Community Beer Works will be opening in a few short months. We’ve been blogging weekly for a year and a half, but the people behind the beer may still be a mystery to many of you. To remedy that, Mondays will now feature a brief Q&A and profile of an owner of the brewery. Feel free to ask any other questions you have in the comments!

This week: Dan Conley, Information Manager.

Notice how the eyes always follow you?

Hi.

Uh, hi. I wrote these questions so I think I’m interviewing myself.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m just zis guy, you know?

Sorry. I feel compelled to respond like that whenever appropriate. But I am just this guy, who likes beer and web nerdery and has found himself involved in this totally awesome project.

What does a Space Ranger Information Manager actually do?

Right now, I mostly blog. I’ve put up a Thirsty Thursday post every week for about a year and a half now. I’m also one of the folks who tweet as @communitybeer and I occasionally Facebook, though that’s usually Ethan since Zuck Zuck Goose isn’t really my thing. Essentially, I’m the online presence for the brewery. I’m also managing our “archives,” which right now aren’t that extensive. I’ve done enough work in that area, though, to know that a decade from now having access to every piece of promotional material we’ve ever made is going to be really cool.

How did you get involved in the CBW gang?

I don’t actually remember how I got the idea that a homebrew kit would be a good birthday present for myself, but in 2007 it’s what I asked for. When I told my boss, she said “My son makes beer too! You should talk to his friend Ethan.” I shrugged that off for six months or so, but then — despite generally being painfully shy — did the email equivalent of cold calling him and saying “Uh hi I know your friend’s mom can we hang out?”

We were both really interested in beer and Buffalo and so as time went on I signed on for all of his beer related ideas: the Beer-O-Vision blog, the Homebrewing Collective that gets brought up in every one of these Q&As and then, finally, Community Beer Works.

What started you down the rabbit hole that is good beer?

I always knew there was “good” beer and “bad” beer. So, when the time came for me to choose a beverage of choice, I knew I should look for the “good” stuff. At first that was mostly Saranac, because their mixed packs were pretty cheap. Once I started brewing I learned more about beer, leading me to buy even more and better and more expensive beer. “Wasn’t this hobby supposed to save money?” my wife would ask. Then I’d put my hand on her shoulder and laugh.

Duff’s or Anchor Bar?

Duff’s. Obviously this will be a sticking point in my relationship with the rest of CBW and I predict I’ll be leaving the group in a huff by 2014 at the latest. (Also, this summer my family did a side by side comparison of the two and I must say, I think I might be changing my answer. I’m in the middle of a crisis of faith.)

Anything else we should know about you? Any parting words of wisdom?

After years of Livejournaling and blogging and tweeting into the gaping black hole of the internet, it’s a really weird feeling to know that people are actually reading what I write. So, thank you, everyone.

See also: Ethan Cox, President & Main Instigator; Rudy Watkins, Head Brewer, Greg Patterson-Tanski, Architect Extraordinaire