Because of the coronavirus outbreak, I am unable to visit breweries. Subsequently, we are repeating Craft Beer on The Bay blogs and podcasts from the last six years. This is Craft Beer on The Bay featuring Flying Dog Brewing from July 8, 2016.
When I visited Flying Dog Brewery a couple weeks ago, Chief Marketing Officer, Ben Savage, and Brewmaster, Ben Clark, and I savored a few craft beers and talked about their individual paths to joining Flying Dog. Last week, it was CMO Ben Savage’s story; this week, it’s Brewmaster Ben Clark’s turn.
Ben Clark’s inspiration for brewing beer came during some Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations with family. His grandfather was a winemaker and one year, on a trip to the basement to get some wine for the holiday meal, Ben said he’d like to brew beer. But his grandfather said, “Don’t do it. It’s too hard.” And the challenge was on.
Ben had always liked working with his hands, from ceramics to gardening to making cheeses, so beer was the next, natural thing to do. After starting his career in the banking and finance world, Ben decided to take classes on brewing. As he was finishing up his initial brewing education, he applied for an entry level job at Flying Dog, just as the brewery was moving from Colorado to Maryland.
He started in the cellar, cleaning tanks, scrubbing floors, and slowly worked his way up through the ranks until being named Director of Brewery Operations. Two months ago, the title changed to Brewmaster, but the job remains the same: creating and brewing some of the best beer in the world!
One of those beers is Dead Rise Summer Ale, a craft beer that was first available in the Summer of 2014.
(Ben Clark talks)
So this weekend, have a Dead Rise Summer Ale and taste some of the spice of life!
Cheers!
Jefferson
The Craft Beer Guy
Email: jward@thebayonline.com
