
Brian Yaeger
The Beer Class Instructor
Brian Yaeger, a self proclaimed beer geek but not a beer snob, has been a certified Cicerone since 2009 (it’s Italian for docent; it’s basically beer’s equivalent to Sommeliers). He started his own beer journey as an undergrad here at UCSB and went on to earn a Masters in Professional Writing from USC with a thesis on craft brewers. He spent seven years in Portland—a city regarded as “Beervana”—where he covered the beer beat for several publications, authored and contributed to beer books, and organized beer festivals. Brian is now back in town and reviewing beers for the
Santa Barbara Independent. With this course, instead of educating about beer by writing for invisible readers, he is looking forward to elevating the study of beer to the university level. His passion for this storied and complex beverage is instantly palpable and he treats it with a healthy mixture of the respect it deserves and the cheerfulness it brings to social settings, from backyard barbecues to taproom bar stools.