Plant Manager Curtis always wears his Xtratuffs when he golfs, fishes and even when he works. Curtis has worked his way up through the ranks at Alaskan Brewing Co. over the past 12 years.
 Plant Manager Curtis always wears his Xtratuffs when he golfs, fishes and even when he works. Curtis has worked his way up through the ranks at Alaskan Brewing Co. over the past 12 years.
"I love Juneau. It's great to be able to go 10 minutes from home and hike, fish, or even golf," says Curtis, a transplant from Evanston, Wyoming. "I just make sure to wear my Xtratuffs on the back four holes, because even at low tide it's kind of boggy," he chuckles. "And when the salmon spawn, it's a whole new game. Sometimes you just leave the ball where it hits and start with a new one rather than dig it out of a smelly fish carcass."
But it is also these occasions that have allowed Curtis to get close to what many consider the real Alaska. From bald eagles feeding five feet away while fishing or to close encounters with whales while anchored up to halibut fish, to his annual motorcycle trips into the interior with a fellow employee and motorcycle enthusiast, Curtis has made the most of his time in Juneau. It was his search for fun and adventure that led him to Alaskan Brewing. He originally joined the crew in 1991 to help out on Thursdays for their bottling day. "It was something new and interesting, plus we got to take home a case of beer," he recalls. As soon as a full-time position opened up, Curtis joined Alaskan full time and has experienced everything from cleaning tanks, sales, quality assurance, and brewing. He was head brewer for five years and developed several beer recipes, helped collaborate on the 1995 brewhouse expansion and quickly moved to production manager before being named Plant Manager.
Curtis deals with the challenges of Juneau's business isolation by simply doing more research since he just can't run down the street to see how another company deals with a similar problem. He believes his greatest successes have been being involved with the new brewhouse and bottle line installations and having a hand in the company's success and growth. He also knows how many employees it takes to shoo a porcupine away from the brewery."Too many," he laughs. |
