#BEST BEERS FROM HOP BUTCHER BREWERY SERIES#

It was Edwards’ dad who again steered her back to the brewery, helping her land a gig at Mustang Sally Brewing Co.

#BEST BEERS FROM HOP BUTCHER BREWERY SERIES#

Setting her sights on forensics next she applied for a series of jobs before the summer of her junior year with no luck. “I didn’t do well with bodily fluids,” says Edwards matter-of-factly. After spending one summer volunteering in the burn wards, Edwards decided a career change might be necessary. In college at Christopher Newport University (CNU), Edwards studied chemistry with the dream to become a doctor. But even one of the country’s most idolized IPAs didn’t ignite the spark. But her dad’s tastes changed as Edwards grew older and pretty soon Edwards had her first introduction to craft beer when she drank a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. Meaning Edward’s first exposure to beer? Hint: it wasn’t craft. Practicing loyalty to the brands he sold, her dad primarily drank Busch and Bud Light. Edwards’ dad worked in distribution for Anheuser-Busch. Her path was as circuitous as a creeping hop vine. Like many, Edwards didn’t start out dreaming she’d be a brewer. Perhaps it’s just a part of Edwards’ true nature, but beer has always been coursing through her veins even before she recognized it. Soft-spoken and humble, Edward’s easy-going personality belies the stark work-ethic and true magic percolating from her fingertips. From Burn Wards to Beer: Rachel Edwards Becomes a Brewerĭespite her accolades, hubris is as much myth to Edwards’ as the Oozlefinch itself. Now, helmed by its ambitious new head brewer, Oozlefinch stands at the crossroads between the past and the future. Today Oozlefinch leverages the legend to craft whimsical, fun beer with a heavy focus on sour ales. One night in 1905, Merriam swore he saw a strange, large-eyed bird outside the Fort Monroe Officer’s Club.

Named after a mythical creature, Oozlefinch plays off the legend of Captain H.M Merriam. Her approach seems fitting for Oozlefinch, a brewery started by Russ Tinsley in 2017. In just four months as the top bird, she’s introduced innovative ingredients like basil and tangerine to Oozlefinch’s beers and will be helping her team launch one of the world’s largest digital craft beer festivals, FML 2020. The ambitious 24-year-old took over the head brewing position at the three-year-old brewery located at the historic Fort Monroe in Virginia back in February. Brewing beer at a brewery named after a mythical bird on a 400-year-old fort and transforming over 100-year-old yeast from a dead general’s chest are all in a day’s work for Oozlefinch Beers and Blending’s new head brewer, Rachel Edwards.

Best beers from hop butcher brewery