Welcome to our “Meet The Brewer” series! Where we interview brewers in Pennsylvania, from breweries small to large. Let us know if you know anyone who should be featured, email us at [email protected].

La Cabra Brewing opened in the summer of 2016 in Berwyn, PA with a 7 bbl brewhouse. The brewery has since grown to now include a second location in August 2019, called Bodega. La Cabra is known for making a wide variety of styles, including IPA’s, pilsners, and also their barrel-aged sours. Chris Young is the head brewer at La Cabra Brewing. Read more to find out his introduction to beer, where he sees the craft beer industry heading, and more!

What was your introduction to craft beer?

I went to college at the University of Vermont and Penn State. Vermont is where I got my introduction to craft beer. Almost 20 years ago now. I can’t recall exactly which one but either a Long Trail Blackberry Wheat or a Magic Hat #9 was my first craft beer. My college roommate handed me one and I was hooked. Prior to that my only exposure to beer was macro brews. Burlington is a great town for craft beer. I lived a couple of blocks away from Vermont Pub and Brewery where the late, great Greg Noonan brewed. His book Brewing Lager Beer is one of my favorite books on beer brewing.

How did you get started as a brewer?

In my past life, I did sports marketing. A decade or so ago I went to Hawaii for a wedding and we stayed close to Kona Brewing Company. It was a moment in time when I didn’t know what I was doing with my life and that trip really inspired me to explore brewing. I had done years of what I like to call “Market Research” (a.k.a. trying new beers) until that point but never considered it as a career path.

I can’t speak for other brewers but from conversations with other people in the industry, it always seems like brewing is one of those things that finds you. When you are in High School and you are supposed to make important decisions in your life you never really consider the beer industry as a viable option because you’re not supposed to be drinking at that age. Anyway, after my trip to Hawaii, I quit my job in New York, moved in with my buddy in Conshohocken, got a job bartending and we started homebrewing. I brewed about a hundred batches of homebrew before Scott Rudich at Round Guys gave me my first shot working professionally.

What style allows you to be the most creative, and why?

This is a tough one to answer. The beer market is flooded with IPAs these days and that style lends itself to a lot of variety. Because we brew more IPAs than any other style there is more opportunity to get creative with the style and you can definitely get a whole spectrum of flavors out of brewing IPAs. I enjoy cellar work, the tasting and blending of barrels is probably the most romantic thing about brewing. Beer aged in wood has a delicacy and nuance that is really special.

What was the first beer you ever brewed, and what did you learn from it?

I think it was one of those “brew in a bucket” kits. It actually turned out okay. Early success kept me motivated to brew more. It’s a good thing because the next couple of batches didn’t turn out so great. Of course, I’ve made a thousand mistakes since then and I’ve learned from each one.

Where do you see the craft beer industry heading in the next few years?

That’s the billion-dollar question. Who knows? I was very lucky to get into craft beer at a good time. There are quadruple the number of craft breweries in the United States now as there were when I brewed my first batch. I guess I was naive but I didn’t realize it was as big of a thing when I started. Everything has changed since then. 100 IBU IPAs were all the rage and beer haze was a bad thing. 2020 has obviously been a crazy year. Prior to 2020, I would have said that if you don’t make good beer your brewery probably wasn’t going to make it. There are just too many breweries. Now it’s a different game. We’ve had to pivot from doing mostly draft beer out of the brewery to packaging just about everything. My biggest concern is supply chains breaking down. We’ve already started to see signs of it. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I know the industry will adapt and survive. I’m just not sure what it’s going to look like.

Describe what it’s like to be a brewer in Pennsylvania.

My love for the State of Pennsylvania knows no bounds. What a great place to live and brew beer. The people in the industry are awesome. I’m lucky enough to work with great people at La Cabra who make the day to day fun. The talent pool of brewers in PA is deep so I’m blessed to work with other capable brewers.

What is the inspiration behind your beer names?

The inspiration comes from everywhere. Some beer names are after family members (like Sena), some are mispronunciations of common words (like infloatable), and some are just from conversations around the brewery. With thousands of breweries and millions of beer names, it’s always a quest to create something original.

What is your favorite beer to drink right now?

It’s getting into Barleywine season. I like to drink something strong and fortifying in the colder months. Otherwise, I like drinking low fills at the end of a canning run.

What is the most important lesson you learned in the beer industry so far?

Don’t be a jerk.

Thank you to Chris for talking with us! Make sure you visit La Cabra Brewing for all the latest beers, news, information, and special events. And also follow La Cabra on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.