Garrett Oliver (T2008)
Garrett Oliver is the Brewmaster of The Brooklyn Brewery, the author of The Brewmaster’s Table, and the foremost authority in the United States on the subject of traditional beer. After years of amateur brewing inspired by beers he had encountered during a year in England, Garrett Oliver began brewing professionally at Manhattan Brewing Company in 1989 as an apprentice. He was appointed brewmaster there in 1993. He soon became widely known both here and abroad for his flavorful interpretations of traditional brewing styles and as an avid and entertaining lecturer and writer on the subject of fine beer. Garrett has hosted hundreds of beer tastings and dinners, writes regularly for beer and food-related periodicals, and is internationally recognized as an expert on traditional beer styles and their affinity with good food.
In 1994, Garrett joined The Brooklyn Brewery as Brewmaster and partner. Many of his beers have won national and international awards. He has served as a judge for the Professional Panel Blind Tasting of the Great American Beer Festival for fourteen years, and is a perennial judge for the prestigious Great British Beer Festival competition and the Brewing Industry International Awards. He has hosted tastings and talks for numerous cultural institutions, including the Smithsonian, MassMOCA, the American Museum of Natural History and The Jewish Museum. In the United States, Garrett has made numerous radio and television appearances as a spokesman for craft brewing, including segments on NPR, CBS,CNN, ABC, PBS, MSNBC, WB, The History Channel, The Travel Channel, A&E, Emeril Live, Sarah’s Secrets, Roker on the Road, Bobby Flay’s Food Nation and Boy Meets Grill, CBS’ Martha Stewart Living, Fox & Friends, the WB Morning Show, and Bravo’s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Garrett’s profile was featured in Gourmet magazine, which referred to him as “a passionate epicure and talented alchemist.” A recent two-page profile in The New York Times Dining Section referred to his “brilliant” ability to match craft beer with great food.
Garrett has hosted beer tastings and dinners at many fine restaurants, cooking schools, and food events including several dinners at James Beard House, Oceana, The Waldorf-Astoria, Gramercy Tavern, Aubergine (London), Noma (Copenhagen), the Slow Food Cheese Festival and Salone del Gusto in Piemonte, Italy, Restaurant Roberta Sudbrack (Rio Di Janiero), Restaurant Julia (São Paulo), Anthony’s (Leeds), Cape Wine 2006 (South Africa), The Association of Westchester Country Club Chefs, Artisanal Cheese Center, The American Institute of Wine and Food, The Culinary Institute of America, the Sommelier Society of America, The French Culinary Institute, The Culinary Guild of New England, The Institute for Culinary Education, Johnson & Wales University, the 2004 IACP Conference, the London BAR Show, The Gourmet Institute, and the 2006 Cape Wine Conference (South Africa). He was a featured speaker at the 2003 Cheers Beverage Conference and a 2004 National Restaurant Association Conference. He was a founding Board member of Slow Food USA and now serves on the Board of Counselors of Slow Food International.
Garrett’s first book, The Good Beer Book, co-written with Timothy Harper, was published in 1997 by Putnam/Berkley Books. His latest book, The Brewmaster’s Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food, published by HarperCollins in May, 2003, is the winner of a 2004 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Book Award and was a finalist for the 2004 James Beard Foundation Book Awards. The Brewmaster’s Table was released in a paperback edition in May of 2005. Garrett is Brewmaster and Vice President for Production of the Brooklyn Brewery. He is a graduate of Boston University, and holds a degree in Broadcasting and Film. He is the recipient of the 1998 Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation and Excellence in Brewing, granted by the Institute for Brewing Studies. It is the highest award given within the United States brewing profession. He is also the recipient of the 2003 Semper Ardens Award for Beer Culture (Denmark) and Cheers Beverage Media’s “Beverage Innovator of the Year” Award for 2006.