Trading Brew Decks
Within the beer industry its not uncommon to see blue collar brewers trading places regionally, across the country, or even internationally. On a micro scale, even Portland’s tight-knit beer industry see’s fairly frequent change of Brewers between local companies, but as of late there has been more notable brewing position shifts than usual resulting in an interesting and exciting shuffling of the deck.
Nate Rajski at the 2026 Oregon Beer Awards
Nate Rajski, was head brewer at StormBreaker Brewing where he has worked for the past 7 years, has accepted a newly created head brewer role at St. Helens, Oregon’s Crooked Creek Brewery. Rajski decided to make the move to be closer to his home in Scappoose and a change of pace. Crooked Creek owner and brewer Dave Lauridsen is handling the growing business as their restaurant and taproom gets busier and St. Helens becomes more popular and needed some help in the brewery.
“Crooked Creek keeps a very well rounded taplist these days, always having IPAs, hazy, stout, red etc on tap but also including Belgian styles and other European styles as well as naturally carbonated lagers in the lineup. Ultimately the goal is to brew intercontinentally style-wise but with as local ingredients as one can get. Most all of the ingredients come from the PNW if possible,” says Rajski.
Joel Sheley (left) and Threshold Brewing’s Jarek Szymanski (right)
Joel Sheley, former Bridgeport Brewing brewer who took over the head Brewer at Threshold Brewing from co-owner Jarek Szymanski 2 and a half years ago, has taken a job brewing at Migration Brewing Company. Sheley and his wife Karen operated successful nano brewery Gateway Brewing for 9 great years before Joel joined the team at Threshold.
Gracie Nelson, a SteepleJack brewer from the Hillsboro production facility and former R&D brewer for Migration Brewing, has accepted the new head brewer role at Threshold Brewing replacing Joel Sheley. Nelson, who loves to cycle everywhere whenever possible, is passionate about historical styles and foraged ingredients, but is just as fond of a light and crushable American lager.
“Beer is special to me because of its connection to agriculture and the magic of fermentation throughout the history of civilization. Every beer brewed has the chance to tell a story of the maker, bring community together, and reconnect with history,” says Nelson.
Kevin Hanny, most recently a head production brewery at SteepleJack Brewing’s Hillsboro facility, has joined the Zoiglhaus Brewing team and is now the head brewer for the new Spotlight Brewing. The new brewery is actually the old Pono Brew Labs, previously Columbia River Brewing and Laurelwood Brewing before that. The space has been expanded into adjacent suites, and now has a full food hall. Spotlight Brewing is soft opened now, with a grand opening on May 30th.
“I really enjoy the community aspect of brewing. It brings people together - Both the brewers that support each other and the consumer that enjoys the final product,” says Hanny. “Brewing is a physically demanding trade, and at the end of the day, I find it rewarding to see people gathered with friends and family enjoying what you worked so hard to create. I try to keep my beers balanced and approachable so people can explore different styles they may not have thought they’d enjoy.”
Anna Buxton, SteepleJack Brewing’s original head brewer since their opening in 2021, has accepted a new position at War Pigs Brewery in Copenhagen Denmark. Originally from Washington, Anna bounced around in outdoor recreation for a few years, landing in Wanatchee and into her first professional brewing role. Anna followed her passion to Rock Bottom in Long Beach, California where she learned the ins and outs of classic beers and recipe development, and became enamored with cask beer and experimental beer. When she heard Modern Times Beer was opening in Portland, she took the plunge and moved to town to brew there. At SteepleJack she was given the freedom to focus on low ABV beers and never treating malt as a back seat ingredient. She will be missed in Oregon.
Anna Buxton (left) and Lara Hargrave (right) at SteepleJack Brewing on N. Broadway
Lara Hargrave, the lead production brewer at Great Notion Brewing, has taken Anna Buxton’s role at SteepleJack Brewing as the pub brewer at the flagship NE Broadway church pub. Hargrave was working in wine sales and hoping to become a winemaker before getting a job in packaging at Community Brewing Company in Dallas, Texas. In 9 months she transitioned into a shift brewer role. After 7 years at Great Notion Brewing, Hargrave is now brewing at SteepleJack in a very different front forward role.
“I’m most excited about creative freedom and all the components that come with that be it events, competitions, and overall networking,” says Hargrave about her new job at SteepleJack Brewing. “As a production brewer you’re not the face of anything. You work behind the scenes and keep things consistent and moving. Now I get to that plus be a bit more out front. I guess I need to learn to be more photogenic in the next few months….”
Aaron Copelin
Aaron Copelin, a former ForeLand head brewer and most recently head brewer at Vice Beer, has accepted the head Brewer position at Great Notion Brewing. Between brewing at Vice, Copelin moved to Berlin to brew and study the art of brewing and came back with even more respect and appreciation for both German precision and American innovation.
“Before moving to Germany, I spent time brewing at Vice, so returning there felt like a natural fit. It was great to be back making beer with that team again. When the Head Brewer opportunity at Great Notion came up, it felt like the right fit for where I am professionally and for the experience I gained at the VLB in Berlin,” says Copelin.
Phil Pesheck, the multi-award winning Alpha King winner from Burke-Gilman Brewing in Seattle, is moving back to Washington after a few years in Hawaii at Howzit Brewing. Pesheck is taking over the head Brewer role at Vice Beer from Aaron Copelin. Pesheck was the 2020 Alpha King Champion for the hoppiest beer in the U.S. for his Fresh Hopotheosis Hazy Imperial IPA. Around the same time Burke Gilman Brewing Co. won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in the extremely competitive Juicy or Hazy Imperial IPA category for The Hopsplainer. Also in 2020 he was the recipient of the Glen Hay Falconer Foundation’s competitive annual brewing scholarship.
Ancestry Brewing in Tualatin, Oregon is under new ownership. Aaron and Erika Wilcott are the new owners taking over for Jerry, Leah, and Suzanne as Jerry goes into retirement. Ancestry, which recently won a gold medal for their Irish Red at the 2026 Oregon Beer Awards, once had three different locations but now focuses on their main brewery and pub and distribution through Maletis Beverage. It will be interesting to watch for any future changes under the new ownership.