In the good beer trade since the early 1990s, I have been a brewer, a brewery manager, a brewpub owner, a brewery consultant, a restaurant manager, a beer writer and blogger, and a beer and wine salesman. Beer may be my profession, but cask ale —the beauty of beer at its freshest— is my mission.
The wines include an extensive selection from Bordeaux, Austria, California, and elsewhere.
The beers include those of American craft breweries Abita, Allagash, Brooklyn, Clipper City, Flying Dog, Lancaster, Otter Creek/Wolavers, Raven, Riverhorse, and Stoudts, as well as imports from Belgium, Germany, the U.K., and elsewhere.
My territory grew to include all of Virginia, and then North Carolina, Georgia, and South Carolina, as each of those states allowed beers of greater than 5.9% alcohol to be imported.
As a Territory Manager, I oversaw sales of Clipper City's beers, working primarily with wholesalers and distributors.
Clipper City itself changed. Some of its beers are now organic. Some of its beers have defined new craft styles. Its roster of beer has grown from nine beers to 16, its basket of brewing medals brimming. And the cask ale! Ahh!
In 2004, Clipper City was a dynamic Baltimore, Maryland brewery. In 2008, Clipper City was truly an East Coast brewery, its beers sold and respected in 20 states along the East Coast and into the Midwest.
That I was part of that was indeed my privilege. At times, it was exciting; at times, it could be frustrating; but never was it boring. I met many fascinating and beery folk: brewers, salespeople, wholesalers, beer shop owners and managers, beer lovers, and, in fact fascinating people of all sorts throughout the South.
I sincerely thank owner Hugh Sisson, Brewmaster Ernesto Igot, Sales Manager Pat Helsel, and everyone then and now at the Clipper City Brewing Company for having included me in their wonderful voyage of good beer.
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Site updated: 01 Aug 2008 |