Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you became interested in beer? 

 I started out in a wine club (tasting and making wines) and taking sensory training as part of that experience, and discovered I was a ‘supertaster’.  Through the wine club I met some members who were also homebrewers and started in on homebrewing in 2003 - my first beer was a nut brown ale, and the second was a strong Scotch ale modeled after Skull Splitter ale.  In 2008 I joined the Brew Brothers of Pikes Peak, and got into beer judging through them, taking prep courses and eventually the BJCP exam for certification in 2014.  I had been judging prior to certification and now have dozens of beer competitions judged under my belt.

What are some of your favorite beer styles, and why do you enjoy them?

My favorites are English barleywines (barrel aged when possible), IPAs (the whole spectrum of IPAs), and sours (so long as they’re restrained).

I love Dragon’s Milk, as one of my favorite beers, but I have also been known to snag Founders All Day IPA during summer months as my lawn-mowing beer.  Lately my favorite IPAs have come from Outer Range and Drekker.

All of that said, I like most styles, but I tend to avoid coffee beers unless they are supremely well balanced - when I taste coffee in beers I often get the impression of green pepper or acrid roastiness that I find really unpleasant.  

Are there any breweries or beer-related events that you're particularly excited about right now?

I am hoping that we can get back to another Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines festival soon.  It’s not been back since the pandemic for a host of reasons, but was always one of my favorite festivals.

Feast of Saint Arnold is a great family friendly festival I look forward to every year.  I help coordinate the commercial judging for that fest and it’s always fun to see what they come up with for ‘What would Saint Arnold brew?’

What do you think sets the craft beer community apart from other beverage industries?

Craft beer has a very tight-knit community culture to it.  Everyone really tries to help each other out.  Nobody wants a brewery to fail.  That comradery is very appealing and fosters a feeling not of competing against one another but lifting the local industry up.  

Competition within the industry is friendly and I appreciate how they often celebrate wins together.

Do you have any advice for people who are just starting to explore the world of craft beer?

It’s true for wine and it is true for beer:  Drink what you like.  Sure, there are suggested pairings out there for wine and beer, but what’s important is that you ENJOY the experience.  With that said, don’t shy away from trying things, and when you do, at least think of one aspect of what you tried that you enjoyed.  You may not like sour beers, but did you like that one you tried was fruited?  Did you find some wine-like character in it that you can appreciate?  Seek out more of the aspects you enjoyed, and be adventurous with your tasting.  Get the flight, take some risks.  If you want to be better at tasting beer, and describing what you taste, etc. I highly recommend the book Tasting Beer (2nd Edition) by Randy Mosher.