Garrett Oliver (born July 29, 1962) is an American brewer and beer author from New York City. Since 1994, he has worked as the

brewmaster A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of beer ...

at the

Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn Brewery is a brewery in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. It was started in 1988 by Steve Hindy and Tom Potter. History Hindy learned to brew beer during a six-year stay in various Middle Eastern nations such as Saudi Arabia and K ...

Early life

Oliver grew up in

Hollis, Queens Hollis is a residential middle-class neighborhood within the southeastern section of the New York City borough of Queens. While a predominantly African-American community, there are small minorities of Hispanics and South Asians residing in the ...

to a father who enjoyed

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...

and cooking. Oliver studied filmmaking at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

, and as a student organized concerts for bands such as

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United S ...

The English Beat ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, and

The Gun Club The Gun Club were an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which existed from 1979 to 1996. It was formed and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce. History Early days (1979–1980) The Gun Club w ...

. After graduation, he spent a year stage-managing bands at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. He then traveled in Europe, sampling beers in countries such as

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, and

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

.Acitelli, p. 228 After returning to the United States in 1983, he began

homebrewing Homebrewing is the brewing of beer or other alcoholic beverages on a small scale for personal, non-commercial purposes. Supplies, such as kits and fermentation tanks, can be purchased locally at specialty stores or online. Beer was brewed dom ...

, working for HBO and a New York law firm.

Brewing career

In 1989, Oliver became an apprentice brewer at the Manhattan Brewing Company. In 1993, he was appointed brewmaster of the company, which closed and reopened twice in the early 90s. In 1994, he left Manhattan to become brewmaster at the

, a position he has held since. He has also become a partner in the company.Acitelli, p. 342 Oliver has an interest in beer pairing and cooking with beer, having written several books on the subjects, including 2003's ''The Brewmaster's Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food''. This interest has led him to become involved in the

Slow Food Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and re ...

movement. He was also the editor of the 2011 '' Oxford Companion to Beer'', and has served as a judge at the

Great American Beer Festival The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is an annual beer festival hosted by the Brewers Association, held in Denver, Colorado. Typically held in late September or early October, the event is currently held at Denver's Colorado Convention Center. ...

. In May 2012 Garrett Oliver was honoured by the

Institute of Brewing and Distilling The Institute of Brewing and Distilling (IBD) is an industry trade association for brewers and distillers, both in the United Kingdom and internationally. The IBD had its headquarters at Clarges Street in London London until 2014 at which t ...

through the Beer Academy as an 'International Beer Champion' and was made an 'Honorary Beer Academy Sommelier'. He was the first (with Bill Taylor) to be given this title from the British organisation that educates and certifies

beer sommelier A beer sommelier, also called a cicerone, is a trained professional, working in the hospitality and alcoholic beverage industry, who specializes in the service and knowledge of beer, similar to a traditional wine sommelier. The knowledge required ...

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

*
Garrett Oliver
on

LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job se ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Garrett African-American non-fiction writers American non-fiction writers American brewers Beer writers Boston University College of Communication alumni Living people People from Hollis, Queens 1962 births Brewery workers James Beard Foundation Award winners 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people

Early life

Brewing career

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links