Whitney Burnside Oral History Interview

Whitney Burnside is the Brewmaster at 10 Barrel Brewing Company in Portland, Oregon. In her interview, Burnside talks about growing up in Issaquah, Washington, how her interest in cooking was sparked in high school, and her experiences at Johnson & Wales University in Denver, where she obtained a culinary arts degree in 2008. She talks about making artisan cheese at The Herbfarm, a farm-to-table restaurant in wine-centric Woodinville, Washington (25 minutes north of Seattle), as well as how her fascination with fermentation and access to local ingredients prompted her to experiment with home brewing and bread baking. She discusses her move to Portland, her experiences at Laurelwood Brewing and Upright Brewing, and her work for Tastebud, a restaurant known for wood-fired pizzas.

After leaving Portland, Burnside moved back to Seattle, where she worked as a brewer for Elysian Brewing Company (2011–2012). She moved back to Oregon after a year, where she obtained an assistant brewer position at the Pelican Brewery Pacific City location; she soon became that company's first female head brewer. While at Pelican Brewery, Burnside learned to make beers that were "true to style" from Darron Welch; the brewery also won numerous awards during her tenure, including a bronze medal at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival in the Belgian style category. At the end of 2014, Burnside took a position as the head brewer at the 10 Barrel Brewing, and she reflects on how her previous experiences with operations expansion at Elysian and Pelican gave her the knowledge for the construction of the Portland brewing and pub facility.

Burnside talks about the acquisition of the company by Anheuser-Busch in 2014 (which happened a week after she was hired) and about her experiences working with the company; she also reflects on how the culture and consumers have changed since she entered the industry. She concludes the interview talking about some of her favorite beer ideas and beers she's made.