The Toasted Shaman
Hi, my name's Jason Matthew, but going forward I will be adopting the alias "The Toasted Shaman." For over 10 years I have dedicated my life to trying to be the best brewer I can be by utilizing both technical training and thousands of hands on experiments. I worked tirelessly for many years in Korea... and then the pandemic hit.
Let's be honest, covid has been hard. After almost four years away from family and friends, and unsure when all this would end, or if it would end, I decided to move back to the USA. So I left Korea in April of 2021 and headed for Alaska where I ran three breweries for 49th State Brewing this past summer.
It was a wonderful experience and we were the most award winning brewery in Alaska this year with 20 medals; including a medal at GABF, as well as all three breweries winning a medal at the US Open beer Championship. It was a pleasure to train and teach so many bright brewers/cellar/packaging people.
But now for 2022 and going forward I feel like I have found my true path and calling, which is to travel around teaching, mentoring, and helping people/breweries heal. I love learning from people, traveling the world, getting inspired, and experiencing new things. I hope we get to work together or collaborate soon.
What Makes Me Qualified to help you?
* One of the first 1000 Certified Cicerones in the USA
* Was the control panel for the taste portion of some of the Certified Cicerone tests in the Midwest
* Sensory training Certificate from The Siebel Institute in Chicago
* International Brewing Diploma from The Siebel Institute in Chicago and Doemens Academy from Gräfelfing, Germany.
* Created a wild yeast project with friends called “The Native Funk Project” where we did over 350 spontaneous fermentations and discovered and isolated many new strains of Wild Yeast and Bacteria. Some are stored at White Labs, others at The Ohio State University.
* Thanks to The Native Funk project and starting a brewery in Korea I was named one of the ten “People to Watch” for Columbus, Ohio in 2015 in the magazine Coumbus Alive.
* I rewrote from scratch many of the syllabuses for the Susubori Academy in Korea. This is the only beer school in Korea. I taught the classes: Mashing Chemistry, Water Chemistry, Malting, and Hops for two years.
* In 2020 Artmonster won 72 medals including a silver medal for Vienna Lager at Euro Beer Star, a gold medal at the Brussels Beer Challenge, Best Midsize Brewery and Best overall beer in Asia at the Asia Beer Championships
* Helped start Luna Kombucha in Columbus, Ohio. I wrote the first high abv recipes and designed the brewery. This brewery now makes tea beer and is called Wild Ohio Brewing.
* Even after I left in 2021 Artmonster still repeated best beer and brewery in Asia thanks to the recipes and procedures I helped leave in place. Artmonster also won Second Best in Show at the San Diego International Beerfest this past summer.
* In Alaska the past Spring/Summer most of my staff was brand new and arrived from all over the world (Mexico, Korea, Cali, Colorado, Oregon). We had to learn three different systems and water supplies on the fly right before the heart of summer rush and tourist season kicked in. Thanks to incredible hard work and dedication by the team we won 20 medals in one year, which was the most in all of Alaska.
* While at 49th State we had two IPA's (Sprucesplosion and Solstice) that were in the top 12 IPA's on Untappd.
* In early November I left 49th State. I packed my dog and a few belongings into my car and started driving from Alaska, through Canada, to Washington, and down. We had a lot of old friends and family to see. Most I hadn't seen in many years. Some it had been half a lifetime since we had last seen each other face to face. This time off has been really wonderful, but it is time to get back to work. I am excited for what the future holds.
• Over 172 medals won (July 2018 - December 2021)
• Over 10 years of brewing experience
I have a set rate, but some prices and fees are negotiable on a case by case basis. I am doing this for the love of the art. I want to feel inspired and create every day. No job is too small or too big.
About me
My passions in life are making beer, playing music, painting, meditating, baking, hanging with my dog Mishka, alchemy, and teaching/mentoring people.
I played music for most of my life. My three main bands were: Asthmo, The Nuclear Children, and The Spruce Campbells. I actually got into beer by homebrewing for house shows. You can listen to all of The Sprue Campbell's eps and singles below.
Examples of some of my Bob Ross inspired Paintings
Some Articles About me.
Got Questions?
Shoot me a message, I'd love to talk beer and see how we can help train your staff and create world class beer.
