BACK STORY ENCORE
John Liberty
Co-founder & General Manager West Michigan Beer Tours
J
ohn Liberty began his professional career as a journalist, but now he’s “a craft beer ambassador” and says the two vocations aren’t really so far apart. Liberty, a former Kalamazoo Gazette entertainment writer, and Aric Faber created West Michigan Beer Tours in 2013 to allow people to experience the area’s growing craft beer industry. Liberty coordinates walking, biking and bus-riding tours of the region’s breweries. The tours include meeting brewers, sampling beers and hearing the back stories of the area’s burgeoning craft beer scene. “I wrote about the craft brew scene at the Gazette and in the Kalamabrew blog,” the 36-year-old says. “I’m just sharing those stories in a different way now.”
Brian Powers
(continued on page 45)
46 | ENCORE MAY 2016