Alan L. Ward is our Head Brewmaster and founder. He is the father of four and married to our Brew Chief Linda. A connoisseur of beer since 1976, he has been brewing since 2000 when his wife and children gave him a Mr. Beer kit for Christmas. Unknown to them brewing would allow him the ability to combine his love of science, culture, travel, history, cooking and beer into one glorious venue. AH, the fools.
In 1975 Alan's family attended the Texas Renaissance Festival for the first time and from that point forward he was hooked. The ability to step back in time and experience that which up until then he could only read about was a temptation he could not resist. In 1979 he began to live his dream and worked his first fair. He continued to work the fair and has not missed a season except for those years were active military duty prevented him. In 1996 he was named Hawker of the Year in his category while working and managing the Wax Hand booth. In 2005 with the support of his children and wife Linda, he became a Shoppe Owner when he opened the Pixie Candy Craft booth. Then in 2008 after 2 years of behind the scenes work he was able to combine his love of brewing and his love for the fair when he was able to open the Brigadoon Brewery & Brew School.
Alan has a diverse back ground covering many areas. Despite his accent, which can come and go as he wishes and what he might say while on stage, he was born in New Orleans Louisiana. Both his mother and father served in the United States Air Force so as a younger lad he had the great experience of traveling the United States and living in Europe as an Air Force Brat. This allowed our Brewmaster the ability to experience a diverse cross section of both the United States and Europe. Our Brewmaster himself has served in two branches of the United States military having been honorably discharged from the United States Marine Corp in 1978 and medically retired as an NCO from the United States Army in 1987 after being injured on active duty.
He has worked as a Paramedic, Police Officer, Assistant Manager of a major retail chain, Teacher, Coach , Lifeguard and Administrator. He has been teaching adult education since 1978 and has been a certified teacher in The State of Texas since 1983. He has taught Aquatics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, American History, Texas History, Physical Education, Computer Science, Special Education, Health and Brewing. His teaching career has allowed him the opportunity to teach Pre K through the colligate level and has 14 years coaching UIL sports having coached football, basketball, tennis and baseball at the high school level.
He says he can play the guitar and bag pipes (although he is not allowed to by orders of the Brew Chief and good taste.) He speaks some French, German and Gaelic but reads more than he speaks (what you do not use you loose) and is currently learning Spanish. He values his friends and is willing to go the extra mile for them. This was brought to a new level when on March 17, 2013 and to much of our amazement at the request of a friend our brewmaster became an ordained minister in order to officiate the friends wedding and was given the title of Reverend Doctor of the Order of St Michael. Since then he has gone on to join many couples.As one might be able to tell our Head Brewmaster tends to get bored easily which accounts for his diverse background. One thing he does not get bored doing is brewing or talking about beer. So if you're in the area and have time for a pint or two he is your man. He is always willing to answer questions or disuse our beer or sample of another breweries beer especially if you're buying.
Our Brewmaster would tell you that unfortunately the fair only last but a short time each year and the brewery is not a big commercial venture with large amount of money coming in. Why is this unfortunate? Well this means he has to leave the fantasy world and entire the real world to support the family. We believe that it is the differences in each world that keeps him happy in both. After all he does get bored easily, but don't tell him we said so and even if you did he would never admit it.
In the real world Alan has taken his years of teaching experience and knowledge of technology and gone to the "Dark Side". In 1997 he left the class room to become an administrator. He retired in February of 2019 after 32 years in education as the Director of Instructional Technology from La Porte ISD.
Not wanting to let grass grow under his feet our brewmaster started a new career path in 2019 when after years of appearing a guest on a local radio show, he agreed to be the Beer Master General for KZNE out of Bryan / College Station. He now appears twice a month for about 20 minutes to talke about beer, the beer industry and the Texas Renaissance Festival.
When asked about the breweries future he will tell you that his goal is to keep it small and personal. "We want to continue to educate the world on the virtues of beer especia infosizing Texas Craft beer. We want to know our staff and our customers. We want them to feel a part of our brewery."
Education:
Bachelor of Arts in Teaching from Sam Houston State University
Masters in Instructional Technology from American InterContinental University
Doctorate of Divinity from Universal Life Chuch
High School Graduate of South Houston High School
Military Experience:
United States Marine Corps: Honorable Distcharge
United States Army: Retired
Professional Organizations:
Master Brewers Association of the Americas
DistrictTexas MBAA Immediate Past President 2019- Present
District Texas MBAA President 2017-2019
District Texas MBAA 1st-VP 2015-2017
Brewers Association-Member Since 2011
Texas Craft Brewers Guild - Member Since 2011
