MEET THE TEAM
Paul Beitz
Paul is one in a handful of North Carolina maltsters – a title which he takes pride in. His career in beer started with Mystery Brewing in Hillsborough. His favorite aspect about the industry is the people who work in it, and learning about the unique paths which led them to where they are now. When Paul is not malting, he’s growing hops in the mountains of Virginia on his family’s farm, enjoying a beer featuring Epiphany malt, or perhaps sipping a North Carolina muscadine wine with his wife.
“Boiler up”
Jordan Ullrich
Jordan Ullrich’s role as maltster at Epiphany spans from base malt steeping, to their Nordic malting process, to roasting and smoked malt preparation. Born in Manassas VA, Jordan studied at Virginia Tech where she received a Bachelors in Agriculture, and then her Masters in Plant Breeding & Genetics. From there she went on to work at Riverbend Malthouse for 2 years. After moving back to the center of the state, Jordan joined the team at Epiphany Malt.
Lea Woodard
Lea is your point person for anything malt, and serves as our Manager of Malthouse Operations. Lea handles all orders, logistics, marketing, social media, or whatever the malthouse demands. Lea began her journey with Epiphany Craft Malt in December 2017. Lea comes from a corporate background of sales and marketing working in medical devices since 2011. Prior to that, Lea worked in molecular genomic research focusing on vaccine development. A scientists turned sales and marketing professional, she had been looking to leave the corporate world for some time to marry these interest in the brewing industry. Beer has always been her passion, whose intrinsic scientific basis has inspired her in her own home brewing. A long time advocate of changing our commodity based agricultural economy, Epiphany offered a unique opportunity to have a direct impact on our agricultural based brewing economy. She loves working directly with Brewers who are also passionate about changing our commodity crop landscape, and making some darn good beer in the process. Among her professional interests, Lea is a member of the Craft Maltster Guild, the American Society of Brewing Chemist, and the American Society of Microbiologist. She loves to engage in discourse on all things malt, fermentation, and the regionality of the interplay of them. Its from the embrace of these ideas, and the continuing open dialogue Epiphany works with, the open invite is extended- all Collaborators Welcome.
Sebastian Wolfrum
Sebastian is the founder and Director of Malting and Roasting Operations at Epiphany Craft Malt in Durham, NC, with the mission to provide an integrated regional supply to brewers, distillers, and other sprouted grain ventures. Born and raised in Germany, Sebastian started out his carrier at Ayinger Brauerei. In 1999, Sebastian earned his certification as a brewer & maltster in Munich. Continuing his brewing career in the U.S., from 2006-2013 Sebastian was Director of Brewing Operations for the second largest craft brewery in North Carolina. As a founding member of the NC Craft Brewers Guild in 2008, he continues to be very involved in the affairs of the small brewers in the region, staying active in the NC Craft Brewers Guild as well as the MBAA, Craft Malsters Guild, and other organizations. In his quest to round out his knowledge and the industry he works in, Sebastian added a certificate in distilling from IBD, London in 2012. Sebastian joined Capitol Broadcasting Company in 2014 establish the Rocky Mount Mills Brewery Incubator. Besides his day to day work at the malthouse, Sebastian is passionate about malt and brewing education, believing that exceptional beer starts with exceptional malts. It is from this belief that Epiphany Craft Malt originated its motto The Foundation of Fermentation.
Find out how Sebastian learned about brewing’s tie to malting early on.