Meet the Homebruer: Sean Flannery

You may have already tried Sean's pilot batch brew back in February during one our Meet the Brewer nights. Like many of our homebruers we've posted about on this blog, Sean began pursuing the hobby in school before becoming a pro.

When did you start homebrewing?
I started homebrewing in college with a friend that had a malt extract Hefeweizen kit and invited me to assist. The beer came out with a ton of sediment and we packaged it in 3L plastic bottles. It tasted ok, but was just the beginning for more ideas.

Pilot Batch Release: Chupacabra Quinceañera by Sean Flannery

We have one more pilot batch being released this month, and a bonus one coming at you for the very beginning of March!

Meet Sean and try his pilot brew on Thursday, 2/27 from 6-8PM!

Our fourth limited release pilot batch beer comes to us from brewer Sean Flannery. Before working at The Bruery, he cut his teeth at San Diego's Aztec Brewing, Prohibition Brewing Company, and OC's Bootlegger's Brewery. With an intense enthusiasm for craft beer, Sean is also one of our BJCP certified staff members here at The Bruery.

Sean decided to make this beer in order to showcase an unusual strain of brettanomyces. You may have tried a 2013 release of ours that was 100% brett fermented with another strain and called Werewolf Bar Mitzvah. In keeping the "mythical creature" + "type of party" appellation for 100% bretted beers here, Chupacabra Quinceañera is 100% fermented with a substrain of Brettanomyces Bruxellensis.

Sensory School: The Path to Becoming a Beer Judge

Once you have a full understanding of how to taste beer, you might want to take your knowledge a bit further ... far enough to become a beer judge! To guide you through that process one of our brewers, who just so happens to also be one of our resident BJCP judges, has some tips on how to reach that goal.

So you would like to be a beer judge? Free beer and all that is asked for in return is some feedback on the beverage! We must first acquire the necessary knowledge and practice our sensory evaluation skills and corresponding vocabulary. How do we get started on this sensory evaluation filled adventure? What separates a beer judge from the random craft beer geek at the tasting room?