Ashton began homebrewing in high school and wanted to pursue brewing as a career.  Since beer is food, Ashton studied Food Science at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, home of the famous Virginia Tech Hokies, completing his BS in Food Science in 1991.  Later that year, he moved to Davis, California to study beer in graduate school with Dr. Michael Lewis (no relation).  While working on his MS in Brewing Science at UC Davis, Ashton completed the Master Brewer’s Program and passed the prestigious, 9-hour Associate Membership Examination of the Institute of Brewing, London.  Also, like many other students at UC Davis, he worked part-time at the local brewery, Sudwerk Privatbrauerei Hübsch.

Since completing his graduate degree, Ashton has been involved in many aspects of the craft brewing industry.  He was a brewing science instructor at UC Davis, was a partner in a brewing consulting firm and served as Technical Editor for an industry magazine.  Today, he is very happily employed as Master Brewer of Springfield Brewing Company.  In his spare time Ashton serves as Technical Editor and is a regular columnist for Brew Your Own Magazine.

Trey began working at Springfield Brewing Company soon after we opened in 1998.  Later that year he traveled west to Davis, California where he enrolled in the Master Brewer's Brewers Program and completed the program in 1999.  Soon after completing the Master Brewer's Program, Trey landed a brewing position with Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.  In 2001, Trey decided to move back to Missouri to be closer to family and began working at Springfield Brewing Company in July.