Richard Shockley

Chances are that if you’ve been to our pilot brewery, Gratis, you’ve run into this fella. We usually just call him Shock. He’s a meticulous brewer and we always put him in charge of the schedule when he shows up. He helps keep the trains running and usually lets us know when we’re about to boil over. Shockley has brewed with us so much that we let him go head to head against some of our regular batches. Like the time he did a Graham Cracker Pumpkin Ale to match our annual bumpkin. We designed him a nifty label and let him puff his chest out whenever he started talking about it being the best beer ever brewed. Shockley has been running a great blog under the psuedonym “Craft Beer Athens” and he even updates it two or three times a year.

Richard has been a great friend and has helped us hone our craft while teaching us a few things along the way. Shockley takes his love of craft beer and pours it into brewing and blogging. Brewers like Richard are the backbone of the craft beer movement and we all owe these folks a debt of gratitude. It’s the passion that fuels the growth of craft beer. We always enjoy drinking one of Shock’s latest recipes. Hat’s off to you fella!

 

Here is Shock’s story: “I learned about brewing after sharing a home brew with a friend and him sending me home with a Midwest Supplies catalog. I started brewing with two kits and wrote my first recipe for my third brew. I would go on to modify that recipe two more times and then won gold medal in the PSBO with my second entry in the American Pale Ale category. It was dry hopped with Citra and brewed with honey. It had a nice dry finish with huge citrus aromatics. Meeting Brian would prove to be priceless, as a brewing mentor, a good buddy and at the hardest time of my life, being a great friend. I finally made the big purchase of an all grain system with a 10 gallon HLT, a 10 gallon mash tun with a false bottom and using a 10 gallon brewing kettle with valve that was a gift from Brian. The third brew on this system was the first brew of a chocolate porter recipe I wrote. It turned out amazing and in short supply.

My dreams would be to one day own a brew pub since I enjoy the science and processes of brewing. But I also enjoy cooking with my wonderful wife Sarah just as much. I’d like to call downtown Athens home, but an old historic building or a rural location with a scenic bier garden would work just as well. Good beer is meant to be shared with great friends.”