It’s been exactly two months since Deep Ellum Brewing announced the departure of former head brewer Drew Huerter, and, just in time, the company has found his replacement. Jeremy Hunt, who has been the brewmaster at Bluegrass Brewing Company in Louisville, Kentucky, for two years, will come on board in early July.
Hunt carries more than a decade of professional brewing experience. Prior to Bluegrass, he was head brewer at Dogfish Head Brewery in Delaware, known for its line of IPAs, including the highly regarded 120 Minute IPA.
Deep Ellum Brewing founder John Reardon praised Hunt’s experience in a statement, saying, “He’s an incredibly gifted brewer, a strong leader and a great guy all in one. I couldn’t be happier to have him as part of the team.”
Reardon says that Hunt contacted them about working at DEBC because he wanted to return to a bigger brewery situation than what he had at Bluegrass, but that DEBC also provided a good balance.
“He found that he missed the production environment,” Reardon says. “We won him over with the fact that we’re poised for a lot of growth and he gets to be a hands-on brewer as opposed to the autonomous brewing that can be in a larger brewery.”
Deep Ellum Brewing is also bringing on two more full-time employees: brewer David Hauptman, a former brewer at Climax Brewing in Newark, New Jersey, and cellarman Jason Harrington, who had been volunteering at Cedar Creek Brewing.
“David is super knowledgeable and young and ambitious,” Reardon says. “He’s ready to take over the world with beer.”
The brewery’s expansion coincides with renovations to double its premises from 8,000 square feet to 16,000 in March and the addition of three new tanks that Reardon says should be in “any day now.” They plan to be at 12,000 barrels by the end of 2013, which would be twice the 2012 production.
He also says that with Hunt at the helm, drinkers can anticipate some inventive beers sooner rather than later, especially with Hunt’s history at Dogfish Head.
“We’ve always liked Dogfish and been likened to them by some people with mixing styles and not always calling things exactly what they are,” Reardon says. “Luck would have it that someone is coming from that brewery.
“Jeremy likes the risks involved and passing ideas off each other. It’ll be collaborative under Jeremy’s direction, and you can expect some exciting things.”