Today is my friend Rod DeWitt’s 69th birthday. Rod was the Director of Plant Engineering & Process Control at Anderson Valley Brewing Co. in Boonville, but I think he’s most likely retired by now as I haven’t run into him for some time. Rod also played drums in the Rolling Boil Blues Band. Join me is wishing Rod a very happy birthday.
Today is the 55th birthday of Steve Donohue, former brewmaster at Firehouse Grill & Brewery in Sunnyvale, California. Steve is an unsung brewer who deserves more accolades and fame. After Firehouse, He spent some time brewing at Hermitage Brewing while working on opening his own place. Steve’s brewery, Santa Clara Valley Brewing finally did open and, not surprisingly, seemed to be going gangbusters, but unfortunately he closed during the pandemic. Join me in wishing Steve a very happy birthday.
Note: Last two photos purloined from Facebook, taken by Arie Litman.
Today is the 63rd birthday of Jim Jacobs, who for many years was doing various things at Lagunitas Brewing, most recently as Director of Community Giving. He also helped create the legendary Lagunitas Beer Circus. In his spare time he works with the Petaluma Music Festival and is also the drummer in the Smokehouse Gamblers. Plus, he’s ben a great friend to both me and craft beer over the years. Join me in wishing Jimmy a very happy birthday.
Today is the 75th birthday of Mark Ruedrich, co-owner, and original brewer, of North Coast Brewing in Fort Bragg. Mark was a marine biologist who discovered good beer while living in England. Looking for a spot to build a brewery in Northern California, he was drawn to the tidal pools around Fort Bragg, and built a mini-beer empire there beginning in 1988. His Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout was one of the first truly great world-class beers made by early American microbreweries and helped put the nascent industry on the map. Plus he’s great fun to share a pint with. He’s retired now from the brewery, but his legacy continues to pour great beer. Join me in wishing Mark a very happy birthday.
Today is the 73rd birthday of Steve Grossman, a former Beer Ambassador at Sierra Nevada, and co-founder Ken Grossman’s older brother. “Steve grew up in Southern California, where he and his younger brother Ken learned about the art of home brewing. Steve continued to homebrew throughout college, and when Ken founded Sierra Nevada in 1980, Steve’s passion for craft beer was immediately put to good use. In the early years of the brewery, he helped establish the Southern California distribution network, and was involved in direct sales. For a time, Steve worked with Sierra Nevada’s international export program, and served as an ambassador and spokesperson for the brewery both domestically and abroad. Steve was also the director of the brewery’s wildly popular Beer Camp, which brings people to Sierra Nevada for a unique and intensive hands-on beer education.” Steve was a terrific ambassador not just for Sierra Nevada but for craft beer more generally, though more recently he’s retired and enjoying his golden (ale) years. Join me in wishing Steve a very happy birthday.
Sierra Nevada head brewer Steve Dressler with Steve at GABF in 2006.
Today is the 65th birthday of former homebrewer extraordinaire Jamil Zainasheff, who over the last ten plus years had become something of a rock star in the homebrewing community, and especially the Bay Area. He’s also the co-author two books on beer and homebrewing: “Brewing Classic Styles: 80 Winning Recipes Anyone Can Brew” (with John Palmer) and “Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation” (with Chris White). In addition, he hosts the Jamil Show on The Brewing Network and has a website online entitled Mr. Malty. Jamil also turned pro a number of years ago, starting his own commercial brewery, Heretic Brewing, which is now located in Fairfield, California. And they began making gin, too, which is very tasty. More recently the brewery was sold, and even more recently, Jamil announced he is not working at the brewery anymore, but I’m confident he’s be starting a new adventure soon. Join me in wishing Jamil a very happy birthday.
Today would have been longtime Sierra Nevada employee Steve Harrison’s 74th birthday. Unfortunately, Steve passed away in August of 2007. He was Sierra Nevada employee number one, and was responsible for a lot of their early success. I first got to know Steve in the mid-1990s when I was the chain beer buyer at BevMo. He was a terrific person and universally respected and beloved in the industry. Sierra Nevada had to hire two or three people to take over his responsibilities. Join me in raising a glass of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale to Steve’s memory today. Here’s to you, Steve.
The last time I saw Steve was at a CSBA meeting in San Diego in 2007, though we talked on the phone a few more times after that because he’d asked me to do some freelance work for him shortly after that CSBA meeting. You can almost make him out in the photo below. He’s in the middle, toward the back, in a blue shirt. He’s in between Tom McCormick (in a green shirt) and a man in a black shirt raising his glass below the giant boulder in the background.
And here’s his obituary from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Today is the 68th birthday of Michael Frenn, who owned/owns Old Hangtown Brewing Co. of Placerville. An avid homebrewer, Michael turned his impressive backyard brewery into a small commercial nano-brewery in 2010, selling primarily kegs in the local area. I think I first met Michael at the NCHF in 2007. Originally working in the medical field, I believe he’s closed down the commercial side of the brewery and is now working as a Disaster Medical Specialist, something we definitely need in today’s climate of wildfires. But I suspect he’s still homebrewing in his backyard. Join me in wishing Michael a very happy birthday.
Today is the 61st birthday of Colin Kaminski, who for over a decade had been the brewmaster of Downtown Joe’s in Napa, California. He started brewing there around 1998, and after four years learning from Brian Hunt and others, he became the head brewer in 2003. He’s gone on to give many presentations on brewing and write technical articles on brewing, besides being the co-author of Water: A Comprehensive Guide for Brewers, along with John Palmer, which was published in 2014. Colin was also kind enough to give a talk about brewing water to my class a few years ago. Currently he’s the R&D Designer at More Beer. Join me in wishing Colin a very happy birthday.
Today is Celebrator publisher Tom Dalldorf’s 84th birthday. Since he was famous for having his picture in the Celebrator and being at every beer event, I figured the Bulletin should be no different, despite his slowing down a bit these days. Join me in wishing Tom a very happy birthday.
