Rebekah Cryder

Diploma Graduate

Rebekah graduated from Brewlab having successfully completed the Diploma in British Brewing Technology course. Since leaving Brewlab, she is now in the process of becoming Brewmaster at her new brewery location in the US. Here is her story.

“I enjoyed getting to know people from all over the world that all share the same passion for beer. The people I met at Brewlab are incredible people that I will definitely stay in touch with over the years to come.”
Please tell us about your background.

“My background is in business and economics. I spent a few years working in management at Starbucks, which is vastly different from brewing, but surprisingly applicable to my job now”.

What inspired you to get into brewing?

“Brewing was very much an accident for me: my parents decided to start a brewpub several years ago, and I came on board as part of the management team. Originally we had planned that I would spend a few years learning every aspect of the business, training to eventually take over the company. The first step in this process was learning the brewing process, and I fell in love with it. What started as a three-month stint in the brewhouse quickly snowballed into an unexpected passion and love for beer and brewing. I love the blend of scientific practice and creative license brewing provides, and that each day provides its own unique challenge”.

Please tell us the name, location and size of the brewery.

“Lazarus Brewing Company. We’re a small brewpub in Austin, Texas, producing around 1500bbl a year off a 10bbl system”.

Please tell us about your brewery and brands.

“Lazarus is a brewpub that’s open all day, serving house-roasted coffee, Mexican street tacos, and beer. We have sixteen taps constantly rotating through our different brews. It’s a lot of fun because we have the ability to get really creative and try out new recipes, and we get to interact with all our customers and share our work with them. We also have a barrel-aging program, and do a few special releases every year in 750ml bottles, and these are sold out of the taproom as well”.

Where can we find your beer?

“We’re exclusively pints-on-premise, which means you have to come here to get our beer. We don’t distribute anywhere”.

What inspired you to do the Brewlab course?

“My boss and mentor, Matt Couch, went through Brewlab a few years ago. After two years studying under him, he sent me to Brewlab to round out my brewing education”.

What areas of the Brewlab course were most beneficial to you?

“Because I had a lot of practical experience coming into Brewlab I found the theoretical aspects of the course immensely valuable. There is so much information out there on brewing theory and it can be overwhelming; Brewlab does a great job of sifting through all that information and giving you an in-depth understanding of the brewing process from start to finish”.

Was there a part of the course you particularly liked/enjoyed?

“I enjoyed getting to know people from all over the world that all share the same passion for beer. The people I met at Brewlab are incredible people that I will definitely stay in touch with over the years to come”.

What plans do you have for the future?

“As Lazarus plans to expand and open new locations I am preparing to go on and work as a Brewmaster at a new location”.