The president of Sixpoint Craft Ales is leaving the operations in the hands of the brewers. He will no longer run the brewhouse. He’s not stepping down, he’s stepping UP! In a recent email, Welch give a brief bio on the guys in charge now:
Have You Ever Met the Sixpoint Brewers?
You should, and not just because they are a great group of dudes. You should also meet them because after 7+ years of handling the brewing operations at Sixpoint, I am turning things over entirely to the Brewing Staff. Am I concerned about this? No. And it is not just because the Sixpoint Brew Crew is aces.
photo by Michael Harlan Turkell
It is because I know these people, and they are here to take this to the next level. Rather than give you the traditional short bios with ego-tripping accomplishments, I’d like to give you the real story on the Sixpoint Brew Crew – the kind of juice you only get after sharing pints with folks over the course of months or years. You know – actually caring.
photo by Michael Harlan Turkell
First – let’s talk about Sean Redmond. Sean is the type of guy that always keeps the morale of the crew high. As a matter of fact, now that I think about it, I don’t think I have ever seen Sean in a bad mood. Sometimes when I am in my office upstairs, I can hear Sean laughing all the way downstairs in the brewhouse. I guess that is the kind of joy and passion he brings with him every day – it penetrates the walls.
photo by Michael Harlan Turkell
Then there is Pete Dickson. Pete may be the most quiet one of the bunch, but don’t let his silence fool you. Pete’s mechanical inclination is staggering. The son of a welder, he took his craft to new heights when he became a Mechanical Design Engineer at GE Aviation. After designing aerospace electrical-mechanical rotary and linear actuators for several years, he got bit by the homebrew bug. As a matter of fact, he got bit so hard he went out and got a Sixpoint tattoo! And then we hired him afterwards, and one day while lifting a keg, we saw the Sixpoint star tattoo on his arm. Call that what you want – we call it destiny.
photo by Michael Harlan Turkell
And of course, how could we forget Ian McConnell. Ian might have the most classic entrée into the profession. Ian is from and was living in Maine, but he rode his motorcycle and moved to Brooklyn to be closer to his girlfriend Celia. He emailed us looking for a job, as he enjoyed making beer and thought it would be a fun gig. I told him to come down. Soon afterwards, the doorbell rang. I went out to answer the door, but no one was there. Yup – Ian got scared and ran away. Hah! But there is a happy ending – he came back, got hired, and eventually became our Head Brewer. And his girlfriend Celia? There’s a happy ending there too: they are married now with a 10-month old daughter.
photo by Michael Harlan Turkell
Last, the newest member of our team and our Braumeister – Jan Matysiak. Born and raised in Germany, Jan has the same ridiculously high standards for excellence and precision as me, so we hit it off right away. That is why he is our new dedicated Braumeister and quality control specialist. And it is not just because he has OCD that makes him fit in so well – he also has an uncompromising love of animals. He moved to Brooklyn with 4 dogs! Jan is one of a handful of people in the entire country that can “legitimately” call themselves a Brewmaster, as he has completed the 4-year Diplom Braumeister program at the Weihenstephan Institute in Freising, Germany. And like the others, he has some ink to show his love for the craft.
traditional German Brauerwappen
This bad-ass tattoo on his calf is what is called a “Brauerwappen” in German. But don’t let Jan’s size and demeanor make you think he soaked up that ink without batting an eye. He whimpered like a little kitten!
This is the Sixpoint Brew Crew, and these are the people who are taking it to the next level.
With respect,
Shane C. Welch
President
Sixpoint Brewery
