Andrew Bauman, one of the Valley’s most well-known craft brewers, is leaving The Perch Pub & Brewery in downtown Chandler, which he helped launch in 2014, for Uncle Bear’s Brewery in Ahwatukee.
Starting Monday, Sept. 26, he will take over for Joe Baldwin, who is leaving Uncle Bear’s for BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse in Chandler.
‘‘Andrew was the right guy for us for many different reasons – work ethic, great brewer, creative, dialed in with the home-brewing community, great knowledge, and overall just a real fun guy,’’ says Jason Derby, director of marketing, sales, and events for Uncle Bear’s.
Derby says Bauman (pictured above) will continue to brew the brewery’s flagship beers, while also coming up with some of his own seasonals and one-off beers.
‘‘Leaving The Perch was a very hard decision,’’ Bauman says. ‘‘The place has been such a big part of my life for the past three years. I still love The Perch.’’
Cobbling together a brewhouse in several small sheds behind the pub, the former home brewer has created more than 30 different beers for The Perch, most of them unusual.
Customer favorites include Grilled Lemon Cream Ale, Ginger Mofo, Belgian Peach, Rosemary IPA, Lemongrass DIPA, and Shamma Limea Mimea Gose.
At Uncle Bear’s, Bauman moves up to a much larger 10-barrel brewing system with a recently expanded array of 30- and 40-barrel fermenters.
Uncle Bear’s also recently began canning two of its beers – Mandarin Wheat and Ocean Beach West Coast Style IPA – a step The Perch has not reached.
Andrew Ortega, assistant brewer at The Perch, also has decided to make the move to Uncle Bear’s, where he’ll join assistant brewers Dannon Rusch and Connor Mulaney.
In the meantime, The Perch is looking for a brewer with experience on a commercial system. Interested parties should contact general manager Tim McGovern at tim@perchpubbrewery.com.
The Perch has enlisted local home brewer Bret Waters to keep its brewhouse operating during the transition.
