Professor shares his fascination with craft beer

It was the day of liberation: the soft opening of Liberation Brewing Co. on Atlantic Avenue in Bixby Knolls, Long Beach.

The brewery doors were shut with a sign taped to the door, “closed for private event.”

Liberation Brewing Co. was available only for members of the craft beer meet-up group, Craft Beer Long Beach.

Members of the group congregated at the front door conversing about how excited they were to taste the new beers that Liberation had to offer.

The doors swung wide open with punk rock music blasting inside as Craft Beer LB members flowed in.

Edward was excited to taste the new beers Liberation had on tap. Each beer had distinct flavors that hit a wide variety of notes, from something light to something dark even adding in the coffee flavor, with more to come.

Taking a sip, letting the flavor pallet of the creamy ale spill over his taste buds, Edward begins to describe the flavor of his Mostly Harmless Creme Ale, Edward’s first choice of the three.

Gulp.

The bitter notes hit the back of his tongue. Within seconds Edward’s eyes open wide.

“There it is,” Edward said, the creamy after notes soothe his mouth as the beer spills down the throat.

Edward, a craft beer enthusiast who teaches automotive technology at El Camino, was excited to try the other beers they had to offer.

There are many hobbies that a person could take part in, ranging from collecting antiques, traveling, extreme sports and even photography or filmmaking, but one that is exploding is craft beer consumption and brewing.

Just like someone can be a coffee or wine connoisseur, there is an ever-growing society of hobby craft beer drinkers who take tasting to the next level.

Edward Matykiewicz, 35, is a professor in the Automotive Technology Department at El Camino, has found his hobby in the craft beer scene, visiting breweries all his local area trying all different types of beers and perfecting his craft.

During the day, you can find Edward teaching students the nuts and bolts of the car industry at El Camino

But by night, Edward is a craft beer enthusiast who takes part in a craft beer meet-up group called Craft Beer LB, that go to breweries all over the Long Beach area, like Liberation Brewing Co.

“There has been an exponential growth in the craft beer industry, from 300 breweries in 2012 to over 900 breweries in 2018,” said Leia Ostermann, the Managing Director of California Craft Beer Association, “eleven percent of craft the craft beer industry comes from California.”

Craft beer and breweries have exploded all over California, creating craft beer meet-up groups and tasting rooms all over the state.

“Within the first week 100 people signed up,” says Dennis Trilles, the founder of Craft Beer LB.

Edward was one of the first few members of the group when it was founded in 2016.

“It is a gathering of everyone’s hobbies, and passion for the art and craft of brewing,” Edward says.

People come from all over the Los Angeles area to take part in the meetups. Craft Beer LB consists of people from “all walks of life,” Edward says.

“We are always getting new people in (Craft Beer LB), and it is really nice because it’s a chance to not really leave my comfort zone, but to (still) get out and meet new people,” Edward says.

In many ways, the craft beer club Edward is apart of also relates to a classroom in a sense that people come from all over to learn about a subject, can bring their own ideas to the table, and are always wanting to learn.

“I am a teacher so I am always dealing with new people, but going in and meeting new people and seeing what they have to bring to the conversation is really, really neat,” Edward says. “There’s so much stuff that comes in and it’s kind of a nice exchange of ideas, and you get to meet really interesting people coming through,”

Being able to share the craft of brewing and the science behind crafting is something Edward enjoys.

The meet ups take place at breweries all over the Long Beach area where members of the meet-up group get to taste samples of the beers in a flight, which is a selection of several beers that the brewery offers.

Recently, at Liberation they were offering half pours for $4, full pours for $6, and a flight for $5. The beers they had to offer were Mostly Harmless Creme Ale, Learning Curve Coffee Ale, and an Amber Ale called Autonomy.

“We want to know what inspired everything of the beer, where did it come from, and what was their thinking and dialogue behind it,” Edward says.

The members in the Craft Beer LB Club, including Edward, are not only interested in the product that breweries have to offer, but are also interested in the science and techniques and all the different aspects that go into brewing a craft beer.

“We want to meet the brewers, we want to talk to them. They are always wanting to bring the product, but what we want is the brewer,” Edward says.

Edward was curious to learn about the beers, while at the same time he wanted to be able to appreciate the hard work that went into making the beer.

Before Edward joined the craft beer scene, “drinking was just a social thing after work, or on the weekends with friends and family,” Edward says.

After joining the club he had noticed that the meetup aspect really brings the organization to the process of visiting breweries with friends.

When Edward was in his 20s, he worked a 9-5 in the automotive industry. Originally from Chicago, going out with his friends to find the good beers was something he did after work or on the weekends.

He was in search of the good beers including Blue Moon and Shock Top, along with other wheat beers. “Those were heavy hitters back in the day,” Edward says.

Edward has always had a passion for finding those “heavy hitters,” that really gave that wow factor. He was always looking for new tastes and new opportunities.

“I was in the corporate world, I love working the corporate world, I had lots of cash money. I was doing some really crazy projects at the time,” Edward says.

He got into what he called “a 5-year rich” where you kind of get settled into the job. He got really good at what he was doing, but was “looking for a way to work [his] way up, or into something new.”

Edward was getting interested in opening up new opportunities that could take him further in life.

“I got curious about teaching, I really liked a lot of the aspects of teaching,” Edward says.

Edward contacted one of his past teachers, William McGrath, who gave him the opportunity to co-teach automotive tech with him for almost a year and a half at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, Illinois.

“I knew a lot about auto repair, but I didn’t know a lot about teaching,” Edward says. “It’s a whole new nuance.”

Edward ended up developing and writing some curriculum at Moraine Valley Community College in 2008, and he was able to teach the classes he wrote.

“It was a lot of fun,” Edward says.

Later he landed a full-time gig at Kennedy-King Community College, in Chicago, Illinois to teach automotive technology.

But Edward was still looking around for more opportunities and a change of pace.

“I was very much in love with the city of Chicago, I would never leave. It was a really great place for me, but I knew that I really needed to expand myself and grasp new opportunities, and try new things,” Edward says.

Edward scored a part-time job teaching automotive repair at the College of the Desert in Palm Desert, which started his journey in California, where he was able to continue the crafts of the automotive industry at a college with a “powerhouse” program, Edward says.

It was a really good opportunity for Edward because he said while at a community college in Chicago it was like, “here, is your rock, here is your stick, let’s make auto repair happen,” Edward says. “It was pretty insane how little we had, and what we got done.”

He learned a lot but wanted to go back to teaching full time.

“I saw a job opening here [at EC] for a full time, I really wanted to go back to full time,” Edward says. “I like part time but it didn’t give me the chance to develop and do as much as I can do.”

Two years later, he landed a full-time gig at EC.

Edward has now been working at EC for nearly four years now, teaching Automotive Technology.

Edward is now focusing on honing in the craft of the automotive industry and helping students fulfill the dream to make the automotive industry a hobby, or even a lifelong career.

At the same time, he continues to expand his knowledge of the craft beer industry and stays active with his hobby of consuming craft beers.

“It’s been quite a trip getting here, but it has been a lot of fun,” Edward says.