Today is my good friend Pete Slosberg’s 74th birthday . Pete is, of course, best known for Pete’s Wicked Ales. After that he toyed with the idea of making barbecue but decided instead to make some incredible chocolates and had a small company, Cocoa Pete’s. A few years ago, I traveled to South America with Pete (where we took to calling him “El Pete“), where we both spoke and judged beer at a beer conference/competition in Argentina, the South Beer Cup, and then flew to Brazil to attend a pair of beer dinners Stephen Beaumont was hosting and for a while he was working on Mavericks, a newish line of canned session beers, along with Half Moon Bay Brewing, but is now doing some occasional consulting and doing a lot of traveling with his wife Amy looking for the next adventure … or sour beer. Join me wishing Pete a very happy birthday!
This was taken the first time I met Pete, over twenty-five years ago at the KQED Beer and Food Festival in San Francisco, when I was more or less still a civilian. It was after I’d written a book on beer, but before I started working as the beer buyer for BevMo.
Pete with his wife Amy and Shaun O’Sullivan, from 21st Amendment, at one of Sean Paxton’s beer dinners during SF Beer Week earlier this year.
Working the bottling line at Russian River Brewing, with a bottle of Consecration.
Matt Bonney, from Brouwer’s, Stephen Beaumont, Sean Paxton, Pete and Rick Sellers, from Odonata at the Bistro Double IPA Festival.
Pete with his wife Amy and Celebrator publisher Tom Dalldorf at one of Bruce Paton’s beer dinners at the Cathedral Hill Hotel in February 2006.
Martin Boan, who organized and ran the South Beer Cup, with Pete in Buenos Aires.
Pete, with Edu Passarelli (owner of Melograno), Stephen Beaumont and me after a beer dinner at Edu’s place in Sao Paulo.
Vinnie and his wife Natalie from presented to Tom Dalldorf (middle), owner of the Celebrator, a Balthazar of their yummy Damnation Ale in honor of the magazine’s 17th anniversary. A Balthazar is 12 liters or contains about 16 normal bottles of beer.
Dave Keene, owner of the 
Garrett Oliver, brewer at Brooklyn Brewing Co., and Vinnie at the Brewer’s Dinner the night before GABF begins.
Vinnie and Rich Norgrove from 
Vinnie with his wife and Russian River co-owner Natalie at GABF in 2009.
Vinnie and me his 40th birthday party at the brewpub several years ago.
And again several years ago at the Firestone Walker Invitational, sharing some frites.
Me and Tim enjoying some hop tea, while picking hops at Moonlight Brewing’s hopyard in 2007.
Andy at his brewhouse in 2012.