I recall reading about this maybe on this forum--but I'm not sure. At any rate, I found it extremely interesting that he was part of the Bare Knuckle Stout release by Anheuser Busch. It is only brewed at the NH facility, and sure enough this guy was the assistant brewer there.
I've always thought that beer was pretty good--better than the crap watery Guinness in the cans that we have here.
The dude's pic looks pretty cool too!
(EDIT: pic removed, it wasn't him)
Stone Brewing Company Liberates One of Anheuser-Busch's Finest
Mitch Steele, Stone's New Head Brewer
As recently posted on joesixpack.net, Stone Brewing Company (Escondido, CA) has hired Mitch Steele, Assistant Brewmaster for Anheuser-Busch's Merrimack, NH facility, as their new Head Brewer. Unless you persistently watched Greg Koch's vBlog, attended this past Craft Brewers Conference in Seattle, or were otherwise in the know ... it slipped under the beer radar.
Yes, the brewery that touts most arrogantly that "Fizzy yellow beer is for wussies" has just hired (liberated?) someone who's spent much of his career brewing for one of the largest "fizzy yellow beer" makers on planet Earth. Ironic, perhaps, but this is quite possibly one of the smartest hires we've seen within the craft beer world and perhaps another milestone in the craft brewing industry's ongoing maturity into big business.
How so?
For starters, I find that many beer geeks seem to forget that Stone is first and foremost a business, and their fast paced growth, high demand, and recent brewery expansion, means more production. To meet all of this they need people onboard who understand what it takes to brew at the next level and have the skills to take Stone's beers and vision to that level. Mitch has well over 10 years of mega-production brewing experience at A-B, during which time he spent three years working as their New Products Brewmaster for the American Originals and Michelob Specialty beer lines. While working at the A-B Merrimack facility, he's had a role in the Bare Knuckle Stout release and the recent specialty beers brewed for originalbeers.com under the A-B Specialty Brewing Group.
To boot, anyone who knows him knows that his true passion is craft beer. He actually started his career in the craft-brewing world at San Andreas Brewing Co. in Hollister, CA, is an avid homebrewer, and has acted as the New England District President for the Master Brewers Association of the Americas (MBAA). Mitch is also highly regarded within the craft beer world and has proven plenty of times that he can brew just as good, if not better, than any other craft brewer.
His hire by Stone simply makes sense, on many levels, and it's clearly a major win-win for Stone, Mitch and the craft beer industry.
I've always thought that beer was pretty good--better than the crap watery Guinness in the cans that we have here.
The dude's pic looks pretty cool too!
(EDIT: pic removed, it wasn't him) Stone Brewing Company Liberates One of Anheuser-Busch's Finest
Mitch Steele, Stone's New Head Brewer
As recently posted on joesixpack.net, Stone Brewing Company (Escondido, CA) has hired Mitch Steele, Assistant Brewmaster for Anheuser-Busch's Merrimack, NH facility, as their new Head Brewer. Unless you persistently watched Greg Koch's vBlog, attended this past Craft Brewers Conference in Seattle, or were otherwise in the know ... it slipped under the beer radar.
Yes, the brewery that touts most arrogantly that "Fizzy yellow beer is for wussies" has just hired (liberated?) someone who's spent much of his career brewing for one of the largest "fizzy yellow beer" makers on planet Earth. Ironic, perhaps, but this is quite possibly one of the smartest hires we've seen within the craft beer world and perhaps another milestone in the craft brewing industry's ongoing maturity into big business.
How so?
To boot, anyone who knows him knows that his true passion is craft beer. He actually started his career in the craft-brewing world at San Andreas Brewing Co. in Hollister, CA, is an avid homebrewer, and has acted as the New England District President for the Master Brewers Association of the Americas (MBAA). Mitch is also highly regarded within the craft beer world and has proven plenty of times that he can brew just as good, if not better, than any other craft brewer.
His hire by Stone simply makes sense, on many levels, and it's clearly a major win-win for Stone, Mitch and the craft beer industry.
