Brian Blackburn - Founder & CEO

A homebrewer and former marketing executive, Brian gave up the daily grind of corporate office life and decided to follow his passion of craft brewing.  Brian specializes in identifying unique ingredients that complement the nuances of Shadow Puppet brews.

Favorite Style: Hot Chile Pepper India Pale Ale

The Shadow Puppet Brewery is comprised of a steam-powered 3 vessel brewhouse, 4 fermentation tanks, 2 conditioning tanks (known as "brite tanks"), and hot and cold water tanks.  The brewhouse (where the actual cooking of ingredients takes place) is a 20-barrel system, which translates to a maximum output of 620 gallons of beer per batch (1 barrel = 31 gallons).  In addition to the primary 20-barrel brew system, we have a smaller "pilot" system that allows us to easily test new recipes and brew experimental batches without tying up the main brewhouse.

From our relaxing brewery tasting room to our diverse line-up of draft and bottled beers, we specialize in providing a unique brewery experience.  Two ways we bring the Shadow Puppet experience to life is through ongoing product exploration and testing, and active engagement with the local beer community.

Popular styles... with a twist.  Shadow Puppet brews many popular styles of beer, but our passion lies in the development of interesting flavor combinations and profiles through the use of unusual ingredients... whether it be an experimental hops, a exotic fruit from South America, or a herb from a local garden.  We are continuously testing new ingredients and brewing techniques to identify and hone the winners until they are ready for prime-time.  So how do we pick the winners you ask?  Keep reading...

We understand that beer preferences are totally subjective.  You either enjoy a rich German smoked Rauchbier... or you don't.  We know what we like.  Now we want to know what you like.  Shadow Puppet continuously gathers our customers' valuable feedback through our tasting room and website and incorporates it into our recipe and product development process.