David Ryder, the former vice president of brewing, research, innovation and quality for MillerCoors, has joined City Lights Brewing Company, 2210 W. Mount Vernon Ave., as chief innovation officer.
Ryder retired from MillerCoors this year after a 23-year career at the brewery. His credentials include experience as the technical consultant and global operations manager for Stella Artois and vice president of technical services for J.E. Siebel Sons, Inc.
He's not slowing down, that's for sure.
"I just have to keep going," Ryder said, calling from the Minneapolis airport on a travel stop. He accepted the challenge "to make some beers that we really hadn't seen before."
Ryder has been working with owner and brewer Jimmy Gohsman to develop those. The first beer collaboration when City Lights begins brewing in December will be the resurrection of a 300-year-old English recipe for a beer known as Stitch, a classic brown ale from the 1700s.
The number of breweries in Milwaukee continues to grow but "the way we want to differentiate ourselves is to think about and bring back styles people have never experienced."
"Obviously we're going to have session IPAs and full-strength IPAs," Ryder said.
Ryder is an important addition to the City Lights roster, Robin Gohsman said.
"To be able to attract the talent that he represents is indicative of the type of brewery we're going to have," said Robin Gohsman, one of the owners at City Lights.
Ryder was part of the innovation of Citra hops, which help add a strong citrus aroma and flavor to beers. The popular hop style is particularly sought after. That experience and innovation will assist the new brewery by helping to open doors in the industry, Robin Gohsman said.
"One of his passions, in addition to beer, is educating people about beer," Robin Gohsman said. Ryder will participate in educational seminars for the public and training for beer distributors.
Ryder will help host dinners that pair foods with beer at the brewery. He continues his work as adjunct professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he hopes to elevate fermentation sciences by making students consider careers in that area.
City Lights plans to open this year in the former Milwaukee Gas Light Co. building, designed at the beginning of the 20th century by architect Alexander Eschweiler. The size of the project and the age of the building have slowed progress a bit but the brewhouse is expected to arrive on Thursday. Gohsman projects that City Lights will be brewing by mid-December.
View article here: http://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/beer/2016/10/31/former-millercoors-chief-goes-craft/93067344/