Weyerbacher

Staff

Dan Weirback (Weyerbacher), Founder & President

Dan was introduced to homebrewing by a friend in the mid-1980′s. Having owned or a managed a small business or two over the previous 15 years, Dan thought he could combine his small business experience with the joy of brewing, and decided to launch Weyerbacher Brewing Company in 1995, with the help and encouragement of his wife Sue. Previously Dan had co-owned a swimming pool service company, a potato chip distribution route, and had managed other small businesses between these stints. Always interested in learning more about great beer, Dan has traveled to Europe numerous times in order to explore their local brews firsthand. Several Weyerbacher brews have come out of these travels. Currently, when he isn’t spending time at the brewery, Dan enjoys reading, relaxing and navigating in Equestrian Combined Driving Events with his wife Sue.

Barbara Lampe, Vice President

After 10 years working with Dan on a consulting basis Barb joined Weyerbacher as a full time employee in 2006 as VP Finance and Administration.  That means she gets to answer the phone, manage the accounting function and strategic planning process, develop budgets and hold us accountable so we achieve our goals. In her previous business life she was a corporate lender for regional banks, a management consultant and very active in many local organizations such as Musikfest, Leadership Lehigh Valley, St Lukes Hospital and Quakertown Hospital.  She serves on several boards including Ben Franklin Technology Partners Board (past chairman), LifeQuest (chairman) and Rising Tide.

When not at Weyerbacher, Barb enjoys cooking, horseback riding, and drinking Weyerbacher on draft at home.  She and Dick escape to Keuka Lake in upstate NY whenever they can.

Bob Fauteux, National Sales Manager

Bob joined Weyerbacher in February 2008. He was previously employed as sales manager for Kunda Beverage, which at the time was our wholesaler for the Philadelphia five-county area.  He joined our team shortly after Kunda’s wholesale distribution was purchased by Origlio Beverage in December 2007.

Bob’s focus is growing our business through our wholesalers with education, staff training, implementing programming, and communication.  As a 26 year vet in the beer business, he looks forward to the opportunities that are in front of him.

Bob and his wife Linda have been married for 31 years and they enjoy traveling and spending time with their two sons Matt and Scott who have been known to enjoy a Weyerbacher or two.  They can also be found manning the Weyerbacher booth at many beer events.

Richard Lampe, Sales

Richard F. Lampe (aka Dick) is a native of New Castle, Pennsylvania. He holds degrees from Grove City College, (Bachelor of Music) and Temple University (Master of Music, in History and Literature). For thirty four years he taught music and established and conducted the award winning choirs of the Upper Perkiomen High School. He also founded the Choral Arts Society of the Upper Perkiomen Valley, now Valley Choral Society(www.valchor.com). In addition he is a partner in StandingStone Media (www.standingstonemedia.com) a web development company.

Dick’s involvement with Weyerbacher began early on and after his retirement from teaching he began working full-time for the brewery starting as a driver/salesman and more recently focusing on sales. When not out on the road selling Weyerbacher, Dick can be found riding his bicycle.

Mike Lubieski, Regional Sales Manager

Mike is our Regional Sales manager for the five-county Philadelphia region. He graduated in 2002 with a B.A. in Music from University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Before Weyerbacher, Mike put this degree to work as an Account Manager for Hoshino USA (Ibanez guitars) as well as teaching guitar and piano. Being a huge fan of delicious beer, coupled with his sales background and outgoing personality ,made the decision to switch to the beer industry a no –brainer for Mike.

Mike was recently married in October 2009 to his long-time girlfriend, Katie, who owns Smak Parlour, a successful clothing boutique in Philadelphia. They call South Philly home, so you’re likely to see them out on the town with their friends at their favorite pubs. Mike loves playing guitar, watching all Philadelphia sports, gardening, working on his house and spending time with his friends trying new brews.

Natalie DeChico, Regional Sales Manager (New Jersey)

Natalie is our Regional Sales Manager for the state of New Jersey. She graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a B.S. in Elementary Education. Her last semester was spent studying in England where she developed her taste for “real ale”. As a part time bartender at The Hulmeville Inn (“The Best Beer Bar in the ‘Burbs”) and as one of the original members of the ALEiens homebrew club in Bucks County, Natalie was given an opportunity by Weyerbacher to put her beer knowledge and enthusiasm to work.

When she’s not on the road in NJ, Natalie spends time homebrewing with her father (who has been brewing since 1992!), working for AG Photography and hanging out at The Hulmeville Inn. Natalie also enjoys cooking, snowboarding and fishing.

Chris Wilson, Head Brewer

Chris graduated with a B.S. in Physics from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC in 1996. Chris completed the UC-Davis Master Brewers Program in 2003.

Beginning with a job in the brewery at Bayhawk Ales in Irvine, CA, Chris joined the Weyerbacher team February 2004, and was promoted to Head Brewer in early 2006.

Chris, his wife Jen, and their cat Mattie live in Bethlehem, PA. Chris enjoys running, traveling,  gardening and watching Atlanta Braves baseball.

Chris Lampe, Production Manager

Chris received his B.S. degree in Anthropology and 
Philosophy from Juniata College and was for many years an Archeologist based in various locations throughout the U.S. including North Dakota, Vermont, South Carolina and Pennsylvania. Chris and his wife Kelly currently live in Bethlehem, PA along with the best hiking dog in the world, Mac. When he is not at the Brewery (when is he not?), he enjoys hiking, traveling, playing guitar, making bread and tending the garden. Chris was looking for something that would combine his talents for working with his hands, his head and managing people when he started working part time at the brewery. The brewery was a perfect fit for someone with his varied talents and work experiences and he joined the brewery full time in 2004.

Geoff Michalski, Production Supervisor

A graduate of UNC Wilmington in 2002, Geoff holds a B.S. in Business Administration, which he has yet to use directly.  Deciding instead to pursue a career in brewing, Geoff joined Weyerbacher in 2007.  It has given him the capability to combine his love of beer with his ability to work with his hands.  Working filtration and bottling has allowed Geoff to rock Springsteen in the brewery while performing specialized quality control of the Double Simcoe tanks.

In what little time Geoff has outside the brewery, Geoff enjoys playing with his kids, cooking, gardening and fishing.  Geoff lives in Jersey with his beautiful wife, Stacey, and two children, Sam and Emily.

Sean Anderson, Cellarman

Sean holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Muhlenberg College and has worked as a substitute teacher for the last few years. Uninterested in getting a full teaching degree, and very interested in homebrewing, he joined the Weyerbacher team as a cellerman in September 2009.

He lives in New Tripoli, Pa and enjoys playing guitar, soccer, and attending various metal concerts in the Lehigh Valley. Sean can often be found pestering local bars about their beer selection and occasionally at local gigs both on and off stage.

Chris Reilly, Brewer

Chris graduated from King’s College while majoring in General Science, Clinical Laboratory Science/Medical Technology and for several years, applied his biological knowledge in the medical field at a number of hospitals. Although he is passionate about the science of life, his ever-inquiring mind needed a change and a challenge. After discovering homebrewing, and catching the brewing bug, California lured him to UC Davis, where he completed the Master Brewers program. After a quick stint at River Horse and a few months later, he came to Weyerbacher. The third Chris at Weyerbacher, when not homebrewing, enjoys sharing his perspective through his photography. Additionally, you can find him playing guitar, gardening, camping, and traveling. Chris looks forward to helping the Weyerbacher team in creating exciting new beers.

Bill Bragg, Office Manager and Visitors Center Manager

Bill came to Weyerbacher in the summer of 2006 as a volunteer in the Visitors Center.  He stocked the shelves and filled growlers for a year until he was promoted to Manager of the Visitors Center in the winter of 2007.  Come to the brewery on a Saturday and there will be a good chance he’ll give you the tour of the facility.  In March of 2011, Bill assumed the full-time role of Office Manager in addition to the Visitors Center gig.  Office Manager is a very all-encompassing term:  he answers the phones, performs AR and AP roles, runs a forklift, is responsible for working on the website and facebook pages and even cleans the occasional toilet.  Bill has a passion for spreading his love of craft and Belgian beers; he also serves a part-time role as a salesperson or by doing tastings throughout the Lehigh Valley.

Prior to joining Weyerbacher full-time, Bill has held a variety of roles in various industries:  mechanic and salesperson in several high-quality bicycle shops, Underwriter and Property Appraiser for the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, and Human Resources for our New Jersey wholesaler Hunterdon Brewing.

Bill lives locally and can be found riding his bike to work a few days a week.  When Bill isn’t at work he can be found tinkering on bikes in his garage, turning wrenches at Cycle Fitters (the local pro bike shop), kayaking down the Delaware or relaxing with his wife, brand-new baby girl, and many cats on the deck with piles and piles of grilled things and a great group of friends enjoying fantastic beer.  He likes run-on sentences, too.  His goal is to find a beer for every person - ESPECIALLY those that think they don’t like beer!

Austin Matlee, Shipping & Receiving & Facility Maintenance

He’s our “Greaseman”.

 

Christian “Moose II” Mosebach, Cellarman

Christian graduated from Kutztown University in 2006 with a degree in Electronic Media.  Unable to find a job in his field, Christian took on a job as Assistant Brewer at Golden Avalanche in Kutztown.

Fast-forward four-and-a-half years, Christian joined the team here at Weyerbacher.  Our fourth ‘Chris’, Christian was re-named ‘Moose’, however we had a Moose once before so he’s actually “Moose II”.

Moose (II) currently resides in Bethlehem.  During packaging days, he enjoys blasting Iron Maiden and Dio, much to Production Manager Chris Lampe’s chagrin.  He is currently studying for the BJCP exam, which will make him a certified Beer Judge.  He is also enrolled in the American Brewers’ Guild , set to study Intensive Brewing Science and Engineering in 2013.

The brewery’s token Vegetarian, Christian also enjoys homebrewing, playing guitar, riding motorcycles and tending to his hop garden.

Colin Presby, Packaging Lead

Colin came to Weyerbacher through a long and storied past.

He holds a Bachelor’s in Mathematics from Franklin & Marshall College.  While at F&M, Colin began homebrewing under the guidance of one of his Chemistry professors.

After graduation, he spent a year working at a bar in St. Thomas (USVI).  Once he returned to PA, Colin started working as a large animal vet tech.  He also cofounded  the Berks County Homebrew Club (berkshomebrew.org).  He currently lives in Wernersville, PA.  While that does make for a serious commute, it also gives him space for his goats, chickens, and cats.  In May of 2011, Colin’s three-legged goat, Peggy, won the annual Sly Fox Brewery Goat Race.  He printed t-shirts and established Team Peggy (facebook.com/teampeggy) to raise funds for the Humane Society of Berks County.

Colin was named the 2012 Most Eligible Bachelor in Craft Beer by The Beer Wench (drinkwiththewench.com), enjoys playing rugby and is on the Reading Rugby Team.  Colin likes to eliminate any possible spare time by working beer festivals and scheduling tastings all over the place.

 

Visitor Center Staff

We have a great crew running our Visitor Center every Saturday. The staff includes Theresa Duffy, John Donofrio, Bill Bragg, Sy Marsh, Austin & Amanda Matlee, Bob Schaming, Michelle Deery, Will Haggerty, Jeff Bonner, Jimmy Horvath, Andrew Riedi, Matt Scanlon, Fast Eddie and Longhorn Bob.  Be sure to come down on a Saturday between 12 noon and 3 pm to meet the crew, taste the beers and take a tour of the brewery!  Click here for more info on the Visitors Center!