Meet the Brewers
Meet the folks who are making some of the best beers in the world.
David Gatlin
Brewing Director
David’s career in the brewing industry started with cleaning kegs at a brewpub in 1993. Since then, he returned to the University of California, Davis, where he had received a Bachelors of Science degree, to attend the Master Brewers Program. David worked as Head Brewer for the Tied House Café & Brewery as well as Firestone Walker Brewing Company before joining the team at Anderson Valley Brewing Company in March 2003.
Isidro Chavez
Assistant Brewer
“Chilo,” as he is more commonly known, began with Anderson Valley Brewing on October 28, 1991, working in the packaging department, on our then new-to-us 22 ounce bottling line. Within three months he was helping in the brewhouse, assisting on early morning mash-ins and grain-outs, and shortly moved into the brewhouse permanently. In the intervening ten years, he has become an essential member of the brewing staff.
John Montgomery
Assistant Brewer
“Big John,” Has been a local fan of our beer, since he moved to the valley in 1994. he began working for the brewery in 1998 as a cellarman, monitoring the progress of fermentation, then filtering and lagering the fermented beers. Formerly a locksmith, John worked here as a cellarman for the next five years, and was promoted to Assistant Brewer in May of 2003. Big John is living proof that when a man finds a beer that he loves, he should get a job at the brewery.
Andy Hooper
Brewer/Quality Control
Andy’s brewing career began while attending college at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. During that time, he worked at several small breweries, the local homebrewing shop (Doc’s Cellar), and served a term as President of the Cal Poly Brew Crew. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry, he moved north to attend the UC Davis Master Brewers Program. Andy joined the AVBC team in Fall of 2009. .
Kenneth D. Allen, D.C.
Brewmaster Emeritus, Founder, Former CEO
The brewmaster emeritus of Anderson Valley Brewing Company’s award-winning ales is Dr. Kenneth Allen. Dr. Allen, a chiropractor, was in private practice for over twenty years. He is a former president of the California Chiropractic Association, and recipient of the prestigious Doctor of the Year award from the North Bay Chiropractic Association. He presided over a distinguished chiropractic college until 1980 when he became an Anderson Valley resident. Ken purchased a commercial lot in downtown Boonville, for his chiropractic office. By a fortuitous twist of fate, he found himself the owner of one of the best water supplies in Anderson Valley. He wondered what to do with the abundance of pure water until he discovered that the unique make-up of the water lends itself to producing beers of excellent quality.