I Love Virginia Beer inerviews O’Connor Brewing.

 

From Backyard Beginner to Bonafide Brewer

Like many craft beer pioneers, Kevin started brewing beer in college. He drank lots of craft beer during these early years, even writing his final thesis on how to start a brewery. Kevin spread his appreciation for craft beer everywhere he went. He taught his girlfriend this same appreciation through his many home brews, when visiting the Bier Garden in Portsmouth, and through his many trips to the bottle shops. She thought it was a nice hobby and didn’t realize that it was his calling until she noticed that he NEVER stopped talking about it. After marrying in 2005, Penny encouraged Kevin to follow his bliss – but not before earning some experience. Kevin begged for a job at St. George Brewery and soon after was brewing and packaging craft beer – a smile never leaving his face. But after a year of working with St. George, Kevin wanted to learn more about the industry, and took a position with Specialty Beverage to learn as much about beer distribution as he could. Another year passed and he began writing his business plan in early 2009 while brewing recipes in his backyard. Today, Kevin is still having fun doing what he loves. He and Penny run the business side-by-side with the help of their talented, beer-loving OBC team, always creating, inspiring, educating and spreading the love of craft beer and community, one beer at a time.