5 Minutes With ... Kristen Donovan
Summer’s over. Days are shorter. Air is crisp. Flannels come out in abundance. But we’ve got something to cheer you up ... BEER! AND, the amazing people behind the beer (and craft hard seltzer too!)
If you’ve been following along with this blog series, you probably notice a trend: we hire some pretty great people. This next post takes you behind the bar to meet another one of our rock stars.
This is 5 Minutes With ... Kristen Donovan.
5 Minutes With ... Russ Heissner
If you graduate with a degree in Fermentation Science, there’s a very good chance you are going to brew beer. For Russ Heissner, a 1985 graduate of U.C. Davis, beer making was always the plan. The year he graduated, Harpoon convinced him to come East and put his skills to work there. Fast forward 30+ years, and he’s at Barrel House Z. Now 5 Minutes With … Russ Heissner.
5 Minutes With ... Tim Morrison
5 Minutes With ...Tim Morrison
How well do you you know BHZ? Sure, you can probably rattle off the year we started brewing and we’d even bet you can name a good number of beers. But you know what really WOWS? Knowing our people!
Keep following our 5 Minutes With … series, come into the taproom, and meet some of the great people that make BHZ happen, like Tim Morrison.
5 Minutes With ... Laurel Schenck
Great beer leads to great company—and at Barrel House Z, we’re spoiled with both!
To show our appreciation, we want to introduce you to someone who has a big impact on the Barrel House Z beers you love. In a year of social distancing, she LITERALLY has a hand (gloved, of course) in brewing all our beers.
Sit back, crack a cold one, and read along. Here’s 5 Minutes With ... Laurel Schenck!
5 Minutes With ... Brian Quinlan
Fun Fact: Brian’s chin hasn’t seen the sun since 2012. We done, sir!
At Barrel House Z, we love brewing. We love making beer and hard seltzer, sharing a pint with friends + neighbors, and providing a warm, welcoming taproom! In order to do what we love, we have a team of talented individuals who keep everything running smoothly. We wouldn’t be here without them.
“5 Minutes With …” will celebrate all the amazing people on Team BHZ. So, without further delay, we’re kicking off with Brian Quinlan.
What’s your position at Barrel House Z? I’m a server. I’ve also helped the brewers and worked the door.
How long have you worked at here? A little over 2 years.
What makes Barrel House Z such a great place to work? Staff and guests. Our staff is a wily, eclectic bunch whose professions and talents extend far + wide. The mix of different voices from the staff AND guests creates an ever-interesting environment.
Why should beer enthusiasts visit? The beer—and hard seltzer! We’re always producing interesting, complex pours. We’ve got our core beers, as well as some rare birds, which keep people coming back.
Favorite thing about working in the craft beer? Herman Melville once wrote, "There is all the difference in the world between paying and being paid.” I try to practice that philosophy with all my hobbies, especially when it comes to going to breweries and trying new beers.
Favorite beer … at BHZ and of all time? Right now, my favorite BHZ beer is Townie. It’s well balanced, which is what I look for in almost any beer. My all-time favorite would be BHZ’s Blonde Bomber. It was a complex, rich, coffee barrel-aged blonde, spiced with orange peel, and for 10% - 12% ABV, deceptively smooth.
If you could have a beer with anyone–dead or alive–who would it be and why? My mom, she passed when I was 21. I could going on and on about how amazing it would be to talk to authors and storytellers whose ideas inspire me. However, none of them holds a candle to my mom.
Favorite non-alcoholic beverage? Coffee. When done right, coffee, much like pizza and beer, is incredible.
Ocean or lake? Lake, but I go both ways.
What skill should everyone have? The ability to prepare a meal. You don’t have to be a five-star chef, but everyone should be able to make a meal.
Josh Sarnowitz | contributor
Josh is a communications professional and craft beer enthusiast. He’s a Massachusetts native who recently moved back the South Shore. (Welcome back, Josh!) When not visiting new breweries or playing sports, you can find him fishing – follow along on IG @ExploreTheShoreFishing
5 Minutes With ... Chaz
Chaz Boggini is one of our favorite people! He was an early BHZer, selling beer and bringing lots of fun to our team with his super-positive attitude. No surprise that a guy with this much can-do would want to do his own thing at some point. So when he left Barrel House Z to help develop Paragon Board Walk, we were thrilled to wish him well on this new adventure.
Paragon Board Walk may be quiet during quarantine, but big things are in the works! Stay tuned.
Here’s the 5-min what’s what with Chaz!