Garrett Crowell Named Head Brewer & Adrienne Ballou Head of the Barrel Program at Jester King

We’re very pleased to announce that Garrett Crowell has been named Head Brewer at Jester King. Garrett began volunteering with us in March of 2012 and was hired as a brewer in October of 2012. We were immediately drawn to Garrett’s rare propensity for wild fermentation and his passion for using microorganisms to create unique flavors and aromas in beer. Garrett created the diverse blend of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria that we now use to ferment all our beer. He has been overseeing fermentation at Jester King for the last eight months, and will continue in that role as Head Brewer.

In our opinion, wild fermentation represents by far the greatest area of unexplored territory in the brewing world. Garrett has already made meaningful contributions to charting this territory at Jester King, and we could not be more excited about where he’ll take our fermentations in the future. Garrett is a native of Kingwood, Texas and a 2007 graduate of Texas A&M University at Galveston.


Jester King Head Brewer Garrett Crowell

We’re also excited to announce that Adrienne Ballou of Jester King has been promoted to Head of the Barrel Program. Adrienne came to us in January of 2013 from the wine world. After graduating from the University of California at Davis in 2012 with a degree in Viticulture and Enology, she conducted a wine making fellowship with La Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin in Burgundy, France. She is a native of Austin, Texas.

Making beer that’s natural and alive means we often find more in common with small, artisanal winemakers than large brewers. Adrienne has helped bridge the gap between us and the wine world over the last year, and she has done wonderful things for our barrel fermentations, blending, and fruit refermentations. Her background has helped us learn how to properly referment fruit and work with oak barrels, and her guidance has enabled us to create a sense of place in our beer and a partnership with nature in our brewing. Her work will soon be on full display, as she played the central role in the creation of our newest release — Cerveza de Tempranillo.


Head of the Barrel Program Adrienne Ballou