Ryan Ludwick

Background

About Ryan Ludwick

My name is Ryan Ludwick. I am a graduate from California State University Northridge. At Firestone Walker in Paso Robles, I have been a brewer/cellar operator since June 2018 (with a brief 1 year stint away from the company). This job has wide variety of tasks overseeing the production and quality from raw materials to filtration (ready to package beer) under a demanding 24/7 brewing schedule. I worked for a year as Head Brewer at Promised Land Brewing in my hometown Gilroy, CA. As Head Brewer, I oversaw everything from grain to glass. This position is something I had been working towards for some time and I was excited for the opportunity. My life outside work however brought me back to SLO county and ultimately return to Firestone Walker. At Firestone Walker in Venice, I served as Store Manager. A retail store currently offering off-premise beer, and merchandise, in plans becoming a tasting room and educational center. I oversaw daily store operations and assisted in beer education. As a Lead at Stone Brewing, my knowledge and passion for beers increased exponentially. I also learned valuable leadership skills and management techniques, in addition to honing my customer service skills. I helped educationally with monthly beer classes at our Stone Company Store and during this time became a Certified Cicerone. I helped to build and strengthen the location's customer base in the 3.5 years I served at the Pasadena location. My first full time post-graduation position was at Total Wine and More. Working at Total Wine gave me significant retail and alcoholic beverage experience. While at Total Wine, my passion for beer blossomed and I became one of the most passionate and knowledgeable employees in the beer sector. I eventually taught beer education classes and also gave presentations about beer at regional store sales meetings.