Head Brewmaster
Paul Gautreau
CALGARY
EXPERIENCE:
Big Rocker since 1986
PROFILE:
Paul is an award-winning brewer widely considered to be one of the best in the business. As Lead Brewmaster, everything that comes out of our breweries is made to his exacting standards—no shortcuts, no compromise.
His favorite brew
Scottish Heavy Ale
Scottish Style Heavy Ale
Ibu: 18.0
abv: 7.0%
Paul STORY
With us since the start, Paul mixes tradition with ingenuity and experience in the warehouse, bottling line, and even process engineering. Paul always looks for daring ways to brew beer that does our legacy proud, like our ever-changing Seasonal Series. His newest passion is leading a team of junior brewers in advancing our Barrel Aged Program.
Paul is a graduate of the Brewing and Packaging program at The University of California-Davis, the Brewing & Malting Science program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the prestigious Institute of Brewing and Distilling in London, England. He is also a member of the American Society of Brewing Chemists, The Institute of Brewing and Distilling, and he’s served as our district’s President of the Master Brewer’s Association of the Americas.
Jody Hammell
Jody Hammell
VANCOUVER
EXPERIENCE:
Big Rocker since 1991
PROFILE:
Being a Brewmaster isn’t a job for Jody. It’s a calling. Experience in every dimension of brewing has shaped Jody’s uncompromising attitude toward anything to do with beer, namely his stubborn insistence on only using fresh, local ingredients.
His favorite brew
Traditional Ale
English Style Brown Ale
Ibu: 20.0
abv: 5.0%
Jody STORY
Jody started working for us in Calgary back in 1991 on the bottle line. He spent time in kegging, then fermentation, and eventually as the Calgary Brewing Manager. But he wanted more. His never-settle attitude and creative gumption was the perfect fit for Vancouver’s trendsetting craft beer scene, so when the ribbon was cut on our brewery there, Jody moved west to take the reins and hasn’t looked back since.
Jody now leads his team of brewers in creating innovative, award-winning beers with a small footprint, big heart, and even bigger mission. Jody’s training includes time in Berlin at the Versuch und Lehranstalt fur Brauerei (VLB), one of the worlds’ most renowned schools for Brewmaster Certification.
Connor K. Patrick
Connor K. Patrick
TORONTO
EXPERIENCE:
Big Rocker Since 2006
PROFILE:
Connor’s first passion was football. After an injury in his CFL draft year ended that pursuit, he travelled throughout Europe where he was introduced to the traditional methods of old-world brewing and fell in love.
His favorite brew
Traditional Ale
English Style Brown Ale
Ibu: 20.0
abv: 5.0%
Connor STORY
A stickler for hard work on the field, Connor saw the level of dedication that went into this kind of brewing and knew it was right for him. His passion and likeable personality earned him a job on the spot at our Calgary brewery, with one caveat: he had to fit through the opening of a brew kettle—cleaning them was in the job description, after all. It may have been a tight fit then, but today, Connor fits in perfectly at our Etobicoke brewery.
Connor has a Power Engineering Diploma from SAIT, leadership training from Mount Royal University, and is working on his Brewing Diploma through the IBD. He also has a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling (IBD), and the Concise Course in Brewing Technology at the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago.
