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].
Bald Birds Brewing Company (Audubon, PA) opened in September 2018 and already has been making a name for themselves. We recently covered the announcement of their second location. With a unique location offering lots to do, they always have a variety of beers on tap for everyone.
Patrick Thomas is the head brewer of Bald Birds Brewing, and has been there since the beginning. Learn more about Patrick, including how he got started in the industry, where he sees the industry heading, his favorite beer, and MORE!
What was your introduction to craft beer?
The first beer I got super stoked on was Oskar Blues’ Old Chub scotch ale. I worked in a grocery store in Ohio that sold craft stuff and my coworker and I would snag a sixer of that like every other night.
How did you get started as a brewer?
The fine folks at Crime and Punishment in Brewerytown hired me on as a bartender, and allowed me to do a few days of shadowing while they brewed. Around that same time my buddy Sean (wuddup duuuude!) got me into home brewing and I kinda got excited about it from there. After that I moved down to North Carolina with the loose goal of getting a job at Oskar Blues, and after working on their food truck in Brevard for a few weeks I started doing cellar work with them. O.B. is where I learned a ton of shit in a relatively short period of time
What style allows you to be the most creative, and why?
I’m real into our farmhouse yeast at the moment. It’s a mixed culture with a good amount of brett presence, so core flavors really fluctuate dependent upon aeration rates, temperature changes and so on. It’s pretty fun to play around with those seemingly little factors and get cool results.
What was the first beer you ever brewed, and what did you learn from it?
First beer I ever brewed was some generic pale ale clone, and I learned that I had no fucking clue what I was doing.
Where do you see the craft beer industry heading in the next few years?
It seems like folks are leaning more towards supporting breweries that are in their neighborhood rather than traveling 20+ minutes to indulge in the all the hyped up spots. Theoretically as these small local spots grow with their communities they should be able to continuously to make beer that better caters to their clientele, giving them no reason to travel elsewhere to get high quality liquid. With that being said, the consumer will probably always believe that the haze is always juicier on the other side of the fence, and continue to drive crazy distances to get can release beer. Long story short: I dunno man.
Describe what it’s like to be a brewer in Pennsylvania.
It’s pretty cool because there’s so many of us with a wide range of backgrounds, so if I don’t know how to solve an issue I can most likely make a few calls and someone will be able help out. I’m pretty new to the scene and also super busy, but all the industry folks I’ve met are super cool and supportive.
What is the inspiration behind your beer names?
We’ve only been open 6 months and already named 40 beers so at this point it’s not much of a process, it just happens. “Rapid Roy” is a Jim Croce song, and we like that guy, so there’s that. “Tumble Tree” is a loose translation of the German phrase for rolling down a grassy hill. It’s all over the place.
What is your favorite beer to drink right now?
Mama’s Little Yella always and forever.
What is the most important lesson you learned in the beer industry so far?
Delete Untappd. Seriously.
Thank you to Patrick Thomas for talking with us! Make sure to follow him on Instagram to see more behind the scenes action from the brewery.
Make sure you visit Bald Birds Brewing Company for all the latest beers, news, information and special events. And also follow Bald Birds on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
