Chris, a lifelong Santa Rosa native, has been brewing for a little over one year. He started in February of 2021---deep in pandemic territory. He bought a Cherry Mead kit from The Beverage People to surprise his wife on their wedding anniversary. This lead to the sparking of a little homebrew obsession (you know how that goes). The remarkable thing is that they started brewing together and have kept up the team work and have now won both the January competition (Lacey, his wife), and the February competition (Chris). He reports that first batch escalated into a year of 16 beers, a mead, as well as some gallons of juice wines.

He enjoys brewing Saisons and is now interested in perfecting a Hazy juicy IPA. He believes he has found a lifelong hobby that is a fun and relaxing skill, and he believes he is just cracking the surface.

He has kindly reported that he is "consistently inspired by the conversations I have with other brewers like Gabe and Joe as well as a little nerdy about the science behind it. Long story short I am inspired by the thought that one of these brew days will create the perfect beer that I might be able to share with a fellow brewer." Amen to that, Chris!

This is the first time he has won a homebrew competition. Clearly, he is on the right track to that perfect beer. The Yorkville Highland Scotch Ale was one of the first beers he ever brewed. He modified it very slightly with an extra 1 lb. of Dry Malt Extract to bump up the % ABV. He now believes that the key behind this beer is age. "Age definitely matters," says Chris.

"Without the overwhelming support of Gabe and Joe, as well as my wife (who whipped me on last month's competition), I would have never been able to have gotten started with my life-long brewing addiction. I can’t even come close to expressing how appreciative I am to have found welcoming and informative people like them." Aw, c'mon now, Chris. You're going to make us blush. This win is all yours, you did great with this Scotch Ale! Way to go!