Signature Memphis | FEBRUARY 2012

Photo by Steve Roberts

Chuck Skypeck

Director of Brewing Operations, Boscos Brewing Company/Director of Brewing Operations, Ghost River Brewing/Vice President, Roma Pomodori, Inc

Hobby: Bike riding.

Favorite author: Kurt Vonnegut.

Your mantra: "What are you doing here?"

Favorite album: "Sheik Yerbouti" by Frank Zappa.

Movie you could watch over and over again: The Jerk.

Childhood ambition: Loving books, I wanted to be a librarian.

Ideal vacation spots: Mountains, hot springs, beaches, big cities.

First concert: Jimi Hendrix at Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium.

One thing you can’t live without: Gallons of coffee every morning.

Guilty pleasure: The malt gelato, made by YoLo, that is served at Boscos.

Recent book you’ve read: I majored in geography in college, so I am always a sucker for an interesting atlas. Our Dumb World by the Onion conveys a perspective on our planet everyone should contemplate.

Favorite Memphis musician: Jonathan Kirksey of Mouse Rocket and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.

First job: Stocking shelves and bagging groceries at Liberty Cash Grocery at the corner of Highway 72 (that is what it was called then) and Germantown Road.

Where you take out-of-town guests: Memphis' only (and Tennessee’s first) on premise brewery, Boscos.

Stress outlet: The folks at the Nuber YMCA know how much stress I am experiencing at any given time by the number of times they see me working out.

Biggest obstacle you’ve overcome: In the early 2000s, I served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Brewers, one of two trade organizations representing craft brewers. Over a period of several years, I helped to arrange a merger with the other organization, the Brewers Association of America. It was a difficult and challenging process that resulted in a new dynamic organization, the Brewers Association, that has played an important part in the current growth and success of craft brewing in the U.S.

One thing most people don’t know about you: If this brewing thing doesn’t work out, I have a promising future as a rap musician.

Your greatest achievement: Raising three children: Paige, Walter and Parker.