Christopher McGreger
Christopher began as an enthusiastic homebrewer in the late 1980s and went on to work in several breweries in the burgeoning US craft brewing industry. In 1997, he and his wife, Nancy, moved to Germany where they were both able to gain valuable experience in the Bavarian brewing industry. They also both attended the Technische Universität München-Weihenstephan, receiving degrees as Diplom Braumeister and subsequently in Brewing Science and Beverage Technology (Diplom Ingenieur or MSc).
Through close cooperation with the Bavarian brewing industry and academic community as well as their intimate knowledge of historical and modern beer production practices and beer cultures in two languages, they have translated seminal works on brewery raw materials and beer production originally published in German into highly readable and understandable English, including Applied Malting and Brewing Science: A Weihenstephan Compendium by Prof. Ludwig Narziss, The Comprehensive Guide to Brewing: From Raw Materials to Packaging by Prof. Gabriela Basařová, et. al., Hops – Their Cultivation, Composition and Usage by the world's leading hop experts, among others.
The couple are also authors of the book The Beer Brewing Guide: The EBC Quality Handbook for Small Breweries, which grew out of the knowledge they have accumulated in their studies and through their work as freelance consultants, authors, teachers and technical translators for the international brewing and beverage industry. The book is an excellent resource for brewers looking to improve and maintain good quality assurance but who work in smaller facilities and cannot rely on a laboratory full of expensive equipment.
As avid book worms with an unquenchable wanderlust, they are often in pursuit of exceptional, traditional and unusual beers and brewing techniques. Their articles regularly appear in the English edition of Brauwelt. Christopher teaches International Beer Styles and Brewing Methods and Technical English for Brewers and Maltsters in Germany at the university level and The Natural and Cultural History of Brewing in the US.