What is your current position at your brewery and how did you get started in the craft brewing industry?
I am the owner of Salary Brewing Company [in West Plains, Mo.] and I do pretty much everything except the brewing and dining room design, which are handled by our brewer, Amy Fischer, and my wife/co-owner, Amber Wages, respectively. Since discovering craft beer in 2004, I wanted to open a craft beer bar. Then I started homebrewing in 2008. In 2011, a local business incubator held a course to help potential business owners assess their business idea, which prompted me to combine my two Goals. It only took five more years for the doors to open!
What’s new at Wages Brewing?
We opened in August 2016 as soon as our first state beer approval arrived. Soon after, our bar nearly doubled in size. In the nearly year that we’ve been open, we’ve brewed many batches of our flagship products (Whatknot Ale, Landlocked IPA, and Good Mornin’ Stout) as well as countless experimental and one-offs. My goal has been to release a new beer every week. As high as it is, we came pretty close to that goal!
What’s the best part of being part of the craft brewing community?
The openness and kindness of everyone we meet. We recently attended the Craft Beer and Brew Brewers Retreat in Astoria, Oregon (yes, our brewer did the truffle mix in front of the Goonies’ house), and we were welcomed with open arms by all the brewers there. -down. I don’t think it’s that easy to befriend people from other industries.
Name a favorite beer-food pairing.
I love a good cerveza or session IPA with anything Mexican, especially street tacos.
What is your greatest achievement unrelated to your job?
Hang and keep my better half!
What’s your favorite beer that your brewery doesn’t produce?
I guess if I had to choose just one, it would be Heady Topper. This beer was a revelation of what an IPA should be. Locally, I’m a big fan of Aleiversary DIPA from Piney River and Grisette from Side Project (beer engine please).
What is the most memorable travel destination where you had the opportunity to taste the local beer?
I visited my dad in the Northern California Bay Area last year while waiting for our TTB approval. He drove me to some of the best breweries in the area. The Rare Barrel was the star of the show, although the whole trip was just amazing. There’s nothing quite like getting some fresh oysters and then heading to a great brasserie serving farm-to-table food.
What do you like to do during your time away from the brewery?
I’m a songwriter, comic book collector, computer strategy gamer (Civ VI atm) and enjoy gaming on my 30 acre farm where I pick wild mushrooms, grow random ingredients for brewing, and harvest peppers, tomatoes and garlic from the vegetable garden. , and more. That is, when I am not yet working at my day job!
