Oggi's Pizza and Brewing in Vista, Calif. - Sept. 22

Tomorrow morning I leave for my 7th GABF. It has been a busy week and I can't wait to have a few days off. I brewed six of the last seven days, attended a festival, bartended one night, and attended an event that featured a cask of my IPA on anther night. I'm hoping this hard work will soon pay off.

The GABF will be a little different from years past. For the first time ever I will be going to the GABF having entered beers into competition that are completely my own. In the past I contributed to several beers that were entered into GABF competitions. A couple of them have even won medals but this will be the first time that I will have beer that I am solely responsible for. This will be my first GABF as the head brewer for Oggi's Pizza and Brewing in Vista. I will also have beer entered from Pizza Port in Solana Beach, where I still brew part time.

Another change for this year will be that I will be a GABF judge for the first time. I've judged at professional competitions before but none as prestigious as GABF. I've always enjoyed evaluating beer with my fellow brewers and I don't imagine this to be too different from any other time.