John J Hall

Senior Brewer John J. Hall is responsible for the ingredients that go into Goose Island Beers. Along with sourcing and overseeing recipes, he is responsible for adjusting the beers for seasonality, "Just like with wine, weather and terroir have a big impact on hops and malts. The biggest difference between wine and beer, though, is that wine is expected to change from year to year and our goal with beer is to make sure our beers taste exactly how you expect from year to year.”

With Goose Island since 1997, Hall has worked as a Cellarman, Brewer, Lead Brewer, Head Brewer, and Senior Brewer. Among his many contributions at Goose Island, Hall is proud of his work on the formulation of the recipes for 312 Urban Wheat Ale and Nut Brown Ale, both of which have won medals national and international beer festivals.

Currently living in the Chicago suburb Western Springs, Hall says his town is a great match for Goose Island's Vintage beers, "Western Springs has a lot of open-air markets and artisan foods, including an amazing butcher shop. So, people are really into food there and our Vintage beers were brewed for food."

Hall's foray into brewing began late in life, "I got a home brewer kit for my 30th birthday and made the switch two years later." He hasn't brewed at home since joining Goose, but did make his Bride Ale at the brewpub, a full-bodied Belgian-style Golden Ale, "my family isn't as into beer as they could be so my goal was to make something everyone could enjoy."

Hall attended Siebel's Brewers Preparation Course and received a Certificate in Malt & Wort Production. Before brewing, he worked in Audio/Visual and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Film Making and Animation at Columbia College.

Brian Taylor

Head Cellarman Brian Taylor is responsible for overseeing the fermentation and filtration at Goose Island Beer Company. A fan of sour beers, Brian has worked most closely with Juliet, Sofie, Madame Rose, Lolita, and Pepe Nero. 

A St. Louis native, Taylor graduated in 2000 from Regis University, Denver, where he studied business but more importantly, worked part-time at Flying Dog Brewery. Returning to St. Louis to prepare to attend law school, Taylor realized early on that his Flying Dog experience was the key to his future.

With a full scholarship, Taylor received a full diploma from the Siebel Institute of Technology in 2004. He then began his brewing career at Boulevard Brewing Company, Kansas City, where he worked as a brewer and lab technician for three years.  Boulevard's Belgian Brewmaster, Steven Pauwels, remains his mentor today.

Taylor joined Goose Island in 2007 as lab technician. He has since been promoted to Lead Cellarman then Head Cellarman.

Brian currently lives in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood. His dream is to return to Belgium to visit Cantillon Brewery. Despite his love of Chicago, he remains a Cardinals fan.

John Laffler

Brewer John Laffler is responsible for managing Goose Island's barrel program. A cache of approximately 1000 barrels of beer aging in wine and bourbon casks, Goose Island's barrel program is believed to be the largest in the United States. 

Laffler's responsibilities include blending each batch of Goose Island's barrel-aged beer, a process that includes analyzing and understanding the beer in each barrel as it moves through fermentation. Sampling each barrel over six to eight months, Laffler studies how each beer evolves so he can craft the final batch. "We have about 1000 barrels right now. I heard someone say that we could go up to 4,500 barrels. One thousand barrels is a big program, I haven't wrapped my mind around 4,500 barrels just yet."

Laffler joined Goose Island in 2009. Prior to joining Goose Island he worked as Assistant Brewer at Metropolitan Brewing and Beer Specialist at West Lakeview Liquors. He also worked at Shelton Brothers Distributors, representing artisan beers at events. He is a graduate of the Siebel Institute of Technology and earned his Cicerone Certificate in 2009. 

Laffler holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, 2003, from University of Wisconsin - Madison.  He worked with at-risk youths from 2004 to 2009 at Northwest Community Hospital.  "I decided to switch careers during a trip to Portland while I was interviewing for Doctoral Programs. While there, I was more excited to visit the brewpubs than the colleges."

An avid home brewer, Laffler brews a lot of funky, wild-fermented sour beers at his home in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. His dream is to have his beer served overseas, "There is a really cool beer bar in Denmark called Mikkeller, and I would love to have one of my beers on tap there." He also hopes to make beer with Armand Debelder of Drie Fonteinen, "He isn't as well-known as Cantillion, but what he is doing is so much more estoteric and subtle and I would love to learn that first-hand."

Keith Gabbett

Brewer Keith Gabbett has worked at Goose Island since 2009. Day-to-day, Gabbett works in both the brewhouse and cellar, rotating through all phases of brewing. He is most proud of the work he put into formulating the recipe for Gillian, a saison-style beer brewed with strawberries, honey, white pepper and champagne yeast. 

"My wife is a chef and she created a really delicious amuse bouche once of strawberries with honey and white pepper. I brought the idea to the innovation team and now I am stewarding the beer through each phase of development. It will be really exciting for me when it finally gets into a bottle."

A philosophy major in college, Gabbett graduated University of Evansville in 1998. He then worked in the catering industry until 2007. An avid home brewer, Gabbett made the switch to brewing at a crossroads in life. "There was a point when my choices seemed to be buy a house or go to Seibel. It really wasn't much of a choice, I have always loved American craft beer and frankly, my friends weren't surprised when I made the career switch."

From Seibel, Gabbett went to work as Assistant Brewer at Destihl Restaurant & Brew Works, Bloomington, IL. "I was there from the very beginning and helped create the original recipes for the beers."  

Born in Pittsburgh, PA, Gabbett grew up in Warsaw, IN and now resides in Forrest Park, IL, a neighborhood he says is best represented by Green Line Pale Ale. "We're on the Green Line train, sure, but the beer is about understanding environmental impacts and my neighborhood is really striving to be green every way they can."