Our Brewers
Meet the talented team of passionate brewers who bring their vision to life at BJ’s every day. Our brewery management team prides itself on its diversity of talents and interests.
Alex Puchner
Sr. Vice President of Brewing Operations
After honing his brewing skills as a home brewer, Alex started his career as a craft brewer at some of the first brewpubs in Orange County and Los Angeles. He joined BJ’s when we built our first brewery in Brea in 1996. Alex has been a beer judge at the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup for three decades. With his wealth of experience, Alex has led BJ’s skilled and creative brewing team to excellence over 25 years, consistently earning prestigious awards for their world-class beers.
JOHN “TOBY” OLIVER
Director of Brewery Production and Logistics
Toby has been with BJ's since 1997, joining our brewing team in Brea about a year after we started brewing there. Just like Alex, Toby started out as an avid home brewer back in 1986 and worked as GM of The Home Brewery from 1994 to 1997. Toby has always had a knack for production planning and took on the critical role of managing production and logistics for all of our breweries beginning in 2001.
Aaron Stueck
BREWERY RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
As Director of R&D for BJ’s in Boulder, Aaron has developed a loyal following among craft beer drinkers and fellow brewers in a city famous for its craft breweries. Aaron got his start with BJ’s in 2009 as head brewer for our original Boulder brewery on Pearl Street. When we relocated the restaurant to 29th Street Mall, Aaron assumed a vital role creating new BJ’s beers in a small brewery dedicated to R&D. Over the last 10 years, Aaron has developed many new beers to add to our seasonal beer lineup, while also designing exclusive small-batch beers for BJ’s Brewhouse Beer Club members.
Josh Fulk
Director of Brewing Operations
Josh came to BJ’s from a Miller Brewing Co. in Ohio, where he was brewing and packaging team leader. Lucky for us, Josh began looking for opportunities in craft brewing after several years with MillerCoors. He joined BJ’s in 2014 to manage the startup and operations of our new production brewery in Temple, Texas, along with our existing production breweries in Reno and Chandler. Josh’s experience and skills in managing production in a large brewery have proven invaluable to our brewing team as we continue to expand brewing and packaging capacity to keep up with BJ’s restaurant growth and off-premise beer sales.
Oscar Blanco
Head Brewer, West Covina, CA & Barrel Manager, Brea, CA
Oscar has quite a history as a brewer with BJ’s. He was originally hired as an assistant brewer when he was just 17 years old. Oscar gained experience as a young brewer in four of our Southern California breweries before his promotion to head brewer in Brea on his 21st birthday in 2005. Oscar then assumed the role of head brewer in West Covina in 2007. Today, he is still based in West Covina while also managing our sour beer production in Brea. Oscar’s beers have earned many awards, including gold medals at the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup.
BRETT BARR
HEAD BREWER, TEMPLE, TX
Brett got his start with BJ’s as a server and bartender at our restaurants in Tyler and Arbor Walk. A home brewer on the side, his passion for beer showed through in his work at our restaurants. When he learned we were opening a brewery in Temple, he made his interest known. He started as an assistant brewer in 2015 when brewery opened, and again his passion for beer was evident in how quickly and efficiently he learned every aspect of brewery operations. Just three years after starting in the brewery, he was promoted to head brewer.
JOE BALDWIN
HEAD BREWER, RENO, NV
Joe grew up in Arizona and began his brewing career at Uncle Bear’s Brewery. He started with BJ’s in 2016 as the head brewer in our Chandler brewery and flourished in this smaller production brewery, which primarily supplies beer to the six BJ’s restaurants in Arizona. When a vacancy opened in 2018 at BJ’s larger production brewery in Reno, Joe jumped at the chance to grow his skill set by managing a larger brewery—and to enjoy some awesome mountain biking.
DANNON RUSCH
HEAD BREWER, CHANDLER, AZ
Dannon started in 2016 in the Chandler brewery as an assistant brewer after having previously worked with Joe at Uncle Bear’s. Dannon excelled in the BJ’s setting, quickly learning how to brew BJ’s beer. When Joe moved to Reno as head brewer, Dannon stepped up to the head brewer role in Chandler where he continues to excel and maintain BJ’s strong reputation among Arizona craft brewers.
SETH HORNISH
LEAD BREWER TEMPLE, TX
Seth started with BJ’s in 2011 at the Tuttle Crossing restaurant in Ohio as a bartender. As a home brewer, Seth was always intrigued by brewing craft beer. Soon after we started production in Temple, he made the move to Texas to pursue his passion as an assistant brewer. He hasn’t looked back since really diving into the brewing process and being promoted to lead brewer in 2021.