Jeff Browning is the Co-founder and Master Brewer at Brewport Brewing Company.

Most people can’t turn a childhood passion into a career, but that’s exactly what Jeff did. He developed his palate by running tastings in college and was already brewing at home starting in his teen years. After a brief experiment in the non-beer world, Jeff sought out a career in brewing in the mid 90’s and has never looked back. Jeff has worked with many national and international companies as a marketing rep and product consultant, with brewing stops at Diglio’s in Hamden, CT, then on to Longshore Brewing Co. in Garden City, Long Island. Eventually, for the last 15 years, he ran the brewery at BAR in New Haven, CT, growing the brewing operation into the largest brewpub in Connecticut. When the Barrett Brothers came to tell him of this cool old building in Bridgeport that would make a great brewpub, he jumped at the chance to make a difference in such a historic brewing city. With a wealth of knowledge in everything beer and hundreds of his own recipes, Jeff brings history from grain to glass; marrying the old and the new.

Phil Markowski is Co-founder and Master Brewer at Two Roads Brewing Company.

Phil Markowski has been in Craft Brewing since 1989. Phil helped start and operate several breweries including New England Brewing, Southampton Publick House and since 2011, Two Roads Brewing Company, where he serves as Master Brewer. Phil was awarded the Russell Scherer Award for Innovation in Craft Brewing in 2003. He is the author of Farmhouse Ales – Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition, considered the definitive text on the Saison and Biere de Garde styles. Phil has embraced a second career in distilling, as Head Distiller for Two Roads Distilling Company. To date they have distilled gin, vodka, rum, Single Malt Whiskey, Bourbon and a number of whiskies made from Two Roads beers – most of which are patiently aging in a makeshift rickhouse in a secret location on the Two Roads Campus.

Jason Sobocinski is an owner of Black Hog Brewing, Continuum Distilling, The Mystic Cheese Co., and several bars and restaurants.

Before launching his many entrepreneurial beverage-industry endeavors, Jason worked in jobs across the food industry, ultimately leading him to pursue and earn a master’s degree in Gastronomy from Boston University. Jason starred in The Big Cheese, a Cooking Channel show that aired in 2011 and still runs on occasion today featuring farms and restaurants that produce and cook with cheese. Jason’s businesses have received many accolades, including Ordinary being named in Conde Nast Traveler’s top 30 Bars in the World, The Mystic Cheese Co. having ACS awarded cheeses, and Black Hog Brewing Co winning a World Beer Cup Gold Medal.

Stelios Stavrianos is founder and CEO of Cylinder Vodka, a premium spirits brand headquartered in Stamford, CT.

Stelios Stavrianos graduated from Sacred Heart in 2014 and has been in the hospitality industry for over 12 years, and also has over 9 years of experience working in wealth management. He began his bartending and banking career at the age of 19. Starting at JPMorgan Chase, Stelios quickly climbed the ladder and was part of an innovation committee that headed the opening of several new tech-heavy retail bank branches. In his free time, Stelios began formulating and branding a vodka concept. In 2015 he joined Merrill Lynch and helped manage a team of wealth management advisors with AUM of $2BB. In 2017, Stelios joined tech startup Aventri, where he led a business development team. In the same year, Cylinder Vodka was born and brought to market. By late 2018 Stelios had left Aventri to pursue the growth of Cylinder Vodka fulltime, and eventually launched Corebev Group with the goal of introducing several new innovative alcohol brands to the market.

Kirk Bartholomew is a retired Associate Professor of Biology at Sacred Heart University. He is a microbial molecular geneticist who earned his Ph.D. studying the biology of mushroom forming fungi. More, recently, he has branched out to applying many of these same techniques to investigating the microbiology of spontaneous fermentations, more specifically, how environmental microbes establish stable communities of bacteria and yeasts that could be of use in the commercial production of alcoholic beverages, particularly beer.

Working with Phil Markowski and others at Two Roads Brewing and an ever-changing group of dedicated students, he has been successful in characterizing environmental yeasts that have been useful in creating specialty beers and ales. Two of the most successful were isolated by exposing the dregs of a home brew to the winds and rain of Superstorm Sandy, and another isolated by establishing a spontaneous fermentation using green seed heads from a small patch of barley grown on the grounds of Two Roads Brewing. Kirk is also a dedicated home fermenter and has made Kombucha, cheese, and more. At Sacred Heart’s campus in Dingle, Ireland, he has taught two courses on the intersection of applied microbiology and human society: Feast, Famine, Fever and Fermentation; and Pubs, Pints and Poítin.

JC Tetreault is a co-founder of Trillium Brewing Company.

He is a SHU 1998 graduate holding a BS in Biology and a minor Biochemistry. His rule-breaking innovative techniques has created a wide range of beers that consistently earn the praise of reviewers and beer fans alike. Quality and experimentation are always at the forefront in JC’s approach, whether in the beers and spirits he dreams up or Trillium’s approach to sourcing ingredients from suppliers or growing them themselves, all the way to the brand’s commitment to sustainability and community involvement. JC’s vision and approach has made Trillium one of the most respected craft breweries in the US. When he’s not at one of Trillium’s six locations, you’ll likely find JC thinking up new and interesting ways to make the world a more delicious and sustainable place.