BEER WITH A SOCIALIST: Citizen journalist Michael Moeller uncovers a craft beer con man named Stephen Foster.

Local beer scribe Michael Moeller smashed a home run earlier this week with this piece about an infamous namesake.

The (Other) Stephen Foster Story: Kentucky’s Craft Beer Con Man, by Michael Moeller (Kentucky Sports Radio)

This is the story of a craft beer con man who traveled across the United States and abroad – a man who knew how to exploit the shared weakness of most small businesses – talk a big enough game and a background check won’t be required. Talk an even bigger game and even fool business partners and investors.

In the beginning there were exploding bottles, infected batches, and angry customers from across the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The longer the brewery stayed open, the more rumors and complaints piled up within the beer community.

Despite the many issues, St. Arnulf Alery, a new brewery in Cadiz, Kentucky, announced on social media that a beer garden was under construction in late September 2018.

And then nothing.

Without explanation or warning, the beer stopped flowing. Distribution stopped. Contact ceased.

With somewhere around 7,000 breweries in America, apparently there are numerous opportunities to fleece unsuspecting sheep. It's an incredible tale.

Based on conversations with former colleagues of Foster’s, in addition to what Foster told others, here’s a timeline:

• Pre- 2007: Foster is allegedly receiving brewing education in Germany and later employed in beverage jobs in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic
• 2007- 2008: Bowling Green Brewing Co. (KY)
• Pre-2011: Boston Breweries + Unnamed brewery (Cape Town, South Africa)
• 2011: Nimbus Brewing (AZ)
• 2011 – 2013: Four Horsemen Brewing Co. (IN)
• 2014 – 2015: Knoxville Saw Works / South College (TN)
• 2015: Sevier Ale House project (Gatlinburg, TN)
• 2015: Wyndridge Farm (PA)
• 2016: 81Bay Brewing (FL)
• 2017-2018: St. Arnulf Alery

Since researching this story, I have learned that Foster occasionally goes by his first name of ‘Scott’ and sometimes takes the last name of ‘Sala.’ As of January 2019, colleagues of Foster believe he is residing with his family in Illinois.

The takeaway for small business owners, of breweries or otherwise – take the time to interview and check references. Know who you’re allowing to become an ambassador for your brand and your name, and especially those who you might be entrusting with investment dollars.

Paste's Jim Vorel picked up Moeller's story and did some musing of his own. How has Foster avoided fraud or embezzlement charges, and "why would a guy like this travel the country, uprooting his family once a year on average, in order to attempt to pass himself off as an experienced brewmaster?"

Perhaps it's because in the overall scheme of things amid corporate America's daily shakedowns and shysterings, Foster's cons are small beer, and mostly off the media radar. He's defrauding family-owned indie businesses, which (a) suffer a degree of self-effacing embarrassment after being ripped off, and (b) figure they don't have the resources to mount a pursuit.

Then again ... can Foster actually be charged with anything substantive?

How many handshakes were involved, as opposed to formal contracts? It's not any less scandalous, but it isn't clear to me whether Foster has done anything explicitly illegal. The lawyers can weigh in on this, and I'm sure they will.

As a supporter of citizen journalism, lots of kudos to Moeller for writing. It seems to me this is something the Brewers Association would pick up -- that is, whenever the BA is finished canonizing Charlie Papazian.

The Unbelievable Story of Stephen Foster, Craft Beer Con Man, by Jim Vorel (Paste)

I’ve heard some strange stories about brewery employees over the years, but it’s 100 percent accurate to say that I’ve never heard a story like this one before. Dogfish Head’s Sam Calagione once described the craft beer industry as 99 percent asshole-free, but if the years since have taught us anything, it’s that he was being very generous in his estimation. Especially in a world where the likes of Stephen Foster continue to exist, trailing brewery closures in their wake.

We should note: Information regarding this story is still pretty scarce. Most of what we know comes from a Kentucky Sports Radio story first published yesterday, wherein the tale of Stephen Foster is brought to light, but there are some supporting anecdotes to be found around the web. Some of this stuff may have to be taken with a grain of salt, but there are enough corroborating breweries to say this with some degree of certainty: A man named Stephen Foster has been conning American craft breweries for more than a decade, at the very least. It’s like the beer world’s equivalent of Frank Abagnale in Catch Me If You Can, except much less sophisticated.

Credit where credit is due: Writer Michael Moeller did a bang-up job of diving into the seedy history of this craft beer bogeyman in his KSR story, and you should really go read it in its entirety.

THE BEER BEAT: "How Jared Williamson Found Love — and a Head Brewing Job — at Schlafly."

I raided the Instagram account of Jared Williamson for this photo from his recent visit to Germany.

Uwe Schulz, the brilliant brewmaster from Spalter Bier. Blending tradition and innovation in a fascinating way in a village that is ~1200 years old.

In an effort to keep this simple: I'm delighted at Jared's career path in brewing, honored to have played a small part in encouraging it, and thrilled that he was able to go to Germany for a taste of what has inspired me for so long.

This blog post catches us up with Jared's world at present. Click through to read the entire piece. You'll love it.

How Jared Williamson Found Love — and a Head Brewing Job — at Schlafly, by Cheryl Baehr (Riverfront Times Blog)

Sitting at the top of one of Munich's tallest buildings with a beer in hand, Jared Williamson of Schlafly (2100 Locust Street, 314-241-2337) can't help but look back with amazement at how he got here.

"I started working with beer about fifteen years ago, and I was introduced to Spaten early in my beer education," Williamson recalls. "And here I am at the source. It's a culmination, like I'm circling back to where it all began."

Williamson's job as head brewer at Schlafly has led him to Munich, where he is embarking on a tour of Germany's hop fields. But his beginnings were much more humble. A native of Indiana — the part of the state just outside of Louisville, Kentucky — Williamson was introduced to beer while working at New Albanian Brewing Company, an establishment that was the first in the area to add lesser-known brews to its taps. In the late 1990s, seeing beers like Spaten, Guinness and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale was not all that common in the Midwest. The novelty, as well as the quality of these beers, piqued his interest.

Though his job was to work on the brewpub's guest tap and bottle program, Williamson could not keep himself from wandering into the brewery. He found himself drawn in to the beer-making side of the operation. "I'm a musician, so I was drawn to the creative aspect, but I'm also a science nerd. The combination of the two is what really appealed to me," Williamson explains. "Eventually, the original brewer left and they handed me and another guy the keys. The world was our oyster, and we got to make the best beer we could — and make some mistakes too."

On sweat equity and indie business upward striving.

Looking over my notes these past few weeks, I detect a pattern. It might embrace those wishing to be a rock and roll star chef.

Chef Mark Mendez: Open letter to a culinary student

In beer terms ...

So You Think You Want to Open a Brewery

Gary Humphrey might chime in from the basement of RCW:

Opinion: Wanna Start a Winery? Get Ready to Sweat

And then there's Nathan and the folks behind Quills.

Living The Coffee Shop Dream

The common themes are steep learning curves and plain hard work, as exist somewhere off to the side of the red carpet. The encouraging part is that when they're present and clicking, as with restaurants, a brewery, a winery and a coffee roaster in downtown New Albany, there's the chance (just a chance, not a certainty) of getting somewhere ... of making it happen.

I was having an e-mail conversation with an old friend, who wrote something striking about the typical disconnect between local government and the indie grassroots.

The only way it stops if for a new nonprofit is organized by the community's business owners and that group begins exercising its political power. No city money, no city representation, just business persons at the local level. It would take years to start up and I doubt that it would actually function in NA but that's the only way I see anything working to the advantage of the business community.

We're working on it.

What these various restaurant, brewery, winery and coffee people (me included) are coming to realize is that starting a non-profit in this fashion takes the same learning curve and work ethic as getting their own businesses off the ground. We don't have a lot of spare time, but we can do it. And we are.

Jared's going to work for Schlafly, and we're damned proud of him.

The Publican now steps aside as NABC's brewmaster, Jared Williamson, does the writing and tells you about love, serendipity, and his impending move to St. Louis. I still believe I should have held out for a Stephen Hale kilt to be named later ... but to be truthful, words fail me when it comes to thanking Jared and wishing him the best at Schlafly. We're sending a brewer out into the world!

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Love and Serendipity

Where do I begin … let’s go back a few years.

At some point in the spring of 2005, when it became known that NABC’s original brewer Michael Borchers would be leaving, I turned to the now Brewery Representative/sales guru Richard Atnip, who then was a server and myself a kitchen worker/guest beer grunt, and said these now fabled words: “We should take over the brewery.”

Since then, well, a lot of serendipitous things have happened. Six years later, NABC has grown from two fermenters and a few house beers on tap amongst our world renowned beer bar, using online clip art for our signs, to a two brewery regional power, featuring one of the best graphic artists in the business, with a new bottling program primed to take serious flight. The journey has been arduous and exhilarating; wrought with discoveries, defeats, and triumphs. I could write many pages detailing the journey, but this letter has a different purpose.

In 2008, NABC was invited to attend and pour our beers at Schlafly’s Repeal of Prohibition festival, where each year they invite breweries from a different state to attend. Our salesman at that time, John Campbell, had previously worked for Schlafly and due to this connection, NABC was one of the four Indiana breweries invited. We traveled to St Louis and did what we normally do: Pour samples of our awesome beers, sell some t-shirts, educate people about NABC, and wow the taste buds. But something else happened that weekend that I was not planning on, and that is how serendipity works.

The stars aligned that weekend and I met the love of my life, Kelsey, and my life hasn’t been the same since. It’s taken several years for us to sort out the details, but ultimately we have worked towards both of us being together, living and working happily in the same community. And that my friends, is the reason for this letter:

I am leaving my post as NABC Brewmaster and joining the team of brewers at Schlafly in July.

Over the last few years, St Louis has been my second home and now it will simply be home. I am struggling to find the words to properly convey my emotions but the simple truth is the timing and opportunity are here, and I need to embrace this next phase of my life.

I cannot thank Amy, Kate and Roger enough for the opportunity they gave me years ago and I hope their trust has been repaid through my work for the company. I love The New Albanian Brewing Company, without them who knows what I would be doing today. A huge part of my soul, creativity and determination will always be with NABC, and I will keep a keen eye on all things NABC from St Louis. I hope to one day see our 22oz bombers on shelves there, and will probably weep with joy if and when I see them.

I want to thank all the current and former employees of the company, and those we have lost way too young, who all have played a role in some way in my life. You guys are dear to me and I will miss seeing you, laughing with you, and raising pints with you. I want to thank our loyal customers, without your contributions none of this would have been possible. I have proudly brewed for all of you these years and in turn all of you have graciously lifted me up.

I am so proud of how far we have come as a company, and so excited for the future of NABC. It’s as strong a company as it has ever been and this next phase of growth will see NABC up the revolution to heights that just a few years back seemed like a dream. David Pierce and the rest of the brewery team are poised for fantastic growth at Bank Street, and some lucky brewer will get to take the post at our R&D brewery and live the dream that I have, and will always cherish. I will proudly trumpet the name and beers of NABC where ever I roam, and am proud to be the first NABC brewer to move on to continue my brewing career.

I hope to visit often, and those of you that know me well, know that I am a road warrior. The four hour drive from STL to NABC is quite easy, and I know the way all too well. I also hope to come back and guest brew here again when the timing is right, and will be back often to see so many of my friends and family that live here as well. I was not born in Indiana – Iowa, for those who wonder – but I have spent the majority of my life here and my roots are deep. I haven’t even touched on my music roots here, and honestly, that is a book unto itself.

So you see, my tale is full of love and serendipity, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. My becoming a brewer was serendipitous, and my love for brewing continues to grow as the years pass by. My meeting Kelsey was serendipitous due to my love of brewing, and now it is time to start the next chapter in this journey we call life. I could ramble on for hours, perhaps days, about how everything has lead to this moment. But instead I will finish with this quote from a good friend of mine:

“Parting is sweet sorrow, and the battle rages on”

Cheers

Jared Williamson

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Final note: Stay tuned for more about how we're going to fill the position. Notice I didn't use the word "replace," because that simply isn't possible.