready to go to work. As I walk out the door of my house and start to make the 200-yard trek to the front door of my brewery, I think back on the journey that got me here, and all I can do is smile…

It was 1995, and I was in my junior year of high school. I was no different than most high schoolers. I played sports, liked to hang out with my friends and at the time had developed a real love for Schaeffer longnecks. But on a fateful day in November, the path of my life would take a radical turn, one that I had no way of turning back from. I walked into my friend’s house and immediately my nose pulled me into the kitchen. Standing at the stove was my friend’s father, brewing up a batch of homemade beer. One month later, at the age of 17, I brewed my first batch of beer. There was no turning back. Thank you, Kenny Dorsch.

December of 1996: studying to become an accountant at Villanova, homebrewing at the houses of seniors on my lacrosse team, fermenting in plastic gasoline jugs and bottling in Yuengling bottles that I had pulled out of the recycling center. “Dad, I know I have only been at Villanova for a semester, but I don’t want to follow in your footsteps and become an accountant.” No, I want to move 3,000 miles from home to study a beverage I am not legally allowed to drink. Thank you, Mom and Dad.

Spring of 1999: living in California, in my second year working at the Fermentation Frenzy and just turning the legal age to drink beer. I had been brewing close to 10 gallons of beer a week for myself and my one roommate to drink. Our closet was stacked to the ceiling with carboys and Belgian beers I had tracked down. I’m waiting for my acceptance letter to UC Davis, where I was to finish up my studies and earn my B.S. in fermentation science. The letter came… I didn’t get in. I cried and drank a six-pack of Bigfoot. But I didn’t give up: I appealed the decision and won… I was born to brew. Thank you, Phil Montalbano.

The year 2001, in my senior year at UC Davis, on a field trip to Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., because that is what brewing students do—take field trips to world-class breweries. We walked the grounds with Steve Dressler, the brewmaster; we saw the inner workings of the most beautiful brewery I have ever laid eyes on, still to this day. The tour ended, and we convened in the most logical place we could think of—the pub attached to the brewery. “So, Steve, how does someone get a job brewing at a place like this?” Three months later, I woke up at 3:30 a.m., got dressed and drove to the brewery to start my first day as a professional brewer at Sierra Nevada. Thank you, Ken Grossman.

Fall 2003, after taking a few months to tour some great European breweries and meeting some amazing brewers, I walked into a small brewpub in Connecticut and ordered a beer. “Is the brewer around?” I asked the bartender. “No, we are actually looking for a new one, the last one just left.” A month later, I mashed in the first batch of my own recipe. Six months later, the brewery closed its doors. I didn’t get discouraged; I knew my brewing journey was just beginning. Thank you, Michael Kondrat.

August 2005… it was hot; I was sweating and holding a rented jackhammer. I pushed it into the cement and the dust started flying. There’s no turning back now: The lease had been signed, the equipment was on the way. What was once a nagging daydream during four years of college classes is becoming a reality… let’s build a brewery. Too many people to thank.

As I rounded the corner onto Castleton Street, I saw a crowd parked in front of the brewery. People are sharing beers, there are coolers everywhere and patrons are lined up on the front steps. It was July of 2008—the day we released the second vintage of our Cuvee de Castleton, and all I could do was smile.

My world has revolved around beer for nearly half my life. I have sampled so many amazing beers, and had more positive experiences than I can count. Sure, it all has to do with beer, but without a doubt it is the people I have met along the way who have made it worthwhile. ■