Today is the 58th birthday of JoAnne Carilli, who within the beer industry most recently was the Head Of Business Development at White Labs, but nore recently she’s again left us for a position with EP Climbing, a climbing wall manufacturer. I first met JoAnne when she was the marketing director for the old Association of Brewers in the late 1990s and she became a good friend. After that, she spent the better part of a decade at White Labs as their Sales & Marketing Director. But she spent a number of years outside the beer industry while raising her son, although we did manage to stay in touch sporadically. I was very pleased to see her back in beer (where she belongs, I’ll argue), but I guess she didn’t see it that way in the end, at least for now. Join me in wishing Joanne a very happy birthday.
Beer Birthday: Bryan Selders
Today is the 50th birthday — The Big 5-O — of Bryan Selders, who until 2011 was lead brewer of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and one-half of the hip hop duo The Pain Relievaz, before leaving the industry temporarily to do web design at Inclind. He later returned to brewing, and became the brewmaster at Post Brewing in Colorado. But more recently, he’s returned to Dogfish Head as their brewing ambassador. I first met Bryan at Hop School in Yakima, Washington years ago and he’s a terrifically talented and fun person. Join me in wishing Bryan a very happy birthday.
Bryan and me at GABf in 2024.
Bryan with his boss Sam on picture day at the brewery.
Bryan with some of his “fans.”
The cover of the latest CD, Awesome = Yes, the Pain Relievaz Greatest Hits, available nowhere as far as I can tell. But below is Bryan and Sam in the video “Pinchin’ Pennies.”
Note: All photos purloined from Facebook.
Historic Beer Birthday: Jim Parker
Today would have been the 64th birthday of Jim Parker, who had been a fixture in the national, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington beer scenes for over 25 years. He founded the Mountain Tap Tavern in 1992, in Colorado, and also worked for the IBS (formerly part of the Brewers Association), was director of the American Homebrewers Association, editor-in-chief of Zymurgy and New Brewer, Executive Director of the Oregon Brewers Guild, as well as starting and working at many different breweries. Jim was also the first person I know to put Tot-chos on a menu, and for that alone he gets into heaven in my book. Jim was a terrific person and very passionate about beer. In November of 2018, Jim suffered a severe stroke and passed away in February of the following year. Please join me in raising a toast to Jim’s memory.
Jim and me over ten years ago at the Full Sail Smoker during OBF.
Late night adventures in New Orleans, when the Craft Brewers Conference was there in 2003, stacking burger boxes at a local fast food joint.
At a different Full Sail Smoker, talking with Dave Hopwood, whose birthday is also today.
Beer Birthday: Bob Pease
Today is the 63rd birthday of Bob Pease. Bob is the CEO of the Brewers Association and has been integral to their growth. He’s been with the BA since 1993 and was made V.P. in 1999. A few years ago he was promoted to COO, and in August of 2014 was promoted yet again. He’s worked directly on the Export Development Program and also on Government Affairs, especially with respect to Federal Excise Tax legislation. Join me in wishing Bob a very happy birthday.
On the floor at GABF in 2007, with Ray Daniels, Mark Dorber, publican extraordinaire, and John Mallet, from Bell’s Brewery.
With Nancy Johnson at CBC in New Orleans.
Bob with Rick Lyke at a Pints For Prostates event.
The BA staff at CBC a few years ago in Chicago. That’s Bob second to the right of the tuxedo (which is Charlie Papazian) and next to Julia Herz.
Historic Beer Birthday: Joseph Coors Sr.
Today is the birthday of Joseph Coors Sr. (November 12, 1917–March 15, 2003). He was the grandson of brewery founder Adolph Coors and president of Coors Brewing Company. “After graduation, he began work in the Coors Porcelain Co., the porcelain business that helped the company survive Prohibition. With his brother William Coors (whose desks were located only one foot apart), Joseph refined the cold-filtered beer manufacturing system and began America’s first large-scale recycling program by offering 1-cent returns on Coors aluminum cans. He served one term as a regent of the University of Colorado in 1967-1972, attempting to quell what he considered to be campus radicalism during the Vietnam war. He served as president of Coors in 1977-1985, and chief operating officer in 1980-1988. His leadership helped expand Coors beer distribution from 11 Western states in the 1970s to the entire USA by the early 1990s.”
Businessman. Brewery magnate and leading member of the Coors Brewing family and company founded by his grandfather. Worked at the Coors Brewery in Golden, Colorado, starting in 1946 as technical director, became Executive Vice President in 1975, President in 1977, and Chief Operating Officer from 1985-1987. Engaged in an intense conforation with labor over an effort to unionize the Coors Brewery. An outspoken conservative who helped establish (with Paul Weyrich) The Heritage Foundation, The Independnce Institute (Golden, Colorado), and the Mountain States Legal Foundation. Elected to one term as a Regent of the University of Colorado (1966). Member of the ‘kitchen cabinet’ of President Ronald Reagan.
Joseph Coors, Sr., one of Adolph Jr.’s sons, assumed leadership at the pottery in 1946 and began the process of becoming the industrial ceramic technology leader. He started the first formal R&D group at Coors Porcelain and strengthened the technical and design staff.
Joseph Coors, who used his brewing fortune to support President Reagan and help create the conservative Heritage Foundation, has died at age 85.
Coors, whose grandfather founded Golden-based Adolph Coors Co. in 1873, died Saturday in Rancho Mirage, Calif., after a three-month battle with lymphatic cancer.
In the 1970s, Coors began providing money and his famous name to start the Heritage Foundation, the influential think tank in Washington, D.C. Even earlier, he served as one of Reagan’s advisers and backers in the “kitchen Cabinet,” which financed Reagan’s political career from the governorship of California to the White House. The two first met in Palm Springs, Calif., in 1967.
“Without Joe Coors, the Heritage Foundation wouldn’t exist — and the conservative movement it nurtures would be immeasurably poorer,” the foundation’s president, Edwin Feulner, said in a statement.
In 1988 he retired as chief operating officer. He remained a director until three years ago.
Coors used his chemical engineering background to refine the brewery’s cold-filtered beer manufacturing system, which he created with his brother Bill. The brothers also initiated what is believed to have been the first large-scale recycling program by offering a one cent return on Coors’ aluminum cans in 1959.
Until the 1970s, Coors beer was sold in 11 just Western states. But aggressive competition from industry giants Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing prompted the company to expand. By the early 1990s, Coors was available nationwide. It is the third-largest brewer in the United States.
But the company was the object of sometimes bitter criticism from activists who criticized Coors’ politics and accused the company of a variety of violations of labor and environmental laws and bias against gays and other minorities.
In 1977, labor unions launched a boycott after a bitter 20-month strike. The boycott ended 10 years later after the company agreed to forgo erecting legal roadblocks often used by management against an attempt to organize its workforce. The following year, Coors employees turned down Teamsters representation.
Born in Golden on Nov. 12, 1917, Coors was educated in public schools. He graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., in 1940 with a degree in chemical engineering.
His first job at Coors Co. was with the company’s ceramics division, working in the clay pits west of Golden where the raw material for porcelain was mined. The porcelain business, purchased in the early 1900s, helped keep the company afloat during Prohibition, when the brewery produced malted milk and near-beer.
Coors also served a term as a regent of the University of Colorado, confronting what he saw as campus radicalism during the Vietnam War.
Coors and his brother worked in the same office, their desks not more than a foot apart. But Bill Coors said their politics were quite different.
“He was very principled and dedicated. But we got along a lot better if we didn’t talk politics,” Bill Coors said. “He was conservative as they come. I mean he was a little bit right of Attila the Hun.
In addition to his brother, he is survived by his wife, Anne; five sons, Joseph Jr., Jeffrey, Peter, Grover and John, all of the Golden area; 27 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
Beer Birthday: Chris Swersey
Today is the 60th birthday — The Big 6-O — of Chris Swersey, who until recently was on the staff of the Brewers Association as the Competition Manager for both the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup. He coordinated all the judges, volunteers and the thousands of beers needed for each festival. It’s a big job and Chris seems to do it effortlessly. Plus, the last several years, Chris and I both judged in Belgium at the Brussels Beer Challenge, which has been great fun. More recently, he got married and moved to Australia, and has gone back to brewing beer. Join me in wishing Chris a very happy birthday.
Chris reading the list of World Beer Cup winners in 2008.
Nancy Johnson, Justin Crossley & Chris right before the GABF Awards Ceremony in 2009.
Eric and Lauren Salazar, both from New Belgium Brewing, sandwiched by Jim Crooks, from Firestone Walker, and Chris Swersey, Competition Manager for GABF judging.
Me, Chris and another BA staff member freshly arriving at CBC in Austin in 2007.
Beer Birthday: Doug Odell
Today is the 72nd birthday of Doug Odell, co-founder and brewmaster of Odell Brewing Co. of Fort Collins, Colorado. I’m not sure when I first met Doug, but I got to know him a lot better during a trip to Buenos Aries, Argentina, judging the South Cup, a few years ago. Doug’s a great traveling companion and fun to drink a beer with. Join me in wishing Doug a very happy birthday.
Beer Birthday: Jason Alström
Today is the 53rd birthday of Jason Alström, co-founder of Beer Advocate headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, but found worldwide over that series of tubes known as the interwebs. Though started as a hobby, Beer Advocate had gone on to be one of the internet’s killer apps of beer, which for a time had successfully branched out into publishing and putting on beer festivals. Jason left Beer Advocate in 2021, after selling the business to Next Glass. Join me in wishing Jason a very happy birthday.
Jason with Jaime Jurado, then-Director of Brewing Operations for the Gambrinus Company, and his brother Todd at GABF in 2008.
After judging the finals for the 2009 Longshot Homebrew Competition in Boston. From left: Jason, Tony Forder (from Ale Street News), Bob Townsend, Jim Koch (founder of the Boston Beer Co.), yours truly, Julie Johnson (from All About Beer magazine), and Jason’s brother Todd Alström.
Jason, standing far left, toasting at Munich’s Hofbrauhaus.
During a trip to Bavaria in 2007, the gang of twelve plus three at the Faust Brauerei in Miltenberg, Germany. From left: Cornelius Faust, me, Lisa Morrison, Johannes Faust, Julie Bradford, Andy Crouch, Peter Reid, Horst Dornbusch, Jeannine Marois, Harry Schumacher, Tony Forder, Candice Alström, Don Russell, Jason and Todd Alström.
The day after we tried all of Stone’s Vertical Epic’s in San Diego a few years ago; with Steve Wagner, me, Joe, Jason and Todd Alström and Greg Koch.
At Longshot judging a few years ago in Boston, Don Russell, Jim Koch, Tony Forder, John Holl, Bob Townsend, Lisa Morrison, Jason and me.
Beer Birthday: Kim Jordan
Today is the birthday of Kim Jordan, co-founder of New Belgium Brewing. Kim went to Colorado State University in Fort Collins, then stayed in town to start New Belgium in 1991. She recently stepped down as CEO of the company and is currently Executive Chair of the Brewery’s Board of Directors. While not exactly retired, just slowed down a bit for the day-to-day, she’s still very active in both the company’s affairs and the brewing industry more generally through the Brewer’s Association. Join me in wishing Kim a very happy birthday.
Greg Koch and Kim, at GABF in 2009.
Steve Hindy, Kim, Dave Keene, Eddie Friedland (former owner of Philadelphia’s Friedland Distributing) and Vinnie Cilurzo in Austin, Texas for the 2007 Craft Brewers Conference.
At the 2008 NBWA welcome reception in San Francisco. From left, Jamie Jurado (then with Gambrinus), Lucy Saunders (the Beer Cook), Charlie Papazian (President of the Brewers Association), Kim and Tom Dalldorf (from the Celebrator Beer News).
Beer Birthday: Pete Coors
Today is the 78th birthday of Peter Hanson Coors (September 20, 1946- ). Pete Coors is the great-grandson of Adolph Coors, who founded Coors Brewing Co. in 1873. He has worked for his family’s brewery since 1971. After their merger with Molson in 2005, and then a joint venture with SABMiller in 2008, Pete is currently the chairman of MillerCoors and the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors. I met him briefly during a malt press junket a few years ago to Western Colorado. Join me in wishing Pete a very happy birthday.
Pete joined Adolph Coors Company in 1971 where he held a number of executive and management positions. He previously served as chairman of the board of Adolph Coors Company from 2002 to 2005, and was chief executive officer from May 2000 to July 2002. He served as a director of Coors Brewing Company, the company’s US-based subsidiary, beginning in 1973. In 2002, he was named executive chairman, and was chief executive officer from 1992 to 2000. He has been a director of both US Bancorp and of Energy Corp. of America since 1996. Peter received his Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University and a Master degree in Business Administration from the University of Denver.
And this is his Wikipedia entry:
Coors was born in Golden, Colorado. He is the great-grandson of Adolph Coors, the brewing entrepreneur, and the son of Holly Coors (née Edith Holland Hanson) and Joseph Coors. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy and then from Cornell University with a degree in engineering. A member of the Psi Upsilon Fraternity, Coors was elected to the Sphinx Head Society during his final year at Cornell. He also received his MBA from the University of Denver in 1970.
Coors has worked all of his life in various positions at his family’s Coors Brewing Company.
In 1993 Coors became vice chairman and CEO of the company, and in 2002 he was named Chairman of Coors Brewing Company and Adolph Coors Company. In 2004, Pete Coors “made $332,402 in salary and a $296,917 bonus as chairman of Adolph Coors. He also received 125,000 stock options with a potential value of $13 million,” according to the Rocky Mountain News. However, he stepped down temporarily from these positions in 2004 to run for the US Senate. After the 2005 merger with Molson, Coors became a Class A Director in the newly formed Molson Coors Brewing Company. In October 2006, he was appointed by the University of Colorado Hospital Board of Directors as chairman of the board for the new University of Colorado Hospital Foundation.
He has served on the boards of U.S. Bancorp, H. J. Heinz Company, HOBY (Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership) Colorado, and Energy Corp. of America. He is also involved in civic organizations such as the Denver Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the National Western Stock Show Association. He is also part of the ownership group of the Colorado Rockies. He is a member at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. In 1997, Coors was granted an Honorary Doctorate from Johnson & Wales University, where he is a trustee. He sits on the Board of Trustees of the American Enterprise Institute.