Annie Johnson Oral History Interview

In this interview, Johnson describes her cosmopolitan childhood spent in Germany, New Mexico, the Middle East, and California, which she later credits for her appreciation for international foods, beers, and cultures. She also discusses her early home brewing with friends, how it became a creative outlet during her time spent working for the California state legislature, and how she sought to master distinct international styles of beer through practice and judging competitions herself. Johnson recounts the publicity she received in the wake of her AHA Homebrewer of the Year award in 2013, including how interviewer’s questions about race and gender impacted the ways she thoughts about her own identity in home brewing. She also describes her transition to working for PicoBrew and how it has influenced her work and relationships in the brewing industry.