Today we’d like to introduce you to Brad Burton.
Hi Brad, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Decipher Brewing was founded by three veterans: Brad, Scott, and Megan Burton. Brad and Scott began homebrewing in 2005 while stationed in Denver, CO. We fell in love with the process and decided we wanted to open our own place.
After I separated from the Navy in 2008, I used my GI Bill to go back to school to get a degree in Business Management, while working part time at The Brew Hut, a local homebrew shop. From there, Megan, who was still in the Air Force received orders to Edwards Air Force Base in Lancaster, California. While there, I was hired by Bravery Brewing and learned how to brew professionally, eventually being promoted to Head Brewer.
We moved to Charlottesville, Virginia in 2018 and the time was right to open our own brewery, so we secured the funding we needed and opened Decipher Brewing in 2019.
The name Decipher Brewing comes from the fact the three of us were all military intel, so it’s a nod to our past.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it has not been a smooth road. We opened 9 months before the pandemic, and those were uncertain times, but we survived.
Another challenge is the rising costs from our suppliers, but we endure.
We’ve built a community of people that support us and want to see us succeed, so that makes it worthwhile.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am the Head Brewer and co-owner of Decipher Brewing. My brother, Scott, and I brew all the beer here.
We specialize in classic styles, and lost/unknown styles. Brewing historic styles is always fun because it’s a look into the past and what beer used to be.
As far as achievements, winning our first World Beer Cup award was awesome and surreal, then we won Best In Show at the Virginia Craft Beer Cup with our Barley Late Kolsch, but I’d say the most rewarding thing is working with homebrewers. We bring them in from time to time and let them brew one of their beers with us and put it on tap.
What sets us apart is when you visit our taproom, there’s a good chance one of the three of us will be there. We care about this place and interacting with our customers.
What’s next?
For the future we are looking into expanding and getting into distributing our beer.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://decipherbrewing.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/decipherbrewing/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/decipherbrewing
