ABOUT US
THE GREAT FERMENTATIONS STORY
Well where do we begin? It started in 1995 with a desire to try something new, and an interest in this new thing called “home brewing”. Our owner Anita Johnson, asked a friend to teach her how to make her own beer in exchange for a home cooked meal of boxed mac’n’cheese and fish sticks (nothing but the finest). When she popped the bottle of her first batch, Cheeks to the Wind mild, she knew that things would not be the same. Soon after, she left the corporate life, ventured out on her own, and so began Great Fermentations.
Anita began her adventure in a comfortable (and by comfortable we mean cramped) 900 sq. ft. storefront, with an oversized closet/office room for storage, and working with three volunteer employees (her husband and two sons). Now many many years later, we have 4,000 sq. ft. of retail and warehouse space, a forklift (it’s a big deal to us!), several full-time and part-time employees, and have become the largest beer and wine making supply shop in Indiana. All because of the best darn customers a business could hope for, and this great hobby we all love.
WHY WE COME TO WORK EVERY DAY
We here at Great Fermentations are passionate about what we do, and are driven by three things: helping our customers make great beer and wine on their own, providing the best products and service day in and day out, and of course our daily 5:30 p.m. shift beers. We feel that if we focus on those three things (especially the shift beers), the rest will just naturally fall in place :) Our team is made up of brewers and vintners with a combined 45+ years of experience, and we love to talk about our craft and to help you with whatever fermentation desires you have. Whether you are local to Indiana and want to stop by the store, or if you like to shop online, we’re here for you in the never ending quest to craft that perfect batch.
MEET THE TEAM
Bryan, President
Bryan is the President and second generation family owner of Great Fermentations. Aside from making sure the lights stay on, he manages the website, and pretty much everything at the office that is a computer or is connected to one; even the printers (although Bryan hates printers)!
LINDSAY, Director of operations & purchasing
Lindsay runs day to day operations for Great Fermentations and is also responsible for purchasing. A former professional brewer, Lindsay has a passion for all things beer and brewing and like most in the industry, got her start with hombrew! If she's not up front helping customers, you can probably find her reading a book somewhere.
wes, customer service manager & head brewer
Wes is in charge of Customer Service and is the one you'll probably talk to first when you call in or send us an email. Known for being terribly rude (and by rude we mean the nicest guy on the planet), he's a delight to talk with and will always do his outright best to please. Wes is an all-out lover of English beer, and if you can't find him here, check at the Broad Ripple Brew Pub first.
mark, warehouse manager
Marks makes sure your online orders get shipped out fast and safely. If your package was late or broken then blame FedEx or UPS! Mark is our resident metal-head, star wars junkie, and beer critic. If Mark likes your beer, then it's probably time to go pro.
Adam, Part-Time Retail
Adam also helps out on the weekends and has won several competition awards in his time as a brewer. He's known to be as cool as a cucumber in the retail store whether we have 1 customer or 100. Nothing seems to phase him! He's also an avid runner, so don't forget to talk to him about the next marathon he plans to dominate.
Brady, Part-Time Retail
Brady has helped us part-time on weekends for years now and is one of the best lager brewers around. He's won several competitions and is always happy to give customers advice on brewing their next masterpiece. He also holds the record for most epic picture taken at the National Homebrew Competition when he took an award for his Pilsner.
brandon, Part-Time Retail
Brandon has been with us for years, originally as full time but transitioned to part time once he left to go work for the family business. You'll see him on weekends as he still loves to help out and talk homebrew. His favorite beer style is Saison so pick his brain next time you are around if you want to learn more about brewing them!
EDWIN, part-time retail
Edwin is our main retail employee on Mondays and Tuesdays and sometimes helps out on weekends. He loves to talk beer all day long. When he's not here, you'll find him at home taking care of the kids, or at his family's Italian restaurant!
jeremy, Part-Time Retail
Jeremy was our former director of operations until he left to jump back into the auto-industry. He still loves to help out on the weekends though and talk all things homebrew. He's one of the best recipe developers around and is the brains behind many of our best-selling beer kits, including the amazing Dreamsicle Cream Ale!
joe, Part-Time warehouse
Joe is a member of the Foam Blowers of Indiana homebrew club, and is a retired air traffic controller from New York. He comes in every once in a while to help pick orders for our online customers. He's avid in the Indiana homebrew community and does a lot of work for the annual Brewers' Cup held at the state fair grounds.
keith, Part-Time warehouse
Keith started out as a customer, but his love of homebrew turned into a part-time job with us helping in the warehouse. Keith is a registered nurse and is a sponge for information. You'll usually see him around on the weekends picking orders for our online customers. Also, Keith hates pickles on chicken sandwiches........ we're not sure what's wrong with him.
Lydia, part-time Retail
Lydia helps on weekends. She's fun, talkative, and always looks like she just pounded a triple shot of espresso (which she probably did). She loves trying out new beer recipes and experimenting with different ingredients, so if you have a whacky recipe idea, just run it by her!
nathan, Part-Time warehouse
Nathan is another customer-turned-employee as many of ours are. He works full time for UPS and is always on his feet! You'll see him around here a couple days a week picking orders for our online customers.
Steve, Part-Time Retail
Steve has been with us for years and currently works for Tax Man brewing. He helps out on weekends and has brewed some truly excellent beers and has also helped design many of our best beer kits. He has run the mash of wonder beer competition for several years.
tyler, Part-Time Retail
Tyler helps out on the weekends and is ex-Navy. Incapable of standing still, he's always on the move and working on something or helping a customer while at the store. Tyler is also a big racing fanatic so being from Indianapolis, he is pretty much gone the entire month of May for the Indy 500!
Tom, Part-Time Retail
Tom is a retired Eli Lilly employee and his claim to fame is winning gold with one of his first extract beers he ever brewed. You'll find him here on weekends and he loves working with new brewers and getting them setup with all they need to get started.