Today is also Paul Gatza’s 62nd birthday. Paul was the Director of the Brewers Association in Boulder, Colorado until recently. He’s held numerous executive positions with the BA and its previous incarnation, the Association of Brewers. An avid homebrewer, Paul was great face for the BA and a terrific person, and I hope he’s enjpoying retirement immensely. Join me in wishing Paul a very happy birthday.
Paul giving his annual state of the industry talk at CBC in 2012.
Today is the birthday of Charles Arthur von Buddenbrock (June 27, 1878-1948). He was born in Marianwewrder, Germany and served in the Germany army during World War I. He was taken prisoner and brought to an interment camp in Colorado. After his release when the war ended, he decided to stay in Colorado and worked for the Schneider Brewery in Trinidad, Colorado for over 35 years. In 1920 he was listed as the Chief Engineer, but that would have been only shortly after he started working there. I’m not sure about the math, since he died in 1948 and the war ended in 1918. Also known as the Ph. Schneider Brewing Co., it survived prohibition by obtaining a license to brew non-alcoholic beverages, and later received brewery permit COL-U-1001 in 1933, the first in the state to get back to making beer. After prohibition ended, it went through a few owners, and name changes, before closing for good in 1957 as the Bohemian Brewery of Colorado.
Today is my friend John Bryant’s 59th birthday. I first met John when he was with Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon. Several years ago he migrated to Odell Brewing in Fort Collins to work his magic on them, and then a few years ago he joined Dale at Oskar Blues. He then left Oskar Blues and disappeared for a time, finally re-emerging in Spokane, Washington as the owner of No-Li Brewing. Join me in wishing John a very happy birthday.
Today is the birthday of Charles Voegtle (June 7, 1841-September 27, 1914). He was born in Rothwell, Germany, and emigrated to the U.S. just as the Civil War was ending, in 1865, initially settling in Illinois. He started work in a brewery there and was promoted to foreman after five years. In 1869, he married Johanna Weisenhorn, herself a German immigrant who arrived through New Orleans in 1857 with her family and also settled in Adams County, Illinois.
The couple later moved to Boulder, Colorado, where Voegtle would co-found the Crystal Springs Brewing & Ice Co. with his brother-in-law, Frank Sales Weisenhorn in 1875.
Here’s Tavern Trove picks up the story:
Voegtle’s brother-in-law, Frank Sales Weisenhorn, was the son of a well-to-do farmer and saloon operator. In 1873, Franks’s younger brother August moved his family and business out to Montana, where he quickly found success making wagons for miners who had plenty of gold and nothing to purchase.
Frank decided he might try his own luck in a boomtown, and in 1876 he persuaded his brother-in-law Charles Voegtle to pack up their families and move west to Boulder, Colorado. There they purchased the Crystal Springs Brewery from Keller & Zuelfehofer. Frank’s father had likely provided the funding, and Charles provided the skill, as the firm was christened with Frank’s name first, “Weisenhorn & Voegtle.” Their brewhouse was situated on the picturesque Boulder Creek, near where the Boulder County Library is today. The creek was both the source of the water used to cool the brewing beer and the source of the gold that fed the quickly growing town.
Weisenhorn and Voegtle ran the brewery as partners for eleven years, after which Voegtle sold his partnership to Weisenhorn. At age 45, Voegtle retired from the rough and tumble occupation of a brewer in a mining town. He, Johanna, and their children moved away from the rowdy brewhouse to a then-rural plot of land under the shadow of the Flatirons. There they grew flowers and sold fruit.
After Voegtle left the brewery, it went through several different owners and configurations of owners before closing for good due to prohibition in 1911. He died September 27th, 1917, at the age of 76 years.
Today is the 58th birthday of Julia Herz, who until the pandemic was the craft beer program director for the Brewers Association, but more recently was named executive director of the American Homebrewers Association, which is now independent of the Brewers Association. She worked for big media like CNN before turning her attention to craft beer in 2007, when she joined the organization. Julia was an awesome addition to the BA and was an integral part of its growth and the positive attention that beer is starting to get from the media at large, plus she’s a pleasure to work with. Join me in wishing Julia a very happy birthday.
Today is also Adam Avery’s 60th birthday. Adam, of course, founded his eponymous brewery, Avery Brewing, in Boulder, Colorado. Since 1993, Adam’s been making some increasingly hoppy and big, challenging beers that are also quite wonderful, too. Join me in wishing Adam a very happy birthday.
Today is the 61st birthday of Eric Warner. Eric founded Tabernash Brewing in Colorado, and later ran Flying Dog Brewing, until they moved their operations to Maryland. He’s also the author of two brewing books, German Wheat Beer and Kolsch: History, Brewing Techniques, Recipes. More recently, he moved to Houston to be the brewmaster (although his official title is “Yeast Rancher”) at Karbach Brewing. I first met Eric at Tabernash a million years ago, and several times since then, but most recently during World Beer Cup judging this year. Join me in wishing Eric a very happy birthday.
Today is the 53rd birthday of Gary Glass, former Director of the American Homebrewers Association. Gary had been with the Brewers Association for many a moon and had become the face of homebrewing in America. More recently, at least since October of 2020, he’s been brewing at Left Hand Brewing. Join me in wishing Gary a very happy birthday.
Today would have been Danny Williams’ 67th birthday today, having been born exactly two days before yours truly in 1959. Unfortunately, Danny lost a battle with cancer a little over eight years ago, and passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 23, 2012. For over a decade, Danny worked for the Brewers Association as the beer competition manager for both the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup. Danny left behind two grown children and a then-8-year old son, Fletcher. His friend Ben Spencer, who’s also a good friend of mine, lets me know from time to time how Danny’s kids are doing, which is great. Join me in raising a birthday beer and giving a toast to the memory of Danny Williams tonight. Danny would have wanted it that way.
Chris Black, who along with his brother, owned the Falling Rock, the best beer bar in Denver and HQ for beer people during GABF, turns 63 today. Sadly, Chris shut down the Falling Rock a few years back. Chris is a great guy and one of a handful of early Publicans across the country that were doing things right when it came to beer. Join me in wishing Chris a very happy birthday.
