meet the staff
Mike Mraz - Owner & Brewmaster
Mike grew up in Vacaville, CA racing motorcycles and fixing cars until he moved to El Dorado Hills in 2005. After winning California State Homebrewing Awards in 2008 & 2009 he became well known for his beers. Opening a brewery of his very own became a reality when Mraz Brewing Company opened in 2013.
Anything you can think of that needs to get done is Mike's job being the owner! We're not sure there is anything in the brewery he hasn't fixed or figured out to keep this place up and running. Mike enjoys making every single batch of beer, from the old recipes to creating new ones. A mechanical background mixed with his artistic creativity gives the brews and the brewery its originality and uniqueness unlike any other.
Although Mike is on call 24/7 with the brewery, making time for his family and hobbies is still very important to him. Shredding down MTB trails with the local crew, hiking national parks and traveling the US are just some of his favorites. He enjoys building classic muscle cars and he can be found in the garage with his tools at any given moment getting that engine to run just right. Late hours are all in a day's work for Mike!
Favorite Mraz Beer: The Cardinal - Flanders style ale aged in red wine barrels, or West Coast King Pale Ale
Samantha - Event Manager/Sales & Concept Artist
Samantha grew up in Northern California out in the Sutter Buttes area on 100 acres of rice fields. She joined the US Marine Corps to go out and see the world after high school and only settled out here in El Dorado Hills after discovering craft beer and meeting Mike Mraz.
She works mostly behind the scenes scheduling the live music artists that grace our patio, ordering merchandise & hand painting all the beer boards and art for the taproom. She also works with graphic design on the beer labels whenever new ones are needed. But you can catch her around the taproom at any given day, escaping housework chores to enjoy a nice brew.
If Sam's not working, you will most likely find her out on the local MTB trails, kayaking the lake or hiking somewhere in the mountains. Some people say she also makes some pretty decent hot sauce too.
Favorite Mraz Beer: The Cardinal - Flanders style ale aged in red wine barrels
Owen - Production Assistant & Beertender
Owen is originally from the Sacramento area. He got into the craft beer scene from his parents taking him around NorCal and SoCal breweries. He pretty much does anything we need him to do from beertending to helping Tyler with production.
Currently he is attending Sac State studying Kinesiology. One day you'll see Owen training and coaching the Sacramento Kings! Owen likes to play hoops in his downtime and sometimes exercise, or read a book.
Favorite Mraz Beer: C3PA - Triple IPA
Percy - Taproom Cat & Mraz Mascot
Meet Percy the Smokey Maine Coon! He was born in Oklahoma, but quickly relocated to El Dorado Hills, CA after his mom picked him up for Christmas while visiting family. He is Mraz Brewing's first mascot cat!
Percy loves to visit the taproom and makes random appearances especially during live music sets. He looks terrifying to anyone who has never seen a 23 pound cat, but is in reality just a very big baby who loves head scratches. He looks grumpy, but he’s not, that's just his face! Percy doesn't really have any official jobs at Mraz Brewing, other than modeling the pet bandanas or inspiring an occasional beer label. If you see him around the brewery, don’t be shy, he loves to take selfies!
His other hobbies are laying around for 16 plus hours a day, where he resides with his human family Mike and Samantha.
Favorite Mraz Beer: Kitten Mittens - Hazy IPA
