DORCHESTER BREWING - Key Persons
Moving from quality control in consumer products to the cider industry, Chris joined the DBco team to help create high-quality, consistent beer from batch to batch, and ensure safety. Most importantly, he ensures our beer tastes the best it possibly can be!
Derek Rayner is a longtime Dorchester resident who grew up in New Hampshire and attended Keene State College. Most recently serving as the Bar Manager at Cambridge Brewing Company, Derek's a huge craft beer nerd and when not enjoying some cold brews, he also likes to hang out with his family and his dog named Charlie.
Fred Hamp, DBco's Lab & Quality Assurance Manager became involved with DBco from his old friend Todd, our Head Brewer, from their days at Harpoon. Fred had been a stay at home dad for a few years and the timing was right for him to re-emerge into the craft beer scene at Boston's newest startup. Fred has been with us since our building was a bit of a construction zone and he helped us design our QA program from the ground up (literally from the dirt floor!).
Fred's love affair with brewing started long ago, fresh out of college. He hounded every brewpub and brewery in the Buffalo area until finally Tim Herzog of Flying Bison Brewery took pity on a him and let him clean kegs and access his brewing library. While there, Fred became committed to brewing professionally and saved his pennies to pay for the Master Brewers Program at University California Davis. After graduating, he took a job with Harpoon and did pretty much every job in the business until finding his passion for Quality Assurance and Control. After working with Todd at Harpoon, the rest was history!
When we tasked Fred with developing our lab and QA program, we told him to go big or go home. As Fred mentioned, "The lab and QA program at DBco is state of the art for a brewery even 5 times our size. We place the quality of our brews on a pretty high pedestal." When pulling it all together, he purchased the best equipment out there to ensure a high quality end product including: A Haffmans combined CO2/02 meter with piercing station for cans/bottles, a laminar flow hood that is PCR ready for micro work, a pharmaceutical grade spectrophotomer, a microscope for quantification of yeast, an autoclave, incubator, and more! We've got quite the science lab in the middle of the brewery.
When he's not elbows up in beer, Fred loves to immerse himself in the craft beer culture. When we asked him his favorite beer, he said, "I think choice is incredibly important. As an example, who wants to listen to the same album over and over again? Sometimes you want speed metal, other times EDM, funk or classic rock. When I drink beer, I usually let the season/ time of year influence me. My favorite DBco beer right now is the soon to be released Baltic Porter. It is incredibly balanced and complex… a real treat."
And, as a last word from Fred, he believes"Beer is culture. People come together over beer and this allows an environment for ideas and beliefs to swirl together. The diversity of the community in Dorchester makes this dynamic even more exciting."
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Director of Marketing
- Marketing and Branding Expert
Holly Mitton Irgens is a marketing and branding expert with a background of agency, corporate marketing and consulting experience, helping Boston-area small businesses and startups grow their brands. After living for a few months in the "Beer capital of the World" in Belgium, she converted to a craft-beer lover.
Job Titles:
- Partner Relations Manager
A long time city resident, Jim attended Boston University and went on to work in the travel and hospitality industry for over a decade. At the urging of his wife, he decided to follow his passion and get a job in the craft beer industry. After five years at Blue Hills Brewery in Canton, Jim joined the team at DBCo and has been with us since the brewery opened!
Job Titles:
- Member of Our Brewing Team
We've got lots of new faces to share and so excited about introducing you to everyone on our team! Mandi Paine, is a member of our brewing team and another recent promotion who has worked her way up over the past few years here at Dorchester Brewing Company. Meet Mandi!
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder, CEO & Chief Keg Washer
- Marketing, Operations, and Sales Executive
Matt Malloy is a marketing, operations, and sales executive with 26+ years of experience. Past roles include VP of Marketing and Operations at Zipcar (8 years), growing the Zipcar brand and category and VP of Marketing and Communications at edx.org, a Harvard and MIT startup. Malloy is an active mentor/advisor on the east coast, an official Techstars mentor and an advisor to crushing & screening equipment startup - Machinery Partner
Born and raised in New England, Steph joined the DBC team after working for her family business for 15 years but found her true passion and calling in hospitality.
Steph's take on taprooms and the hospitality industry?: "I love the unpredictability of each day. Things can change by the minute, so you always have to think and move quickly. I also love getting to meet such a wide variety of people. If you take the time to engage with guests, you can really learn so much about them and create an experience that makes them want to keep coming back. I strive to have every guest that walks into this place feel that way."
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder & Chief Beer Taster
Over the past 10 years Travis has served as project manager at various real estate and community development organizations with the goal of creating economic development opportunities and affordable housing for underserved neighborhoods. As an entrepreneur Travis continues to look for creative ways to improve the quality of life for people living in his neighborhood - Dorchester.
Travis formerly worked at Brewery Legitimus in his home state of Connecticut before moving to Boston for grad school. Travis started at DBC as a Shift Brewer, and was then promoted to Cellar Manager, and now Head Brewer. As the Head Brewer, he crafts DBC beer and seltzer recipes, helps contract partners scale their recipes, sources and orders ingredients, and focuses on quality, consistency, and long term goals.
Travis's advice to brewers just starting out in the industry: "You need a willingness to learn and start from the bottom with the goal of working your way up - this is essential to really make it in the beer industry. Education is important, but experience trumps education."
Will joined the Dorchester Brewing Team in 2022 with over 15 years of experience in craft beer and cannabis beverage production and management. A graduate from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in biology and biotech, as well as from the UC Davis Master Brewers' Program, Will has worked in every aspect of craft beer and beverage development. He has created award winning craft beers at breweries of all sizes and on both coasts, and has served as a managing partner at two successful beverage start-ups.