Grant Wood

Senior Brewing Manager, Samuel Adams

Originally from Irving, Texas, Grant is a Senior Brewing Manager for The Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts and has been with Samuel Adams since 1995. During Grant’s career with BBC, he has been involved in such diverse activities as malting barley and hops selection, new product development including on his favorite brew, Samuel Adams Black Lager. He was also team leader of the "High Alcohol Brewing Projects" which produced the World Record holding Millennium and Utopias beers.

He began his career after attending Texas A&M University and receiving his B.S. in Food Science and Technology in 1984. After graduation Grant worked for a short time making picante sauce. He quickly left the salsa business and landed a job as a Chemist/Microbiologist at Pearl Brewing Company in San Antonio, TX and began his brewing career. Pearl sent Grant to the Siebel Institute of Technology, in Chicago, IL in 1987, and he returned to Pearl as a Brewing Supervisor. In 1989, Grant left Pearl to go to Lone Star Brewing Company as an Assistant Brewmaster. For six years at Lone Star, Grant managed all aspects of the brewing process from raw materials to the bright beer cellar.

Grant has judged at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado and the Brewing Industry International Awards in Burton on Trent, England. Grant received his Diploma in Brewing from The Institute of Distilling and Brewing in 2005. He is currently a member of the Institute of Distilling and Brewing (UK), the MBAA, the ASBC, and IFT.

First Tapped:
December 1995. I came from brewing beer in San Antonio for Lone Star Brewing Company.

Favorite Sam Style:
Black Lager. I consider that beer my third child. "It's really smooth".

Pet Project:
Lately, I've been working on all the beers! Looking for ways to keep them tasting fresh.

Favorite Food Pairing:
I talk a lot about Black Lager, but I think it may be the best beer with barbeque. Ribs or slow smoked beef brisket. As a native Texan, that's about as good as it gets.

Wort(s) and all:
Though my travel schedule now makes it difficult, I did improvisational comedy and community theater in the past. I still love getting up in front of people and telling them all about Sam Adams and the beers we make.

Favorite Beer Destination:
Wow, it's difficult to pick! There are so many great places to have a beer. My favorite would probably have to be Brussels, Belgium. So many beers, so little time.

Ale Tales:
Though my time with Sam Adams has taken me to a bunch of great destinations, one of the highlights of my travels was the first "Grill and Groove" event in The Turks and Caicos islands. 9 radio stations, broadcasting live from the beaches of the Caribbean. We were introducing White Ale to the country. It was a great event and very special.