Clay and Charity Cadwalader are both Back Mountain natives, graduating from Lake-Lehman High School. Clay grew up at Harvey's Lake and Charity in Sweet Valley. They have been together since the 10th grade. Clay joined the United States Army in the summer of 1999 immediately after graduation and was stationed in Germany as Artilleryman/Forward Observer. This was Clay's first experience with world class beer even though he didn't fully appreciate it just yet. In 2002 Clay returned to Pennsylvania where he and Charity were married before they moved to Georgia to start their lives together as a military family. Clay and Charity moved around from Georgia to Alaska, sampling beers everywhere they went. In 2008 Clay was selected for the United States Army Special Forces, the Green Berets. Charity and Clay spent time at Fort Bragg North Carolina where Clay completed the year and a half long Special Forces Qualification Course and graduated as a Special Forces Communications Sergeant. They moved to Olympia Washington where Clay was assigned to the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) and shortly after, in 2009, welcomed Miss Faith Cadwalader to the family. The Cadwaladers would spend the rest of their time with the military in Washington. In between Clay's frequent trips to exotic locations in the Middle East they could be found enjoying everything the South Puget Sound and Pacific Northwest had to offer, especially world class craft beer. Charity and Clay decided in 2011 to start home brewing and enjoying their own beers along side all the amazing beers in the Pacific Northwest. Most of the breweries on the West Coast served as motivation and inspiration for the two. They spent many years perfecting their beers with more than a few hiccups along the way. It was a natural progression from extract brewing, to brew in a bag, to all-grain brewing. During this time the Cadwalader family was making trips throughout Washington and Oregon seeking out hiking spots and local craft breweries to sample their libations. In 2017, with retirement fast approaching, Clay was still unsure what he wanted to do once Uncle Sam wasn't paying the bills. Fortunately a unique opportunity presented itself and Clay was accepted to the first cohort for the South Puget Sound Community College Craft Brewing and Distilling Program. Throughout the next two years Clay transitioned out of the military, worked toward his degree, and continued to hone his skills for a career in the craft beverage world. The Craft Brewing and Distilling Program offered the opportunity to not just learn how to make beer, but to learn and understand the science and art behind the craft. The program also opened doors for an internship brewing at a local 5 Barrel Brewery and subsequently a job as assistant brewer at a local 10 Barrel Brew Pub. In June of 2020 Clay graduated from the program with an Associate of Applied Science for Craft Brewing. Currently the Cadwaladers are living in Sweet Valley and working to figure out this brewery ownership thing.  Back Mountain Brewing Company looks forward to serving you and we are excited for what the future holds.

 

-Cheers!!