Selvedge Welcomes Skinner as New Head Brewer

Selvedge Brewing in Charlottesville, Virginia, is excited to welcome Josh Skinner as their new Head Brewer. Skinner comes to Selvedge from Champion Brewing, where he served as Head Brewer and Director of Brewing Operations.

At Selvedge, Skinner is excited to return to small batch brewing. While he has no shortage of ideas for new styles and new beers, when it comes to Selvedge’s flagship beers, he aims to stay true to the classic styles that have stood the test of time. Quality and innovation have always been paramount to the vision for Selvedge and Skinner looks forward to building on that foundation. 

Drinkability is at the core of Skinner’s brewing philosophy and he relishes in developing beers that invite another sip. With Skinner at the helm, Selvedge customers can look forward to a diverse tap list. He is eager to explore a wide range of lagers, different styles of IPAs, branch out into mixed and wild fermentation, and continue to develop Selvedge’s barrel-aging program.

A self-professed “lager nerd,” this is where Skinner’s passion lies – from super pale to just shy of a stout – noting that every step in developing a lager is critical. “With a lager, you can’t hide from mistakes,” he says.

Skinner enjoys incorporating local and regional ingredients into his beers as much as possible. A lover of food himself, he’s energized by the prospect of collaborating with Chef Tucker Yoder who is Executive Chef at The Wool Factory, which operates both Broadcloth, an ingredient-driven restaurant, and the taproom of Selvedge. 

Skinner grew up in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and studied archeology at Radford University. His homebrewing hobby turned into his full-time career in 2012 when he joined the team at Blue Mountain Brewery and enrolled at the Siebel Institute of Technology, a professional brewing program based in Chicago. He made the move to Champion Brewing just as they were beginning a major expansion and played a crucial role in the brewery’s growth for eight years.

“Selvedge Brewing has never shied away from seasonal beers that take extra time and care to produce and Josh’s vision is in line with our innovative and collaborative spirit,” said Brandon Wooten, Partner and Chief Brand Officer at The Wool Factory. “We are thrilled to leverage Josh’s expertise as Selvedge continues to grow and move towards the vision we originally had for Selvedge.”