Clipper to Miller to Victory

The photo is from the website of the
Baltimore-Washington Beer Works, brewer of Raven Lager.
Scott Dietrich is on the left.

It's the celebrity chefs and the celebrity authors, who, within their ambits, get all the attention.

And so it is with brewers.

Not to begrudge those who get most of the attention, but there are many brewers, working semi-anonymously at brewpubs and breweries throughout the nation, who are creating beautiful beers.

For 9 years Scott Dietrich worked at the Clipper City Brewing Company, as a brewer and lead brewer.

Under his aegis, such Clipper City beers as Winter Storm Imperial ESB, Small Craft Warning Uber Pils, Red Sky at Night Saison, and one of my favorite sessions, Clipper City Gold, received many accolades.

In early 2006, Scott moved south and signed on as a brewer at the Miller plant in Eden, North Carolina.

Word out now is that Scott has returned north and accepted a position at Pennsylvania's Victory Brewing Company. I've been informed that he will be Director of Brewing Operations. As of this morning, however, there has been no official announcement or posting on Victory's website.

So why is Scott pictured above with the German brewer of Raven Lager?

Because Raven in the USA is contract-brewed at Clipper City Brewing for the Baltimore-Washington Beer Works. While at Clipper City, Scott was instrumental in its recipe formulation and production.