So often, when you listen to these episodes, you hear conversations with people far along in their experience with beer, wine, spirits, or other alcoholic beverages. We’ve had our share of brewers and owners who have been in the game for a decade or more. And in this conversation, we’re invited to hear from Natalie Thurman, an up-and-coming brewer discovering what it means to go pro, create recipes, and learn all the time.

Natalie was a homebrewer before she was brought on as a vocational brewer at Pittsburgh’s Trace Brewing. Over a six-month period from summer 2023 through the end of that year, Natalie worked alongside and learned from a variety of staff at Trace, picking up tips, tricks, and an education that will guide her in brewing for years to come. It’s all new—Natalie is a clinical research professional and registered nurse who’s spent more than 10 years working in healthcare—but as you’ll hear in this chat, there’s a lightness and excitement at work in her life through beer.

While we talk about her beginnings in homebrewing and building an interest in beer, I invite you to really hear the way Natalie talks about finding herself through her homebrewing and her work at Trace. Spending time at a brewery and meeting industry peers has seemed to unlock something special for her, and it’s an opportunity you’ll hear she’s not taking for granted. This is a chance to hear what it sounds like to start something new and why it’s so meaningful. It’s an opportunity to hear about how the joy of homebrewing becomes the joy of professional brewing and all that’s to come for Natalie and those in her orbit.