As I begin a new journey in beer, venturing out on my own to work with other breweries and beer-related businesses as a freelance consultant, I can’t help but reflect on all the incredible experiences I’ve had in my life that have taken place, either directly or indirectly, as a result of my interest in beer.
At a pub in Yorkshire area of England 
In Augsburg, Germany
While living in London, my husband Jim and I regularly sought out beer and brewery destinations around Europe. Our interest in beer led us to wander off the beaten path on narrow back roads in the English countryside to meet with a brewery owner who won the Great British Beer Festival Gold Medal. It urged us to explore outside of Amsterdam and discover other small towns in the Netherlands, to switch trains and get escorted off one of those trains by the Dutch ticket collector when he cited us for failing to buy the correct ticket. It led us to an old, historic Kölsch brauhaus in Cologne, Germany where we met and shared beers with Ron Barchet, the owner of a brewery I loved from my home state (and that I subsequently started working for six years later), Victory Brewing.
My interest in the beer business helped me venture off the corporate path and into securing a book contract focused on breweries, which fueled my love of travel and sharing people’s stories, giving me the opportunity to explore every region of Virginia and meet with 100 brewers/owners of businesses in the state.
Our interest in the beer industry led my husband and I to make the decision to leave our lives and the opportunities we had in New York City to move to Asheville, North Carolina without secured jobs.
Today, our careers in beer have led us from New York City to Asheville to Charlotte to New Orleans. I’ve been blessed at having the opportunity to travel to over 25 countries, to live in some amazing places, and meet wonderful people every step of the way.
A Beer Journey is one way to describe it. But it’s way more than that.
