Meet the Staff

Hugh J. Sisson
Founder and General Partner

A sixth generation Baltimorean, Hugh J. Sisson has been involved in all aspects of craft brewing. General Partner of Clipper City Brewing Company, L.P., Sisson is among Baltimore's premier authorities on craft brewing and a former manager of the state's first pub brewery, Sisson’s, located in Federal Hill.

In the mid-eighties, Sisson observed the potential for a small brewery in Baltimore, a historically "big beer" town. After researching the industry at its heart - in Germany, England, and the west coast of the United States – he, along with the help of Senator George W. Della, Jr., successfully lobbied the Maryland General Assembly in 1987 to pass legislation required to open a brew pub in Maryland.

After the inception of craft brew in Baltimore, Sisson immersed himself in the development and market recognition of both Sisson's and its beers. In 1994, he left Sisson’s to begin a new venture, Clipper City Brewing Company. Clipper City has been in operation for nearly 15 years and markets fine beers in 19 states, as well as Washington, DC.

Sisson is a member of the Master Brewers Association of America, the Brewer’s Association, and is past President for the Brewer’s Association of Maryland. He has served as President of the Cross Street Irregulars Home Brew Club, and co-hosts a weekly program on WYPR Radio entitled Cellar Notes that critiques fine wine and beer.

Sisson is a graduate of the McDonough School in Baltimore County. He went on to receive his Bachelor of Arts from Washington and Lee University in 1976.

Ernesto Igot
Brewmaster

Ernesto Igot has worked in the brewing industry for over 30 years. He has been a member of the Heavy Seas team for nine years, serving as the brewery’s Shift Brewer from 2000 to 2006 before moving into his current position as Brewmaster.

Igots’ expertise has enabled him to personally contribute to many techniques at the brewery such as spray wort boiling in the brew kettle, warm maturation of lager beers, adjusting the proper grist-to-water ratios in the mash, correct pre-coating procedures during beer filtration plus many other improvements in the brewing process and raw materials usage.

From 1976 to 1997, Igot worked at San Miguel Corporation, Southeast Asia's largest publicly listed food, beverage, and packaging company. Over the course of his career, he has received numerous awards recognizing his talent and proficiency. In 1979, Igot topped the Supervisor’s Brewing Course in the San Miguel Corporation. He earned that honor again in 1984 from the San Miguel Brewing School in the Philippines. In 1986, he placed third at the Versuchs-und Lehranstalt fur Brauerei (VLB) Brewing Course in Berlin, Germany. He was promoted to Assistant Brewmaster in 1987 and subsequently, to Brewmaster and Production Manager in 1990. In 1994, he became Brewing Technical Manager overseeing the day-to-day brewing operations of 11 San Miguel breweries in the Philippines, China, Indonesia and Vietnam. Igot is a member of the Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Toastmasters Club (Philippines), and the University of the Philippines Beta Sigma Fraternity Alumni Association.

Ernesto Igot is a graduate of the University of the Philippines in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering.

Kurt Krol
Brewer

Found in an old Stroh’s case under a pool table as a child, his calling wouldn’t come till many years of wandering outside Baltimore during the early years of his life. Then one day he had his first beer (at a legal age of course) and knew what he was meant to do. He found a local homebrew store, bought a couple cans (as all home brewers first do) and made his first batch. His liver told him not to. After a few years of messy kitchens and experiments with liquid, he sought to make a living doing it. He now spends every day of his work week giving yeast something to do, because yeast gets bored easily. His liver still hasn’t forgiven him. When not brewing, Kurt is the artist who creates the label art for the Heavy Seas Mutiny Fleet.

Chris Mallon
Brewer

Spent years in the IT field while dreaming about beer. Not because he’s an alcoholic, but for the ‘awesome’ store on the way home that carried hundreds of beers. A hophead at heart, he learned to appreciate every style of beer. As a homebrew junkie for years, he dreamed of working at a brewery. That dream came true when he started with Clipper City on the bottling line. In a matter of weeks he became part of the brewing team and has held the job of brewer for nearly 4 years. “I go to work every day to make beer. At the end of that day, I look in the fermenter full of handcrafted beer and can say that I made that. Awesome.”

 
Kevin Ashford 
Brewer
The newest addition to our brew team, Kevin began as a home brewer with an appreciation for craft beer than began back in his college days at James Madison University.