Ben

Ben originally moved to Marietta, Georgia from St. Louis, Missouri during his high school years.  He attended the University of Georgia for a BBA and Kennesaw State University for an MBA before settling in Roswell, Georgia with his wife and family.  Travel during college and early in his professional introduced him to the vast dimensions and history of beer not yet realized in Georgia.  It was this early introduction that began the interest in beer that led to work supporting Georgia beer law reform and the new businesses that were opening to serve the wider offerings.  It’s also when he began homebrewing, and exploring creative takes on classic styles.

 

To increase his knowledge of beer styles and how to properly craft them he studied and passed the Beer Judge Certification Program exam, currently ranking as “Certified” and sitting for the exam to elevate to “National.”  The BJCP’s focus on the fundamental components of what (and how to) makes each beer style unique, as well as ongoing rank advancement by continued judging and additional exams makes for a solid brewing knowledge base.

 

Ben focused on brewing a few specific styles, and continually brewing them to create the recipes for his IPA, Saison, Sweet Stout, Barleywine, Dubbel, Quadruple, and Brown Ale.  Once satisfied, he began brewing in larger volumes which allowed for explorations of these styles by splitting them into smaller batches for treatments.  The base and their treatments have won countless medals in southeast homebrew competitions, including National recognition for the IPA, Quadruple, and Sweet Stout and a Best of Show in the Peach State Brew Off for a Barleywine aged in a whiskey barrel with coffee beans.

 

Brewing these concepts in larger scale on commercial systems with the expertise of some of Georgia’s most accomplished brewers has helped create the realistic foundation for opening The Split Batch Brewery.  Ben has brewed extremely well received collaborations based on his recipes with a number of brewers in Georgia.  The beers have included: IPA, DIPA, Session IPA, Mango IPA, Grapefruit Belgian IPA, India Rye Brown, Oak Saison, Peach Saison, Whiskey Barrel Aged American Strong Ale, Rum Vanilla Cinnamon Coconut Sweet Stout, Espresso Maple Syrup Bacon Sweet Stout, Vanilla Marshmallow Brown, and Espresso Dark Chocolate Dubbel.

 

Jay

Jay moved to Atlanta, Georgia from upstate New York after graduating from college.  He attended Fredonia State University for a BBA, after growing up in Rochester, NY.  Jay and his future wife, Shasta, settled in Buford, GA upon beginning their careers in sales and marketing.

 

Jay’s interest in the various styles of beer and brewing began at one of his first jobs in high school, working at a gastropub that was known for their extensive craft beer selection, long before craft beer grew to what it is today.  It was this exposure to so many breweries and beer styles that led him to experimenting with small batch homebrewing while in college in the late nineties.

 

Brewing did not become a serious hobby and passion for Jay until 2010.  Jay’s passion and experience in building and mechanical design melded perfectly to his passion for brewing.  He designed and built-out his all electric HERMS system, including building a control panel, designing the setup and flow of process pumps, CIP System, and recirculating heated mash system to Jay’s exact specifications.  The sophisticated mechanics of this system provided Jay the ability to create, measure, replicate, and master recipes he created.

 

The large capacity of Jay’s HERMS system also allowed for the ability to create great base styles and split batches of beer into different versions and treatments.  A great example is his Suwannee Brew Fest Best of Show award winning Triple Berry Berliner Weisse, along with many other gold, silver and bronze medal winning beers in the Southeast.  A number of recipes have been scaled in commercial collaboration with establishments like Lincoln Fill Station, Burnt Hickory Brewery, and Climbing Bines Brewery showcasing beers like Sweet Stout with Rum Soaked Vanilla Beans, Blueberry Blackberry Raspberry Berliner Weisse, and Tropical Berliner Weisse.