Phil Roche is a brewer. In this interview, Roche discusses growing up in Huntington, New York, and moving to Oregon to attend the University of Portland, where he earned an interdisciplinary degree in communications, history, and philosophy. He recalls working at a beer distributor in high school, discovering homebrewing after receiving a homebrew kit, and becoming involved with the Oregon Brew Crew. Roche discusses his brewing career from volunteering at Hair of the Dog Brewing Company during its earliest years through professional positions at Umpqua Brewing in Roseburg, Oregon, and Fish Brewing Company in Olympia, Washington. He describes early craft beer culture in Portland and Olympia, participation in the Oregon Brewers Festival, experiences with homebrewing and brewing clubs, and the role of hops, ingredients, and brewing innovation in his work.
The interview explores Roche’s two periods of employment at Full Sail Brewing Company in Hood River, including work at both the Hood River brewery and the company’s Portland brewery. He also discusses his years at Ecliptic Brewing with founder John Harris, the brewery’s growth, new product development, collaborations, packaging expansion, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional topics include brewery operations, recipe development, brewing education, teaching in South Puget Sound Community College’s craft beverage program, and the evolution of Oregon and Pacific Northwest craft brewing from the early 1990s through the 2020s. This interview was conducted by Tiah Edmunson-Morton on August 7, 2026, via Zoom.
Please note that the captions have been auto-generated and not yet reviewed by a person.
