Brad Clark is a name that resonates with reverence among craft beer enthusiasts who appreciate barrel-aged masterpieces. As founder of Private Press Brewing Company, Brad has created something truly unique in the modern beer landscape: a members-only brewery focused exclusively on high-gravity, barrel-aged beers. His journey through craft beer offers valuable insights into both the evolution of American brewing and the dedication required to master the delicate art of barrel aging.
Beginning his career at a small brewpub in Athens, Ohio, Brad’s entrance into professional brewing wasn’t through formal education but rather through passion and circumstance. What began as an extract homebrewer’s curiosity blossomed into a full-fledged career when he found himself as head brewer at what would eventually become Jackie O’s Pub and Brewery. This small-town brewpub would eventually gain national recognition largely due to Brad’s experimentation with barrel aging, a practice he began around 2007 – making him a pioneer in what has become one of craft beer’s most celebrated niches.
The turning point in Jackie O’s trajectory came in 2009-2010 when their barrel-aged releases started garnering serious attention within beer enthusiast circles. Brad specifically mentions their Rum Barrel Oil of Aphrodite as a watershed moment that “put us on the map” in beer forums and among dedicated beer hunters. During his tenure at Jackie O’s, Brad grew their barrel program from just four barrels to nearly 900 – a testament to both the program’s success and his dedication to barrel-aged beer.
What makes Brad’s current venture, Private Press Brewing, so fascinating is his deliberate choice to go smaller and more focused after experiencing the significant growth and distribution at Jackie O’s. Located in Santa Cruz, California, Private Press operates on a fundamentally different business model than most craft breweries. There’s no tap room serving IPAs, no core lineup of approachable beers, no distribution to local bars. Instead, the brewery sells memberships with quarterly releases of exclusively barrel-aged beers.
Brad’s approach to barrel aging is refreshingly unburdened by rigid rules or formulas. He maintains approximately 80-100 barrels at any given time, containing various beer styles (stouts, barleywines, wheat wines, quads) in different types of barrels (bourbon, rye, wheated bourbon) at different ages. The blending process is entirely guided by taste rather than specifications or consistency. As Brad puts it, “It is all completely palette driven…whatever creates the most rounded expression at that moment in time is the best.”
What stands out most about Brad’s philosophy is his emphasis on finding barrels at their peak rather than pushing for extreme age statements. He describes barrels as having “windows” that open and close – periods when the beer reaches its ideal expression before potentially declining. This nuanced understanding of barrel evolution is what allows him to create complex, balanced beers that manage to be both bold and drinkable.
The Private Press business model – selling memberships rather than operating a traditional brewery – came partly from strategic thinking and partly from necessity. When Brad moved to California in 2019, he recognized that the state’s thousand-plus breweries didn’t need another IPA producer. Instead, he leveraged his expertise in barrel-aging to create something distinctive. The timing proved serendipitous, as the membership model insulated the business from many of the challenges that traditional breweries faced during the pandemic.
For those passionate about barrel-aged beers, Brad’s approach to his craft offers an invaluable perspective. He balances technical expertise with artistic intuition, creating beers that are meticulously crafted yet fundamentally creative. His success demonstrates that even in today’s crowded beer market, there’s still room for focused specialists who excel in their particular niche rather than trying to be everything to everyone.