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: Greg Patterson-Tanski, Architect Extraordinaire.

Safety second!

Hi.

Hello. And a Happy Repeal of Prohibition Day!

Tell us a little about yourself.

Born and raised here. Moved away for a short time – college thing. Came back – job offer. And really have planted my roots here in Buffalo – wife, kids, career, community, and CBW.

What does a Space Ranger Architect Extraordinaire actually do?

Well my title really is Facilities Manager / Community Outreach, but I still like Architect Extraordinaire. So my day job is being an architect and has been for 18 years. I’m the one that is taking our idea of a brewery and conveying it an actual physical space. This sounds way easier than it really is.

Once we are up and running, I’ll be ensuring that CBW and its physical being operate efficiently by expertly planning and directing building-related services. Even buying toilet paper.

Since maintaining the building and space won’t suck all my time like it does during build-out, I’ll be heading up a large portion of our community involvement. So be on the lookout for CBW showing up on civic boards, block club involvement, and other community minded organizations.

How did you get involved in the CBW gang?

I had known of Ethan from working at his mom’s architecture firm and then we ended up meeting and living in the same apartment building when he moved back (though I think I ended up moving out to another place within days/weeks of his moving in). Fast forward a few years and I meet up with Ethan again when he was trying out the home brew collective idea and that led to my involvement with CBW.

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

I grew up surrounded by Genesee beers. When I turned 18 I started investing in microbreweries. Shortly thereafter my parents gave me a home brew kit. Then while I was living in Vermont, and the whole craft beer movement was taking off, I was immersed in all these wonderful beers and haven’t looked back since.

Duff’s or Anchor Bar?

I’m a vegetarian, and beer is too. Right?

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

Two lines of wisdom:

1. Wear work gloves at all times.
2. Everything takes three times longer to build then you think it should.

See also: Ethan Cox, President & Main Instigator; Rudy Watkins, Head Brewer, Dan Conley, Information Manager