Meet the team bringing you Mystery’s brews.
Founder, CEO, Head Brewer
Erik Lars Myers has pretty much run the gamut of right- and left-brained career choices – with a degree in theater and performance art and a long work background programming – it seems somehow fitting that he ended up right here in the middle, with a beer in hand.
He has been self-taught in every aspect of his work career, thus far, and figures that it’s a little late in life to start doing anything differently. After a decade of homebrewing, he started looking into the craft beer industry a little more seriously through his blog, Top Fermented, got involved helping out with Know Your Brewer and the North Carolina Brewers Guild, and finally decided to venture out on his own in business doing what he loves most.
He loves brewing because he feels a kinship to its heady blend of art and science. He loves the creative aspect of inventing a truly outstanding beer and enjoys the precision that is required to craft it.
Photo by Spots of Time Photography
Brewer
Chris Shields brews the majority of the beer for Mystery. Along with Erik, he also manages inventory, schedules production, and develops recipes. Chris enjoys the interplay of science and creativity in crafting beer, and Mystery’s experimental and seasonal nature is the perfect fit for this blend of art and science. While getting a master’s degree in biology, Chris fell in love with homebrewing. This encouraged him to follow his passion and he eventually found his home in the craft beer community when he joined the Mystery team in the fall of 2011.
Director of Sales and Marketing
Jessica Myers (no relation to Erik) wears many hats at Mystery Brewing Company. She can often be found out and about, spreading the word about Mystery Brewing Company’s delicious brews, or in her boots helping out in the brewery (when she isn’t busy being the brewery den-mother!) She grew up the only girl in a family of boys, so she has always enjoyed getting her hands a little dirty. She used to be Erik’s regular bartender, and upon hearing of the opening of Mystery Brewing begged for a position until he caved.
General Manager – Mystery Brewing Public House
As a home brewer and craft beer lover, Adam Ledford has been a friend and supporter of the industry for quite some time. He supported the World Class Beer and Pop the Cap initiatives to raise the ABV allowed for beer in GA and NC, and has been a self-appointed ambassador of good beer and goodwill to his friends and family for over a decade. Once his good friend and volleyball buddy Erik started a brewery, and plans for the taproom came about, Adam knew that the time had finally come to get on the right side of the bar and join the Mystery Brewing Team. Adam derives great pleasure from figuring out how to unlock the enjoyment in others, and is proud to have the chance to do so as the head of Mystery Brewing Company’s most public-facing division.
Adam does not support double-spacing after periods.
Jill of All Trades
Maddie Segal has a degree from NC State’s College of Design and has been putting it to good use by working in the beer industry for the past three years. She gained much of her experience with Natty Greene’s out of Greensboro. Once she found out that she was relocating to Chapel Hill with her husband, she quickly jumped on the opportunity to work for Mystery Brewing Co. She can be found singing to Taylor Swift in the Cellar with Chris, driving around with your favorite beer in tow, or enthusiastically telling someone about the new beers that Erik and Chris have concocted!
Historian
Sarah Ficke is an English Professor by day, but by night (and at other spare moments) she is Mystery’s official historian, tracking down the people, places, and recipes that give Mystery its unique historical and literary flavor. She also happens to be married to Erik.