Our mission at AmericanCraftBeer.com is simple. We want to have fun…Celebrate the Industry….And drag a whole new generation down the road to ruin at the same time...
I come from 25 years of "living the life", having done major label work at some great places, Virgin Records, Geffen records and the EMI label group to name a few… I had a whole lot of fun, saw some great music, hung out with some interesting people and did almost everything to excess… I eventually decided it was time to grow up, clean up my act a bit and become a more responsible member of society... And that’s why we created AmericanCraftBeer.com. Matt Lyman (if that's his real name...) is our Supervising Editor and writer of many things: articles, plays, copy, books. He once wrote a book that you may have heard of: A Tale of Two Cities. Matt is also a liar. He was brought onboard to be a voice for the Northwest and all we've received so far is complaints from fine drinking establishments that he needs to stop trying to drink their IPAs straight from the tap. Currently working in the Marketing department of a Financial Services company, Matt blows off steam by writing, reading, cycling and drinking the finest beers that the Northwest has to offer. A reformed PBR drinker, he is happy to say that he has found the light, and the light is bitter and hoppy. Steve Manghi is our Managing Editor and herder of cats. We're still not really sure what to make of this guy. He refers to himself as a "reformed banker" and; so far as we can tell, he either caused the recession and is in hiding with us or is just out looking to get free beer. Steve really does come from a background in the finance world and even doubled up working and school at one point to get an MBA; but really, now we just do whatever he tells us, Mr. Bigshot. When not finding the next social media outlet for us to yell into, Steve sits on the Board of Directors for Flying Bike Cooperative Brewery from his home turf of Seattle, WA. He also happens to be the only homebrewer of the bunch, so maybe he does know something after all. Blake Winchell is our Gulf Coast Correspondent residing in the Red Stick (Baton Rouge, LA). While he lives near the bayou he does not take a boat to work, nor does he have a pet alligator or speak like the Waterboy. He is a homebrewing and craft beer enthusiast who strives to promote both areas across the state and region. Blake runs Brasseurs a la Maison, a large homebrew club in Baton Rouge but is drawn to ACB by his love for craft beer of which the South desperately needs more. While he does have a day job, he would rather be brewing or talking about beer, which is not to say that he doesn't do that during work hours. Jason Hollingsworth was trained on what good beer really is while going to school in Ann Arbor, surrounded by some of the country's best breweries. Originally recruited as our San Francisco correspondent, he made the move back to the Midwest in 2013 to cover the beer metropolis of Chicago. Known as "that guy who brings the fancy beer to parties," Jason still respects the balance between craft beer and mass-produced light beer, despite not indulging in the latter. Although he has a few favorites, Jason's passion for this beverage is unbounded by brand or style and he will enjoy your homebrew just as much as any top rated beer. Tim Ho is based in Atlanta and comes to us from the world of commercial brewing, having lugged hoses and developed calluses from tightening a bazillion tri-clamp fittings at Pyramid Breweries in Berkeley, CA and from overseeing production of 6.5 million barrels, annually, at the MillerCoors Brewing Company. Currently self-employed, pimpin' laboratory and biotech equipment, he day dreams of one day traveling around the world to chase fresh powder on which to "float" (ie snowboard) and riding all the single-track Mother Nature has to provide, all while chasing it with the finest local craft-brewed malted-barley adult beverages. Katelyn Pelak (KP) joined up with ACB in October 2012 as our Seattle correspondent, though she learned to drink in the Midwest. Her passion for beer was instilled while homebrewing with her father and nurtured by the demanding social life of a Big Ten student. When she's not writing for ACB or working for a Seattle-based tech company, she is chasing sunlight by hiking, playing beach volleyball, or crushing any other outdoor sport that isn't softball. (Beer in the dugout has yet to sway her). Follow her on Twitter under the handle @BeerBlonde; she enjoys sampling the full spectrum of beers, from blondes to stouts, and is excited to uncover more of the Pacific Northwest's extraordinary breweries. Lindsay Snyder is our Coloradan transplant who now calls Wisconsin home. After reluctantly leaving behind her skis and her dog, she has grown to love Madison for the lakes, the people, and the beer. Having grown up in a household of Schlitz and Keystone Ice, and attended college in a small Midwestern town that subsisted on Natural Light alone, it's lucky for us that Lindsay ventured to Europe and tasted her first Belgian pale ale. Since then she's made a point to sniff out the best beer happenings within a 200 mile radius. There's little she won't do for a good IPA, an outdoor concert, and a shoes-optional policy. Chris Pavetto is a jack of many trades, but a master of only one: loving beer. Based in Washington, D.C. he's part techie, writer, grad student, homebrewer, talentless guitar player and an all-around beer enthusiast. Chris will work for beer, literally – we once dangled a case of Dogfish Head in front of him and he worked for 72 hours straight. Now, he keeps up a day job at a software development company, goes to school for his MBA at night, and contributes to ACB in between. He hopes to one day land a real job in the craft beer industry, but we've got enough beer on hand to keep him going for a while. Dave Stratton is an artist many times over, but like many talented people in LA he doesn't have much to show for it. He abandoned drawing after high school when note taking caused his pen strokes to look like bathroom graffiti on an etch-a-sketch. In college he found the three loves of his life: craft beer, his spouse, and improvised comedy. Dave transformed his artistic ability like Optimus Prime at the Louvre by shifting his craft to improvised comedy, writing, and creating digital media. You can often find him playing a robot Jack Tripper on the all robot cast of Three's Company Live on various stages around Hollywood. Juliana Casale couldn't be more thrilled to join ACB as a Boston Correspondent. When she's not busy chatting up bartenders and exploring the bottoms of tulip glasses (what? it's research!) she can be found working downtown at a kickass content marketing startup and grumbling about the Hub's lack of happy hours. Juliana's other hobbies include participating in offbeat activities (2012: falconing, dogsledding, zombie 5K), mocking the grammatically disabled and praying for the return of HBO's Game of Thrones. Her affections can be bought with a Belgian tripel or a Twitter follow @attackofthetext. Dan Varricchio lives in Boston and spends his daytime hours as a Social Worker for a child welfare agency in Massachusetts, however, his love and passion is beer. Dan's first experience with beer was when he was about 6 years old. His Grandfather loved one beer and that was Schaefer, and he remembers going with his mom to the local store to pick up a couple cases to bring home. Dan likes to sample new beers, tour breweries, attend a beer fest and finding the next new beer store. Prior to writing for American Craft Beer he wrote his own beer blog. In his free time he loves spending time with his wife and daughter and traveling.
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My name is Tom Bobak and I’m the Founder & Editor In Chief of AmericanCraftBeer.com. Jeff Chenault is my partner-in-crime and we're both Music Industry refugees.
